Rebuilding Together St. Louis and Rebuilding Together Philadelphia Named Winners of the 'HGTV Change the World. Start at Home' Online Contest

Rebuilding Together St. Louis and Rebuilding Together Philadelphia Named Winners of the 'HGTV Change the World. Start at Home' Online Contest

America Voted to Change the Word, Veterans Homes Benefit

WASHINGTON, March 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rebuilding Together, the nation's leading nonprofit organization working to preserve affordable homeownership, HGTV and partners will once again team up to Change the World. As part of the HGTV Change the World. Start at Home campaign, online voters named veterans' group homes Windsor Transitional House in St. Louis, Mo., and the Housing for Homeless Vets Corp. located on Romain Street in Philadelphia, Pa., as the winners of the campaign's online vote. The winning projects will receive much-needed renovations to make the homes more energy efficient and enjoyable for residents. In addition, the makeovers also will be featured in an HGTV special in October 2009.

The winning sites were chosen from eight historic veterans' group homes in cities across the U.S. For the projects not chosen by popular vote, HGTV will contribute $5,000 to each facility to assist with renovations.

The 2009 HGTV Change the World. Start at Home campaign offers new opportunities for Americans to get engaged in volunteer community projects. In partnership with Rebuilding Together, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), HGTV will encourage local volunteers to come together and complete the renovations at the two winning sites, as well as in communities across the country.

"We are delighted to partner with HGTV and our other campaign partners as we continue to preserve home ownership and revitalize communities across America," said Gary A. Officer, President and CEO of Rebuilding Together.

The Windsor Transitional House in St. Louis, a 104-year old home that houses veterans as they transition back to civilian life, will be renovated to improve energy efficiency. New windows and doors, new insulation, as well as kitchen and electrical upgrades will be installed. The two-story, four-bedroom home also will receive a new back porch so residents have a place to relax. In Philadelphia, the three- bedroom facility located on Romain Street in the historic Frankford District, provides veterans with food, shelter and employment assistance after concluding military service. The 70-year old home will receive a kitchen remodel and new appliances, insulation, windows and renovations to a bathroom that will improve accessibility for disabled veterans.

"HGTV's commitment to offer solutions for people to enjoy their homes goes far beyond our programming," said Jim Samples, president, HGTV. "HGTV Change the World. Start at Home campaign helps those in need live better lives and, as a result, builds stronger communities."

About Rebuilding Together:

Rebuilding Together is the nation's largest nonprofit organization working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize neighborhoods by providing home repair and renovation services at no cost to those in need. Through the support of corporate sponsors, local businesses and the hands-on work of over 200,000 volunteers, Rebuilding Together renovates and repairs nearly 10,000 homes and nonprofit facilities annually with a market value of nearly $100 million.

In addition to its core home repair work, Rebuilding Together renovates community centers and conducts home modification and repair programs that focus on elder home safety, energy efficiency, veterans housing, and disaster recovery and reconstruction. Rebuilding Together has more than 200 affiliates nationwide. For more information, visit www.RebuildingTogether.org.

About HGTV:

HGTV, America's leader in home and lifestyle programming, is distributed to more than 97 million U.S. households and is one of cable's top-rated networks. HGTV's website, HGTV.com, is the nation's leading online home-and-garden destination that attracts an average of 5 million unique visitors per month.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Rebuilding Together

CONTACT: Cynthia Woodruff, +1-202-483-9083, +1-202-402-0824; or Becky
Carter, +1-202-518-3500, +1-202-302-1139, both of Rebuilding Together

Web Site: http://www.rebuildingtogether.org/

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Profile: International Entertainment