On a rainy Saturday, April 29^th more than 25 Primera employees and friends gathered in the West Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago to help complete home repair projects to the home of elderly couple Mr. James and Mrs. Charlene Benson. Through Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago, an affiliate of Rebuilding Together, the nation’s largest volunteer organization dedicated to preserving and revitalizing low-income houses and communities, Primera sponsored the home by providing the materials and labor for much needed repairs. Each year, in celebration of National Rebuilding Day, more than 3,500 volunteers throughout the city apply a day’s worth of elbow grease to make major repairs in various low-inclome homes in Chicago. While Primera has partnered with Rebuilding Together for many years, this is the fifth year in a row which we were privileged enough to sponsor a home of our own.

Primera’s completed home projects will allow the homeowners to continue to live in warmth, safety and independence. House captains Louis DeAlba and Bill Taylor, spent weeks prior to build day helping to pre-plan the day’s project assignments. Primera’s volunteers were able to:

• Install new kitchen exhaust hood
• Replace old or missing lighting fixtures throughout the house
• Repair back door lock and screen
• Install new front porch light
• Provide new basement lighting
• Replace damaged electrical outlets throughout the house
• Front and back yard maintenance
• Support damaged structural beams in basement

Primera’s Architecture Group Lead Jill Deichmann currently serves as the President of the Board of Directors for Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago and says that “the efforts of our volunteers to assist needy homeowners brings hope to both the families that we help and to the community as a whole. Duing our 24-year history, we have found that our efforts are sustainable and often act as a catalyst for additional neighborhood improvements.” Primera President and CEO Erin Inman was also on-hand at the day’s event and commends the work of Rebuilding Together as well as the employees that took their day off to help others in need, “Primera has always had a deep commitment to making our communities stronger, we’re grateful that Mr. and Mrs. Benson welcomed us into their homes and helped us continue our tradition of making community involvement a part of our culture.”

Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago is an affiliate of Rebuilding Together, the nation’s largest volunteer organization dedicated to preserving and revitalizing low-income houses and communities, and one of more than 200 chapters across the country. Each year, in preparation for National Rebuilding Day, Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago recruits and trains sponsor teams, identifies and screens homeowner applicants, raises private funds for building materials, and coordinates the logistics of a volunteer effort that encompasses over 3,500 people. Since 1991, Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago has repaired more than 1,300 homes and 200 community facilities with the assistance of tens of thousands of volunteers. Collectively, Rebuilding Together affiliates have completed work on more than 100,000 homes and engaged 3.4 million volunteers to deliver $1.3 billion in market value since its founding in 1988.

For additional information about Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago please visit: www.rebuildingtogether-chi.com.