OAC, Renovato Builders, ThatSVLife, Paradise Water Gardens, local volunteers and Rebuilding Together work with local businesses to make better happen within the community
OAC’s team of design and construction management professionals believe better is always possible. We protect your project by looking out for your best interests at every step of construction until it’s done to your standards. We’ll get your development up and running or back on track. And we don’t just build better buildings – we build better communities. Each of OAC’s regional offices are passionate about making a difference in where our clients and staff live, work, learn, and play.
Putting our mission into action, OAC’s Silicon Valley team (established in 2014) had the opportunity to partner with Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley (RTSV), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to repair homes, revitalize communities, and rebuild lives. OAC and Rebuilding Together have been connected for several years and we were grateful to have this chance to work together again.
RTSV believes everyone deserves to live in a safe and healthy home and provides this through their safety and critical repairs programs. It leverages community, partnership, and volunteerism to deliver free repairs for low-income homeowners. Since the start of RTSV in 1991, over $14 million in donations have been invested into more than 5,000 projects, building better homes for thousands of families in need.
October 22nd, 2022 marked Rebuilding Day where 400+ volunteers worked together at 19 different project sites to make better happen in Santa Clara County. One project our team focused our efforts on was for Joyce Sims, 80, who lives alone in a mobile park for seniors, and had no means to do the work on her home that was needed. Joyce previously worked in the commercial aviation industry as a flight attendant and later in the corporate office, and now devotes her time to reading, attending church, and painting. She also enjoys spending time with her 4 nieces and their children when they visit.
There had been no grass, or working sprinklers in her yard for years, along with many weeds and 6 overgrown fruit trees. Her bathroom had layers of flooring over subfloor that was falling apart and unsafe to walk on. The team used our construction knowledge and over a dozen volunteers spending several days helping to update her landscaping, replace bathroom floor, fix the roof, and paint her home’s exterior. The new garden is nothing short of beautiful. Joyce says her neighbors have been driving by slowly to take in all the updates and asking about her new flowers.
Joyce was thrilled and extremely grateful to everyone involved, saying “I don’t have one complaint, it was just fantastic. I could walk away and leave my house wide open. I trusted everyone, and they even took care of my dog.” Everyone went above and beyond to make it better than she could have ever expected, transforming her home into one that was much more livable and enjoyable.
We couldn’t have made it happen without OAC team members, RTSV volunteers, and local businesses that pitched in to make it come to life. Renovato Builders donated everything needed to replace the subfloor and flooring in Joyce’s bathroom; Statewide Roofing patched up her roof; USave Rockery of Morgan Hill, Johnson’s Garden Center, Grass Farm, and South Valley Mushroom Farm all donated supplies for the landscaping and paint transformations; and Paradise Water Gardens donated 6 skilled workers, a truck, trailer, tools, and equipment for a whole day to do the landscaping and irrigation updates. And one of OAC’s own SV project managers, Anson Davalos, helped set this in motion, worked alongside the landscapers, and spent several hours trimming and pruning all the trees in her yard.
Alaina Purcell Schroeder, RTSV’s Development Director says “At Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley we proudly partner with local corporations and community benefit organizations, like OAC Services and Renovato Builders, to lend a helping hand and support the work we do year-round. We truly could not keep people safe and healthy in their homes without the support of our partners.”
Interested in getting involved and helping your communities become safer and healthier? Visit rtsv.org to volunteer, donate, or become a partner and let’s make better happen in our local communities – together.