FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 26, 2009

Contact: Donna J Gamache, director of communications

(314) 242-1341 | donna.gamache@thelawrencegroup.com

Low-res images of volunteers and one of 2008's happy clients at this link [Rebuilding Together 2008 team & client images]  

Interviews can be easily arranged with any organizational leaders or volunteers or clients mentioned in this release by calling Donna J Gamache

Rebuilding Together - St. Louis Recruiting for "National Rebuilding Day" on May 2, 2009  

ST. LOUIS, MO -Rebuilding Together - St. Louis in Webster Groves is an organization that helps improve neighborhoods. Their vision is, "A safe and healthy home for every person." Throughout a tough economy in 2008,  volunteer groups across the St. Louis region have stayed on course, and Rebuilding Together - St. Louis seems to attract a very loyal volunteer following. They worked in 2008 to continued the organization's work to rehabilitate community centers, playgrounds and other community projects with care and skill and personal commitment. The helping hands of these repeat volunteers enable low-income home owners to live in safer and more secure environments. In commemoration of their success throughout the year, Rebuilding Together - St. Louis will celebrate "National Rebuilding Day" on May 2, 2009. 

 "National Rebuilding Day is a wonderful way to celebrate our year-round efforts in the communities in which we serve," said Lynne Rajani, executive director of Rebuilding Together - St. Louis . "At a time when the nation is dealing with an unprecedented housing crisis, there is an overwhelming need for our work.  We make it possible for home owners to remain in safe and healthy homes, keep their independence and dignity and preserve home equity, which in many cases is the sole source of their personal wealth."

Last year repeat volunteer Sherry Arnold, manager of design and construction for Colliers Corporate Solutions, a division of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker (CTMT), pulled in another colleague, Joe Meyer, design er and associate director with the Lawrence Group Colors interior design studio, to assist in a rebuilding project for Ms. Lisa Petty. Ms. Petty, a homeowner with Cerebral Palsy, was having trouble getting an occupancy permit to live in her home in North St. Louis and was forced to move in with a relative. She needed a ramp built onto her front porch in order to receive it. When it came close to building day, Joe Meyer delivered sealed drawings for the ramp that needed to be built onto Ms. Petty's immaculately maintained home. That's when the Rebuilding Together - St. Louis team of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker, along with CIC Contractors, a division of Color Art, came to the rescue with more than 30 volunteers. They were able to complete the ramp and make some accessibility changes on the inside, as well. After the project was completed Ms. Petty was able to get her occupancy permit and move back into her home.

Joe Meyer's employer, Lawrence Group Colors, it is a full-service interior design firm specializing in housing, healthcare and commercial work. It was established by Linda Loewenstein in 1984 and has been named multiple times to the "Top 100 Giants" list by Interior Design Magazine. Mr. Meyer counts CTMT among his long-term commercial clients and has designed numerous projects over several years across the United States for them.  

Joe's inspiration to offer his design skills came when he witnessed what Ms. Petty had to go through just to get into her house. It was a quick hop up two steps for him, but Ms. Petty had to deal with a clumsy, narrow, unstable and slippery portable aluminum ramp snaking throughout her garage.

"These older homes simply didn't take wheelchairs into consideration. I remember thinking to myself, ‘How are we going to fit twenty feet of ramp in the front yard, while being within the local accessibility guidelines and still make it look good?'", said Joe. "In the end, all the volunteers pulled together, and it couldn't have worked out better. The proof was on Ms. Petty's smiling face when she saw the turn-out of volunteers and everything come together right in front of her eyes."

Sherry Arnold, manager of Colliers Corporate Solutions, saw a television commercial for Rebuilding Together - St. Louis and decided to become a volunteer in 2008. Lisa Petty's ramp was Sherry's first project, and she plans on doing many more. "It's been a great experience and has created a great bond between the people we work with. We're all here making it happen.  We learn a little bit more about our co-workers and professional colleagues by working on these community projects together," says Sherry.

Lynn Rajani adds, "In almost all cases, volunteers do return to work with us because they have been moved by their experience the year before. They may have been touched by the home owner, or were excited to work with their co-workers in such a motivating setting, or were proud of the new skills they learned, or perhaps all of the above. Our volunteers continue to come back year after year because our work is so meaningful and needed in our community."

 "One thing that happens so often is you'll find a junior-level employee charged with leading the volunteer team for the day, and you'll find the CEO painting alongside the volunteers," explained Lynne. "It is a shift from their roles at the office, and it energizes volunteers to see their co-workers in a different light. Team-building is a natural experience that comes out of the work that we are doing."

Lawrence Group is one of the largest international building design, planning, and project delivery firms in St. Louis with 180 employees in the US and China. Lawrence Group offers architecture, interior design, a retail furniture showroom (Niche), landscape architecture, graphic design, town planning, construction management and real estate development services to health care, commercial and housing clients. Lawrence Group is a member of the American Institute of Architects, the U.S. Green Building Council and the Urban Land Institute. For more information on Lawrence Group call Donna J Gamache, director of communications for Lawrence Group, at 314-224-1341, and visit http://www.thelawrencegroup.com/.

Colliers Turley Martin Tucker recently completed the consolidation of its ownership structure with Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers, Colliers Pinkard, and Colliers ABR, forming a holding company that is one of the nation's largest commercial real estate service firms.  The consolidated entity operates in all 50 states, completes more than $13 billion in worldwide transactions annually, and manages more than $30 billion in real estate.  The holding company's portfolio totals 300 million square feet under property management, 210 million square feet of space for lease, and $5 billion in capital markets transactions annually.  The Corporate Solutions division sustains more than 20,000 locations for Fortune 1,000 companies and delivers a new location "Every 80 Minutes."  Colliers is the top-ranked real estate firm on the Global Outsourcing 100 companies list, IAOP Top 100.  For more information about Colliers International, a worldwide affiliation of independently owned and operated companies, visit http://www.colliers.com/.

Rebuilding Together - St. Louis is an affiliate of Rebuilding Together, a national volunteer organization based in Washington , D.C. Our mission is to bring volunteers and communities together to improve the homes and lives of low-income homeowners, particularly the elderly and disabled. For more information on Rebuilding Together - St. Louis call 314-918-9918 or visit http://www.rebuildingtogether-stl.org/ .

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