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The Dreambuilders' Story:

Since our founding in 2002, DreamBuilders has touched the lives of more than 100 people in need. DreamBuilders volunteers have worked on 34 Habitat for Humanity homes including 7 blitz builds.

From a small beginning, we have grown to over 240 youth and adults working together. DreamBuilders hopes to have 500 missioners ready and willing to travel anywhere in the world to build or rebuild homes for those in need.

We believe that in this ministry we give honor to God and are faithful stewards of all he has given.

2002 - Getting started!:
8 teens and 4 adults from St Mark's Episcopal Church traveled to West Virginia to work with Habitat for Humanity.

2003 - 2004:
Over the next two years, this annual mission trip grew and expanded. In our third year we numbered 60 missioners from 4 parishes (including St Mark's, Ascension, Trinity, and St. Peter's).

2005:
Adopting the name of DreamBuilders, the team of 80 missioners flew to New Mexico to construct two homes in one week.

Working side-by-side with the new homeowners who would live in these homes made an overwhelming impression, both on teen and adult missioners. On the final day, a worship service and home dedication is held on site. When one of homeowners made a very emotional thank you speech to the group, there wasn't a dry eye.

2006:
We had hoped to rebuild homes in the Katrina devastation area, but learned that infrastructure was not yet in place for groups our size. So we returned to New Mexico to blitz-build two homes and continue the work on two others.

Our team of 120 missioners, aged 14-75, maintained our intentional ratio of two-thirds teens. Teens as well as adults led the numerous task groups. Joining us for the first time were 16 missioners from Temple Isaiah and several more from St John's. Daily worship was led both by Jewish and Christian teams.

One missioner, a filmmaker who created a stunning documentary of the 2005 mission, was with us again to film the 2006 mission. Many teens return each year, recruiting a friend, and some (now in college) had now completed their fifth mission with us.

Missioners paid their own way plus the $10,000 materials cost per home. One anonymous donor sponsored one home. Others, investing $20 per "share," were invited to a "shareholder breakfast" in the Fall. Still others contributed through their efforts in numerous fundraisers.

2007:
Continuing as an interfaith group, in 2007 we began working on a number of projects locally, assisting ARC of Howard County. ARC is an organization that improves the lives of children and adults with cognitive and developmental disabilities.
"Volunteers Hammer Their Way into the Heart of the Arc", an article in the Businss Monthly, describes our work as "Homes are Where the Hearts Are."

PLUS...
We took our first trip to Biloxi to help rebuild the Gulf from the damage of Hurricane Katrina. This team of more than 35 adults and college students worked on over 15 homes in various stages of completion from slab to interior finishing. We stayed at Yankie Staduim, a Salvation Army facility, and worked with Habitat of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

PLUS...
In June we took TWO overlapping teams of 120 Missioners to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Building from the slab up, the first group raised walls and roof trusses. After a couple of overlapping days, the second group completed the roofs on all four houses. We hope to continue to work with Kevin Cronk and others at Habitat of Albuquerque. Their web story of our work is at their habitat update. Our work was made easier by the local volunteers, both retired people and youth, who worked along side us.

2008:

Continuing as an interfaith group, in 2008 we worked on one house with the ARC of Howard County in the spring and will work on a second house in the fall.

In May we sent a mission of 22 people to Biloxi, Mississippi, to continue in the efforts to rebuild the Gulf.

In June two week long missions of over 140 people to Alburquerque conbined to build two houses from slab up. We were joined by many new missioners including three people from the ARC and once again by the Albuquerque "SWAT team" and local volunteers.

Beginning to think internationally, we also sent a group of missioners on a scouting trip to Panama. We are thinking of sending a mission team in 2009 to work with Habitat Panama and we will particpate in a join mission with Habitat Albuquerque in Guatemala

We were awarded the Diocese of Maryland 2008 Bishop's Award for Outstanding Mission Initiative.

Our work has received recognition from The Council on Quality and Leadership in their August 2007 newsletter, Capstone.

There is always room for more missioners and more sponsors!

There is always room for YOU! JOIN US!