By BUILDER Magazine Staff. The Peninsula Housing & Builders Association (Williamsburg, Va., Chapter) won Virginia's first Home Builders Care Outstanding Community Leadership Award in Hot Springs, Va., in August. The association received an etched glass award and a $2,500 donation.
Peninsula teamed up with the local Utility and Heavy Contractors Association to manage construction of Hospice House, a nonprofit respite for those near death. Association members made in-kind donations of labor, materials, and services valued at more than $600,000. Hospice House is the first residential hospice in its area.
The association met its goals to help meet a significant community need and to improve the industry's image in an area where anti-growth sentiment is particularly strong. Hospice House has been the centerpiece of an effort to educate public officials about the critical role builders play in improving the quality of life in the communities where they live and work and offers a lasting and visible example of that vital role.
The project was funded solely by member contributions, with administrative support from staff and the association.
Mark Ailsworth, executive vice president of the Peninsula Housing & Builders Association, gives credit to association members. "This was a completely member-driven effort and an example of what can be done in the community when members join together in support of a common cause."
