For Immediate Release
June 20, 2005
Contact: Becky Fleischauer, (202) 220-2360; bfleischauer@nw.org
NeighborWorks® Greenbuild Training and Curricula Gets a Boost from
The Home Depot Foundation
(Boston, MA) – To keep pace with the growing demand, NeighborWorks® America will offer a new slate of green and healthy building courses at its Boston Training Institute June 20-24. The classes are made possible through the support of The Home Depot Foundation, which is providing $237,600 to support new and advanced courses and will provide scholarships for practitioners to learn the latest greenbuild techniques, planning and development. The August NeighborWorks Training Institute in Washington, DC will feature even more greenbuild course offerings and scholarships.
“There is a rapidly growing recognition of the savings and benefits of greenbuilding in affordable housing markets,” said NeighborWorks America CEO Kenneth Wade. “These new courses will help ensure that smart, healthy buildings and homes are available to more consumers – improving lives and saving money.”
Although new homes are twice as efficient as they were in 1970, residential buildings still account for about 20 percent of national energy use, says the nonprofit Virginia Sustainable Building Network. Increasing efficiency using some of the techniques learned in the NeighborWorks courses can cut homeowners’ energy bills in half or more.
Increased concern about air quality and indoor air problems linked to toxic chemicals found in some building materials, carpets and furniture are also driving the demand for more healthy building. The fumes emitted from some of these products have been blamed for asthma and other respiratory problems. The NeighborWorks courses address greenbuilding techniques applied to single family housing and large rental units, and senior housing developments. Often overlooked, the benefits and savings of building green are multiplied in larger complexes and developments.
About NeighborWorks America
NeighborWorks America provides financial support, technical assistance and training for communities across the nation, including the NeighborWorks® network – a nationwide network of more than 235 community development organizations working in more than 2,700 urban, suburban and rural communities across America. These organizations engage in revitalization strategies that strengthen communities and transform lives. In the last five years alone, NeighborWorks organizations have generated more than $8.5 billion in reinvestment and helped more than 500,000 families of modest means purchase or improve their homes or secure safe, decent rental or mutual housing.
About The Home Depot Foundation
The Home Depot Foundation invests in nonprofit organizations that are in the business of building better communities. The Home Depot and many of the suppliers who help fill the company’s shelves contribute to The Home Depot Foundation to help fulfill their shared vision of creating stronger, healthier neighborhoods. The Foundation focuses its efforts in the areas of affordable, efficient and healthy housing production and rehabilitation and tree planting to restore urban and rural forests. See www.homedepotfoundation.org for more information.
