2011 Tradesperson of the Year Teaches Skilled Trades to Homeless

Dan Brown is a community leader in southern New Jersey who combines his knowledge of trades with helping people in need. A general contractor, he served on the board of trustees of the Atlantic City Rescue Mission, a nonprofit homeless shelter, for 20 years. Every time the shelter needed construction work, Dan was there with his crew, saving the nonprofit thousands of dollars in labor costs. Dan realized that one of the major barriers for the homeless was finding skilled employment, so for 10 years he employed homeless men - a population no one else would employ. He mentored them and taught them every aspect of the trades. He also works with a cooperative of several nonprofit agencies to help them institute a new training program to teach construction trades to homeless inner-city youth. In addition to helping organize the program, he serves as a master trainer teaching the program personnel how to train the young people. Dan is someone who has taken his knowledge of the trades and used it to help others become employable, self-sufficient citizens.   Meet our other winners at http://bit.ly/TOYwinners

Nominations for the 2014 Rebuilding Together Tradesperson of the Year were accepted through August 21, then 6 finalists will be selected and public voting will help determine the winner, starting September 5.

The grand prize is a $5,000 Lowe’s gift card and a trip the Remodeling Show | DeckExpo | JLC Live in Baltimore in October!

Rebuilding Together’s Tradesperson of the Year is supported by Lowe’s, with additional support from HGTV, DIY Network, MyFixitUpLife, and the Remodeling Show | Deck Expo | JLC Live.

Our skilled trades partners include: ASHI, IEC, NAHB, NARI, NAWIC, NRCA, PDCA, PHCC, and Remodelers Advantage.

Nominees are not required to have volunteered with Rebuilding Together, but should demonstrate service to their community and be a role model in their industry.

For more information:

Jonathan Kidwell - jkidwell@rebuildingtogether.org