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Cypress Realty Inc./GMAC Real Estate has donated $2,000 to help the Lee Building Industry Association (BIA) Builders Care program provide free home repairs to disadvantage Lee County residents.

The donation came from a crisis fund established by Cypress Realty Inc./GMAC Real Estate and Edison Mortgage to help local homeowners in need. The group also donated nearly $300 in Publix gift cards to Builder’s Care.

“This donation demonstrates Cypress Realty’s ongoing commitment to the community and the real estate industry,” said Heidi Taulman, Builders Care executive director. “We are so grateful for their support and look forward to a long partnership.”

Builders Care is the nonprofit charitable arm of the Lee Building Industry Association (BIA). Its objective is to provide emergency repairs and construction services to elderly, disabled and economically disadvantaged people who are unable to obtain home repairs through traditional means. Builders Care enlists the volunteer services of Lee BIA members and leverages grants and donated materials to provide construction and remodeling services to qualified homeowners throughout Lee County. Most recent top corporate sponsors include Armadillo Underground and Real Estate Investment Society.  Builders Care is headquartered at the Lee BIA offices at 4210 Metro Parkway, Suite 100, Fort Myers FL 33916. Donations can be made online at www.LeeBuildersCare.org, or to the Builders Care general fund at BB&T (formerly Colonial Bank) Page Field branch at 4959 South Cleveland Avenue in Fort Myers. More information is available by calling 239-938-0056.

This year’s “hottest gifts” lists may not include home repairs, but to certain people in our community home repair is the greatest gift they could receive. Builders Care, the nonprofit arm of the Lee Building Industry Association (BIA), is answering their need and spreading the holiday spirit with several home repair projects for area residents in need.

Today, volunteers sponsored by Builders Care, the charitable agency of the BIA, are constructing a wheelchair ramp for John Rohal, 73, a Vietnam War veteran with multiple medical issues. Harbor Springs Construction and Development will provide all of the labor, and Shoreline Lumber will supply all of the needed materials. Builders Care will recycle a portion of a previously constructed ramp to re-use materials and keep extra materials from ending up in a local landfill.

On Dec. 4, Builders Care will begin a seven-day project valued at more than $80,000 on the home of Mamie Jackson, located at 2268 French St. Jackson, who has recurring injuries from multiple vehicle accidents, shares the home with her son who has cerebral palsy. In a collaborative effort between Builders Care, the State Housing Initiatives Program through the City of Fort Myers and local building subcontractors, volunteers will demolish the Jackson’s existing kitchen, flooring and master bath, install a new utility and deck area, enlarge doorways for handicap accessibility, paint both the interior and exterior, add new kitchen cabinetry, refurbish existing ramps and construct new soffit and fascia.  The new, improved home will be unveiled to the Jackson family on Dec. 10 at 4:30 p.m. with a special lighting of the house for the holiday season.

Beginning the week of Dec. 8, employees from Camp-Rigby Roofing-Sheetmetal Contractors will start construction to remove the old roof and install new shingles at the home of Steve Lewis. Roofing services are valued at more than $6,000. A motorcycle accident more than 30 years ago left Lewis paralyzed from the waist down. Lewis uses a wheelchair, and his home has undergone several renovations to improve mobility. In August 2009, volunteers from the Builders Care board of directors, the BIA and Bishop Verot High School students, painted the home, re-screened the porch, re-built the carport, provided landscaping and more.

On Dec. 15, Builders Care will begin construction valued at more than $40,000 on the Castro family home, located at 6002 Kenneth Road. Migdalia and Ruben Castro have two children, Rocky and Ian, as well as a foreign exchange student from Italy. Rocky is 22 years old and has has a muscular dystrophy association disease, spinal muscular atrophy, since birth. Advanced Roofing and Sheet Metal and Crowther Roofing are teaming up with Builders Care for this project. Volunteers will remove the existing air conditioning unit, roof and carport, rebuild the roof and carport, provide a new driveway suitable for handicap accessibility, paint the exterior, refurbish existing ramps and install new air conditioning, soffit and fascia. 

Builders Care is the nonprofit charitable arm of the Lee Building Industry Association (BIA).  It’s objective is to provie emergency repairs and construction services to elderly, disabled and economically disadvantaged people who are unable to obtain home repairs through traditional means. Builder’s Care enlists the volunteer services of Lee BIA members and leverages grants and donated materials to provide construction and remodeling services to qualified homeowners throughout Lee County. Most recent top corporate sponsors include Armadillo Underground and Real Estate Investment Society. Builders Care is headquartered at the Lee BIA offices at 4210 Metro Parkway, Suite 100, Fort Myers FL 33916. Donations can be made online at www.LeeBuildersCare.org or go to the Builders Care general fund at BB&T (formerly Colonial Bank) Page Field branch at 4959 South Cleveland Ave. in Fort Myers. More information is available by calling 239-938-0056.