With good deeds happening in our community every day, it can be difficult for the heroes in our lives to receive the credit and recognition they deserve. That’s why at Presenta Plaque, we strive to bring you the stories of these remarkable men and women (and even children!) who make our community so wonderful, through both our Presenta Plaque to Your Hero campaign and our new monthly blog series.

For this, our second series in the blog, we bring to you the volunteers of Rebuilding Together Valley of the Sun, and their annual Rock & Roll Paint-A-Thon. Rebuilding Together Valley of the Sun (RTVOS) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide low-income seniors, veterans and disabled individuals with necessary home improvement and repairs to give them independence and worry-free comfort. Typically, low income homeowners are fixed in older homes within neglected neighborhoods, but it is these older homes that require more maintenance and significant repairs to sustain even the lowest living standard. Often homeowners in these neighborhoods struggle to afford their basic daily needs, let alone overwhelming home repair costs. In these cases, homes are left in derelict conditions that can cause both personal and environmental safety concerns. With seniors and disabled persons, the biggest safety concern is often that they cannot afford to make their homes accessible to accommodate their limited mobility. It is then that RTVOS steps in to offer homeowners free repairs and improvements that considerably enhance their living conditions.

Each year, Rebuilding Together hosts its Rock & Roll Paint-A-Thon where over 3,000 volunteers from other organizations, small groups and business come together to paint the homes of qualified applicants who would otherwise not have the funds or the ability to do it themselves. By improving the outside appearance of the homes, a general sense of pride is imprinted on everyone involved, from the residents of the home and the neighborhood, to the volunteers who labored to bring about the change. Homeowners can rest easy knowing that their house is being maintained and their home value is increased, and volunteers know that they have made an impact on another person’s life.

Applicants must be homeowners aged 65 and older or disabled and must earn less than 50% of their neighborhood’s median income. Volunteers unite to form teams of 15-25 people who each spend the day painting the exterior of one qualified house. Over five years, the Paint-A-Thon has reached out to 560 low-income homeowners to improve the outside of their homes to reflect the inner pride of homeownership they each undoubtedly have.

RTVOS has had over 60,000 volunteers across 500 different organizations give their time since 1991, and they have provided $7 Million in repairs to over 1,850 homes and 55 nonprofit facilities. To be a part of increasing those incredible numbers and get involved in this year’s Paint-A-Thon on Saturday, October 27^th, or to learn more about this heroic organization, visit Rebuilding Together’s website!