Members of the Master Builders Association of King & Snohomish Counties helped build the Julia L. Pritt House homeless shelter in Issaquah, Wash.

The National Housing Endowment, the philanthropic arm of NAHB, recently honored three home builders associations for working on projects that provided support and assistance to their communities.

The HBAs were honored with the 2011 Association Excellence Award for the Best Community Service Project for helping to build a pavilion for a camp that provides accessible and affordable activities for children throughout Connecticut; construction of a homeless shelter in Issaquah, Wash.; and for building a home for an Army veteran who served two tours of duty in Iraq and returned home unscathed, but was wounded four times during the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. The home was built as part of Operation Finally Home during the ABC television show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

The service awards recognize the community service performed by building industry professionals in their communities across the country and are part of Home Builders Care, which was initiated by Bob Mitchell, 2000 NAHB president.

"I recognized some time ago that our members have close personal relationships with leaders in their communities and are often called upon most to address the needs or problems of their neighbors,” Mitchell said. “The Association Excellence Award recognizes these efforts and, hopefully, shines a favorable light that counterbalances those who criticize the industry for their own purposes. My congratulations and appreciation go out to this year's entrants and award winners."

In addition to the award, each of the associations honored received a $1,000 donation to be directed to the charity of their choice.

The 2011 awardees are:

• Home Builders Association of Hartford County
  Rocky Hill, Conn.
  
  

  Members of the Home Builders Association of Hartford County helped build a pavilion last year that expanded programs at the Channel 3 Kids Camp in Andover, Conn., that annually serves more than 4,000 children.

  During the summer of 2010, members of the HBA serving Harford, Tolland and Middlesex counties in Connecticut built a pavilion for the Channel 3 Kids Camp in Andover. The camp annually provides accessible and affordable camp activities to more than 4,000 children aged six to 16.
  
  The pavilion enabled the camp to expand its programming and the number of campers it serves. It also gives the camp a new building that can be used during inclement weather.
  
  More than 50 HBA members volunteered — donating materials and services including cork, concrete, a truss system, design, planning and construction of the pavilion.
  
  The project received publicity as part of the camp’s 100th anniversary celebration.
  
  
• Master Builders Association of King & Snohomish Counties
  Bellevue, Wash.
  
  Last year, the master builders association, along with builder captain John Day Homes and more than 40 other industry-related companies, completed and dedicated the Julia L. Pritt House, a homeless shelter in Issaquah near Seattle.
  
  The association spearheaded construction after forming a partnership with Compassion House, a private, non-profit organization that provides housing and counseling to homeless families in that area of Washington.
  
  The shelter was named for Julia Pritt, a local philanthropist who donated the land to the project. MBA members donated more than $244,000 in labor and materials — 64% of the retail cost of the facility — to complete it.
  
  The shelter will annually provide more than 3,650 bed nights for the homeless.
  
  
• Texas Association of Builders
  Austin, Texas
  
  

  Members of the Texas Association of Builders begin work on a home for wounded veteran Staff Sgt. Patrick Zeigler as part of Operation Finally Home. The project was an episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," which aired on Feb. 20.

  The project marked the first time a state HBA spearheaded a project on the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” television show.
  
  The HBA worked closely with home builder Tilson Homes based in Houston; associate member Temple-Inland, a building products supplier; Operation Finally Home, which provides mortgage-free homes to wounded and disabled veterans and their widows; and the Army.
  
  The home — built for Staff Sgt. Patrick Zeigler and his wife, Jessica — was completed in 106 hours during the week of Dec. 6-12. More than 19 million viewers watched the show on Feb. 20.

For more information, visit www.nationalhousingendowment.org.