The Southern Homes Blog » Giving Back

Southern Homes Joins the Green Project

admin — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:33:39 +0000

The Green Project, currently located in the St. Roch neighborhood of New Orleans, has proudly been a non-profit leader in redirecting reusable building supplies from landfills for nearly two decades. Kieran Cahalan, Green Project’s Acquisition Manager, takes on the rewarding task of soliciting reusable building materials and scheduling timely pick up. At conception, the Green Project began as a paint swap program; builders and individuals would swap out left over paint for another color. However, as the program evolved, swappers became donators, and not just of paint but also of lumber, fixtures and other supplies. Within a few years, the Green Project became a full-scale building supply recycling program.

In the Fall of 2009, through an existing relationship with GRD Demolition and Deconstruction, the Green Project and Southern Homes began their first combined effort. GRD was part of a rebuilding project with Southern Homes’ owner, Chris Kornman. In fact, it was his home that was the focus of the rebuilding effort. Chris was intrigued by the impact the Green Project’s efforts were having on the environment, especially in light of Southern Homes’ commitment to green building. Since July 2009 until April 2010, the Green Project has redirected and saved the environment from 166,000 pounds of lumber and 92,000 pounds of paint that would have found their way to landfills and waterways. The Green Project’s resale costs for reusable building materials is 30%-40% of average retail costs, giving homeowners and small landlords a needed economic advantage.

Recently, Southern Homes has engaged Keiran and the Green Project in a rebuilding effort in the Uptown New Orleans area. “I have been very impressed with Southern Homes’ active commitment to green building”, say Keiran. “I absolutely see future opportunities with Southern Homes, especially considering the green commitment demonstrated personally by their owner…that really says a lot. I am looking forward to working with Southern Homes on future projects with their homeowners”.

As part of the “Save Money, Be Healthy, Live Smart” campaign, Southern Homes is making plans for a long and beneficial relationship with the Green Project. The end result will be energy efficient homes, with improved indoor air quality, at prices that don’t break a homeowner’s budget.. For more information on “Live Smart” new construction or renovation, contact Southern Homes at info@southernhomes.com or (888)660-0123 ext 36.

Thanks from Habitat!

admin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:02:17 +0000

The Southern Homes Team and Habitat Project Managers

We were so honored to help Habitat for Humanity as a company a few weeks ago. Here is what Jennifer Moskowitz, the Volunteer Services Coordinator for Habitat had to say:

Good Morning Chris,
Thank you for taking the time to volunteer with us this year. Words cannot express our gratitude, for people/groups like yourself, that take the time out of your personal lives to help make a difference in the lives of our family partners.

I wish you much happiness and health this holiday season!

Jennifer Moskowitz
Volunteer Services Coordinator
Habitat for Humanity, St. Tammany West

It was our pleasure Jennifer!

Habitat Work Day—Giving Back to Our Community

admin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:28:18 +0000

The Southern Homes Team and Habitat Project Managers

Sullivan Vullo - CAD Operator, Troy Hubbard - Project Manager, Kara Kealty - Sales Assistant

Last week, we volunteered for the West St. Tammany chapter of Habitat for Humanity for the third year in a row. We closed the entire company for the day, including the corporate office as well as all the sales offices and construction sites so that EVERYONE could participate. All of our employees and several of our friends and family members joined in the fun. This year we had over 30 people participate including the owner of the company.

Antonio Palacious - Construction Assistant and His Wife

We worked from 8am to 4:30pm. Several of us worked on some interior painting and cleaning a house that was almost complete while the rest of us started framing a new house. By the end of the day, we were able to frame all the exterior and interior walls of this brand new house. It was quite an accomplishment and we really enjoyed working with both our own team members and the habitat project managers.

Check out some more pictures from that day:

Steve Jennings - Project Manager

Todd Nowicki, our Director of Construction

Francesca Brennan - Sales Representative

LInda Cheek - Sales Representative

Troy Hubbard - Project Manager

Toni Nadler - Sales Representative

The walls are going up!