Teaming Up to Provide Safe, Healthy Homes for Veterans, Neighbors in Need

On a crisp Thursday morning in September 2023, William looked on as a crew of volunteers gathered at his beloved red-brick home in Arlington, Va., where he has lived for over 5 decades.

William—a Veteran who served in the US National Guard and Army in the 1950s—moved into the right half of the “side-by-side” duplex back in 1966, not long after he and his late wife, Daisy, had tied the knot. The couple rode the ups and downs of life together from their cozy colonial until Daisy passed away a couple of years ago. They raised a daughter, who now lives down the street. They were active members in a local church, where William once served as the congregation’s deacon. And, they devoted their professional lives to nursing care and patient services at nearby Virginia Hospital Center, just across the river from the nation’s capital.

As the years passed, William’s sturdy home needed some standard upkeep—paint was beginning to peel, window screens were tearing, a closet door wasn’t closing properly. Railings leading to the basement were too low, and loose cinderblocks served as steps to the back parking area. William, who uses a cane to walk, had fallen a couple of times. Now 90, he was unable to make the repairs himself and, as a retiree on a fixed income, couldn’t afford to hire professional contractors to do the work.

In short, living at home was no longer safe, but, after nearly a lifetime there, moving wasn’t a realistic option—nor a good one.

Enter Rebuilding Together, the leading national nonprofit repairing and modifying the homes of people in need, and Navy Federal Credit Union, which serves military communities and embraces and encourages service among its nearly 25,000 employees. In particular, Navy Federal supported Veterans at Home, a Rebuilding Together program that provides no-cost preventive home modifications for Veterans, many of whom face housing accessibility challenges due to disabilities connected with their military service. 

“We’re going to be like soldiers today and work hard,” Patti Klein, executive director of Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church in Virginia, told more than a dozen Navy Federal volunteers who had gathered in William’s front yard. “We’re going to get dirty, and we’re going to get sweaty, but we’re going to get a lot done.”

And so they did. 

Together, Navy Federal volunteers and staff of Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church spent their workday not at their desks but rather checking off a long list of jobs involving carpentry, landscaping, painting and more. 

The highlight: hanging a bright, new, starch-stiff American flag in place of a faded one that had been on the shed in the back patio for 2 decades—not far from several other star-spangled banners flanking the property. William paused, looked up at the new flag and shared how proud he was to serve his country.

“You are so wonderful,” he told the crew earlier, a wide grin spreading across his face—only faintly lined despite his decades. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Longstanding Partnership

William’s home was one of three that Navy Federal employees repaired last year in partnership with Rebuilding Together. Other repairs took place at the home of a former U.S. Marine in Atlanta and a disabled Veteran in Dallas.

This year, Navy Federal and Rebuilding Together staff repaired two more Veteran-owned homes in Northern Virginia. The first is owned by an older woman whose late husband served in the U.S. Air Force for 25 years. Volunteers repaired a door and rebuilt a damaged deck leading to her backyard, installed handrails and more. The second is owned by a former lab technician for the U.S. Army, who went on to serve a quarter century as a Capitol Hill police officer, and his wife. There, volunteers installed fire safety equipment, handrails, and grab bars, repaired flooring, cleared out overgrown bushes and more.

Navy Federal’s partnership with Rebuilding Together goes back some 2 decades—and is especially strong in Northern Virginia, home of the credit union’s headquarters. The first joint project took place in 2000 on National Rebuilding Day—a Saturday in April when volunteers across the nation come together to repair homes of those in need, including Veterans and older adults. The partnership grew to 2 projects a year and now stands at 3, at least one of which aims to support a Veteran.

The partnership reflects a shared commitment to strength, safety and security, Klein said, noting that she too has a deep connection to military communities, having spent her early years on a Naval base in Japan and her high school years at an Army base in Germany.

Sun Bayless, senior vice president of Real Estate Lending at Navy Federal, echoed the point. “We believe in coming together for the community and for people who have served our military and our country, and this really embodies that,” she said. “We’re ready to roll up our sleeves.”

Thousands of Hours of Service

All told, Navy Federal has supported some 32 projects in Northern Virginia, including 6 homeowners and 26 nonprofit organizations, several of which serve the many Veterans in the area. In 2015, Navy Federal worked at the United Service Organization (USO) Warrior and Family Center at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, which serves injured and ill soldiers and Veterans, families and caregivers (and is the largest USO in the world).

One of the more memorable projects took place at the home of a Veteran who was paralyzed after a fall from a ladder. After a long stay in the hospital, the Veteran was eager to go home—but he couldn’t do so until accommodations were made. Navy Federal employees, Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church and the man’s family got to work—and he arrived home from the hospital to a newly retrofitted home. At one point, the family raised the American flag and began singing the National Anthem. “It was so beautiful,” Klein recalled. “It really gave this family community again.”

Because Navy Federal volunteers respond to calls for volunteers in droves, Klein often steers them to larger projects. Over the years, Navy Federal volunteers have fixed up buildings housing nonprofits that address everything from safe housing to food insecurity.

All told, Navy Federal has sent roughly 1,500 volunteers to Rebuilding Together projects and has contributed more than 10,000 hours of volunteer service. Much of the work—a key team-building opportunity—takes place during workdays, and many Navy Federal staff use paid leave to participate. Indeed, Navy Federal empowers its employees to champion their communities by providing 8 hours of paid volunteer leave annually through its Operation: Give Back program. In 2023, more than 10,500 employees used paid volunteer leave to contribute more than 66,000 volunteer hours valued at more than $1 million.

The work has “ripple effects” throughout the community, Klein said. “It’s had a huge impact.”

Author Bio: Allison Stevens is a writer, editor and communications professional who specializes in strategic storytelling. A member of Navy Federal’s Corporate Communications team, Allison tells and shares stories about members who achieve their goals with the help of Navy Federal’s products and services and supports the team’s external communications and media relations initiatives. A former reporter, she holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and a master’s degree in journalism.