Got Skills?

You don’t need to know how to swing a hammer, or use a chop saw to help [Re]building Together® Long Beach! We also need volunteers to help behind the scenes!

Before we can start any repairs, we need to know a thing or two about the homeowner and the home, and our Program Committee is the vital first step. During this stage, RTLB Volunteers meet with the homeowner for the first time! Can you put your best foot forward and help gather the background required to select the sites for future rebuilds? This committee needs Interviewers, and Estimators.

Interviewers focus on the resident and their needs, with an eye on repairs that would have the most impact to create a healthy and safe home, all summed up in a succinct report.

Our Estimators examine not only the areas identified by the homeowner, but also use their knowledge of construction repairs to identify other potential safety or health concerns. They focus on the costs of the repair needs of the home. They also inspect the site for possible logistics issues, if the site is chosen for repairs.

Together they form a coordinated investigative team designed to streamline the effort to get residents the repairs they need.

Great teams have great leaders, and we’re looking at you! Our Board of Directors has openings for those with mad skills in marketing and the connections to assist in fund development

If you want to be part of the team who has repaired more than 350 Long Beach resident homes and revitalized more than 80 nonprofit facilities and community spaces then reach out and join!

Give us a call at 562 490 3802, send us an email at info@rtlb.org or head to our site and become a [RE]Builder! You’ll be glad you did!

RTLB Celebrates Women In Construction Week

Women in Construction Week Honoree

Rebuilding Together Long Beach (RTLB) is celebrating Women In Construction Week (March 7-13) by honoring one of our own volunteers, Debbie Marrs-Leisy.

Debbie came to RTLB as a volunteer nearly 15 years ago while she and her husband were successfully managing their family-owned residential remodeling construction company in Long Beach. Debbie credits the success of their construction business to using business coaches, such as Remodelers Advantage, a peer networking group.

In fact, it was at one of the Remodelers Advantage meetings that Rebuilding Together was mentioned, so Debbie looked for a local branch and found RTLB!  “We love Long Beach and wanted to do something to give back and support Long Beach,” Debbie said. “RTLB was happy to have construction savvy people join the organization.”

Debbie has performed many administrative roles not only for her own construction business but also at RTLB. Although she admits she doesn’t hang drywall or wield a nail gun, Debbie has managed RTLB projects as Site Captain and often joined other RTLB volunteers painting a homeowner’s house.

Dr. Debbie!

You might be surprised that Debbie had a different career while she and her husband were building their construction company. Debbie and her husband met in high school and after college, they went overseas to India and Germany where Debbie attended graduate school and earned a Doctorate degree in Chemistry!

Debbie and her husband returned to California where she worked as a chemist for 20 years. Meanwhile, she and her husband built their residential remodeling construction company. In 2002, Debbie partnered with her husband full-time in their construction company.

Volunteering at RTLB

Volunteering at RTLB was an easy choice for Debbie. “I was impressed with the people, no egos, and everyone wanted to help Long Beach. They were all sharp people,” Debbie remembers.  “We were painting a Boys & Girls Club. I was Site Captain, and it was drizzling and dreary outside, but all these volunteers came out and were in good spirits.”

“I remember another day when it was beautiful outside and I thought,  all these college kids are spending their entire day painting the house of someone they didn’t know instead of being at the beach. You hear about the negative aspects of society, then you see the positive side of society and how people want to help each other. It gives you a very good feeling.”

Debbie remembers a homeowner who was wheelchair-bound and had no access out of his house. “He was stuck in his house 24/7! We ended up putting a concrete pad in the back yard and he was able to go out to the backyard where he hadn’t been for years and years and years and he started crying, thankful to be outside of his house.”

Debbie added, “These aren’t big things, but they make you feel good about what you are doing.”

Congratulations to Debbie Marr-Leisy as RTLB honors you during Women in Construction Week.