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Nine HBAs Awarded 2009 Challenge/Build/Grow Grants
 Nine local and state home builders associations recently received matching grants of up to $5,000 through the National Housing Endowment’s 2009 Challenge/Build/Grow (CBG) matching funds initiative to bolster their education and labor shortage/worker training programs. The HBAs received nearly $25,000 in total funding.
“Building homes for the nation is too important a priority to neglect the education and training that will be needed to support the residential construction industry,” said Gary Garczynski, endowment chairman and 2002 NAHB president. “Through the Challenge/Build/Grow matching grant initiative as well as other grants, the endowment is answering the call by meeting the industry's long-term challenges with bold thinking and action.”
Six HBAs received grants for their education programs and three received grants for their labor shortage/worker training programs. They include:
Education Programs
- Builders Association of Eastern Connecticut for its “Building Green for Consumers” program
The HBA in Salem, Conn., was awarded $2,000 for “Building Green for Consumers,” a joint program with the local community colleges to provide entry-level and professional training in green construction. The program also will feature a green showcase home to educate students, industry professionals, Realtors® and the general public about green building technologies and construction. The classes will be recorded and available on the HBA’s Web site.
- Home Builders Association of Fargo-Moorhead for its “Herdina Academy for the Construction Trades”
The HBA in Fargo, N.D., was awarded $4,000 for its “Herdina Academy for the Construction Trades” program, a joint initiative with the Minnesota State Community and Technical College to give students a better understanding of career opportunities and requirements in the housing industry. Academy students will work in electrical, plumbing and construction technology labs while collaborating with building industry professionals.
- Home Builders Association of Jackson County for its “Youth Enterprises at Willow Lake – 2009 Construction Academy”
The HBA in Medford, Ore., was awarded $2,000 for its “Youth Enterprises at Willow Lake – 2009 Construction Academy,” a project in collaboration with Butte Falls High School and the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department that will enable students to build sailboats in the school’s workshop and manage and operate their rentals at the general store at Willow Lake County Park. As part of the program, students also will remodel the park’s kitchen and lodge and build a new events deck at the lodge for community events. Willow Lake County Park will host the program for the next three summers.
- Home Builders Association of Kentucky for its “Kentucky Construction Career Days”
The state HBA based in Frankfort was awarded $3,000 for its “Kentucky Construction Career Days,” a statewide program to promote careers in residential construction and workforce development. The program will provide hands-on activities for more than 2,000 students interested in construction and will enable them to explore all the facets of the industry.
- Home Builders Association of Northern Kentucky for its “Green Building Public Seminar Series”
The local association based in Erlanger was awarded $2,000 for its “Green Building Public Seminar Series,” which is part of the statewide “Build Green Kentucky” initiative promoting energy-efficient and green building practices among builders, subcontractors, suppliers and lenders. The initiative is based on the Energy Star program and the ANSI-approved National Green Building Standard and NAHB Green Building Guidelines. The HBA will host a seminar series about green building, green building guidelines and energy-efficient products for the general public throughout its 12-county jurisdiction.
- Los Angeles Ventura Counties Chapter, Building Industry Association of Southern California for its “Architectural Drawing and Model Building Contest”
The HBA in Santa Clarita was awarded $2,000 for its “2009 Architectural Drawing and Model Building Contest,” an event that judges the entries of talented high school students in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The contest is open to vocational students in construction, architectural drawing and woodworking programs.
Labor Shortage/Worker Training Programs
- Florida Home Builders Association for its “Florida Contractor Employment Assistance Project”
The state HBA based in Tallahassee was awarded $2,000 for its “Florida Contractor Employment Assistance Project” to develop and provide a centralized clearinghouse for training, outreach and educational opportunities for Florida’s construction professionals to help them access federal stimulus contracting opportunities. The program is part of a state initiative.
- Home Builders Association of Josephine County for its “Workforce Training Program”
The HBA in Grants Pass, Ore., was awarded $4,000 for its “Workforce Training Program” to provide a 40-hour construction orientation program to provide education and promote residential construction opportunities to more than Josephine and Jackson County 200 high school students, out-of-school young people and adults, including those from groups underrepresented in the industry. The HBA worked with the Three Rivers School District, Rogue Community College and the Southern Oregon Construction Training Alliance to create the program.
- Master Builders Association of King & Snohomish Counties for its “Curriculum for Introduction to Sustainable Designs”
The HBA in Bellevue, Wash., was awarded $4,000 for its “Curriculum for Introduction to Sustainable Designs” program, held in conjunction with the Seattle Central Community College Wood Construction Center, to provide courses on the practical application of green building techniques and concepts. The program has started with an eight-week summer pilot course with a curriculum that includes moisture science, choosing appropriate materials and building structures that meet the appropriate green building standards. After the summer, the program will be adapted for use at other schools and as a stand-alone certificate program.
Since Challenge/Build/Grow began in 2001, the endowment has awarded more than $190,000 to state and local associations nationwide to support local education, land use and labor shortages/worker training initiatives and to help build new partnerships at the state and local levels.
For more information about endowment grant or scholarship opportunities, or to download funding guidelines, visit www.nationalhousingendowment.org.
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