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Who We Are
"I didn't realize that there are programs and people who
really care and are willing to extend a helping hand. I met some
wonderful people who worked tirelessly and enjoyed the work they were doing."
Homeowner Sylvia Wilford
AN URBAN LEGEND
Rebuilding Together Philadelphia started in 1988 when Robert Bellinger and several fellow graduate students at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania took up the gauntlet and proved that business students cared enough about the West Philadelphia community to make a difference. That first year they helped 10 homeowners, setting a high standard for more than two decades of working with communities. Since its founding, RTP (originally Christmas in April of Philadelphia) has remained a popular club within the Wharton Graduate Association. It's now tradition that each cohort forms a team. Wharton/UPenn students continue to help 15-20 homeowners each year.
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CONNECTIONS TO A NATIONAL AFFILIATE NETWORK
RTP is a local, independent affiliate of Rebuilding Together, Inc., the nation's leading nonprofit organization providing critical home repairs, modifications, and improvements for America's low-income homeowners. This affiliate relationship affords RTP the best of two worlds: 1) the freedom to design a program that meets the needs of the Philadelphia region 2) access to national sponsors, partnerships, and media; information on best practices and resources; advocacy at the federal level; and connections to AmeriCorps. Spanning nearly every state in the country, the affiliate network is 200+ strong and mobilizes 200,000 volunteers to complete 10,000 projects each year. National areas of focus include safe at home projects; veterans' housing, disaster recovery and reconstruction, and green building. Check out National News & Events.
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OUR BOARD & STAFF
RTP has attracted a committed Board of Directors with a wide range of experiences and interests. Board members work in partnership with the Executive Director to promote RTP's mission and strategic direction, establish policy, and generate resources for the organization. Board members also volunteer in the neighborhoods, living out RTP's mission first hand. Behind the scenes, the Board works in committees on special projects.
Led by Carrie Rathmann, Executive Director, our staff members ensure focused, day to day attention on fulfilling RTP's mission and vision.
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OUR PARTNERS
Key collaborations with educational institutions and corporate/nonprofit/government sponsors enable RTP to make a greater impact than otherwise would be possible. We hope others will view these collaborations as models to emulate and will reach out to us eager to create synergy with our efforts. We believe every person and group has something to contribute to the cause of preserving affordable homeownership and revitalizing low-income communities. |
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