For more than 14 years, Behrend Builders has helped restore and reconstruct facilities such as homeless shelters, public schools and low-income homes in Washington, D.C.

Skilled or not, volunteers are always welcome, and the program is always seeking people who need its help.

“We work with many high school groups who want to get community service hours and provide help to the homeless and near homeless,” said Randy Bacon, the director of Behrend Builders.

Founded by Ruth Small and Amy Goldstein in memory of their parents, Behrend Builders is the largest year-round community service program at the Washington D.C. Jewish Community Center.

However, only about 30% of its volunteers are Jewish and its clients range across all faith denominations and backgrounds, Bacon said.

A recent project repaired the house of an elderly woman who had health and mobility problems. Restorations included removing clutter, building storage shelves, fixing a leaky roof, building dry wall in damaged areas and repainting hallways and bedrooms.

As a result of the exensive repairs, the woman was able to salvage the basket-making business she ran out of her basement. Her son later wrote a letter to the organization, saying that the volunteers had renovated his mother’s home and also her heart, Bacon said.

“Most of these people are very close to being homeless. Most of them don’t have the means to fix their homes without us,” he said.

Another project assisted a single mother of five. When entering the house, volunteers noticed missing windows, no back door and caved-in ceilings. Volunteers fixed these and installed more lighting and handrails, painted the children’s bedrooms the color of their choice, and used donated furniture to provide the woman with an improved living environment.

“The older daughter said she hadn’t had friends over in six years because of the conditions,” Bacon said. “I told her that if we didn’t have the house nice enough for her to have her friends over [after we finished], that I would throw a swimming party at my house for her and her friends as well as her siblings and their friends.”

A few months later, the girl told Bacon her friends had spent the night there. But that did not stop Bacon from throwing a pool party and barbecue for them anyway.

Like many social service programs, Behrend Builders has had trouble finding consistent funding and is always seeking donors and donated materials. Right now, the program needs a newer truck or van for transportation assistance with future projects. “Our current vehicle is on its last legs,” Bacon said.

The program is also always looking for ways to improve low-income and community structures.

“Behrend’s important because although we can’t fix all the problems, we can do it one home or shelter at a time,” Bacon said. ”But even more so by offering volunteer opportunities, which allow people to see problems that affect the homeless.”