PURPOSE 68 INC DBA UthBuild

Since 2008 UthBuild has worked with young people in teaching them life skills while building homes for underprivileged families in Mexico. UthBuild aims to continue the mission of building youth and dismantling poverty by further expansion of building and repairing homes in the United States and Mexico.

In 2014 the UthBuild Board of Directors approved a five-year strategic plan to develop US-based build/repair service opportunities. UthBuild will partner with community development agencies, civic and government departments and faith-based organizations to identify existing needs. UthBuild will expand the volunteer base by working with schools, youth-centric organizations and local business owners. UthBuild will increase revenue by 50% to meet mission-critical goals.

In 2019, UthBuild committed the next five years to serving how and where needed, focusing on supporting educational and youth leadership development. UthBuild will continue to partner with agencies and various government, educational, and/or faith-based organizations to identify existing needs and new areas of service.

Uthbuild builds youth by building and repairing homes for those in need. In our building, we find new ways to serve. Thus, “Building Youth. Dismantling Poverty” is both our mission statement and the focus of our intended impact.

To achieve our goal of building youth UthBuild provides opportunities for service, including but not limited to: Fall/Spring week-long build trips to Mexico for high school students; Summer/Winter weekend community building trips to for college students; team lead and crew boss delegation to qualified students; organizational planning; occupational and vocational skills training in conjunction with industry professionals; financial planning; architectural design and event preparation. Future AZ-based projects will provide additional opportunities for more young people to develop leadership and vocational skills.

To achieve our goal of dismantling poverty UthBuild will continue to partner with local and international companies in sourcing building materials and tools to build and repair houses. These valued partners include Stanley’s Tools, Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Los Pinos. As a feeder project towards to goal of dismantling poverty UthBuild will assist families in sourcing furniture, appliances, food, clothing and educational opportunities.

Since 2008 UthBuild has grown to include over 175 volunteers, working at 25 different construction sites and building 24 homes.
UthBuild’s network of community-based volunteers include teachers, architects, mortgage adjustors, engineers, builders, IT professionals, advertising executives and high school, college, and graduate students. 75% of all UthBuild volunteers have participated in 2 or more builds. 35% of UthBuild volunteers have participated in 7 or more builds.

The UthBuild staff and Board of Directors is 100% volunteer based. In 2013 97% of all donations were spent on building materials and supplies; 3% was spent on administrative expenses. Funding is provided by workplace giving programs and individual donors.

UthBuild will continue partnering with local and international organizations to reach mission-critical goals. UthBuild will leverage new resources to create US-based programs that align with these goals. This includes process improvements and integrated support systems to manage current programs, form new partnerships, and ensure the sustainability of its work.

In 2013 UthBuild built 5 homes in Mexico, enabling five different families to move into a secure home. UthBuild has built a total of 24 homes since 2008. Recipients of UthBuild homes often become volunteers for UthBuild, helping to develop and support their local community. Thanks to our many generous partners UthBuild leaves many of the hand tools used on a build with the new home owners, enabling them to continue building. The volunteerism of these families, in addition to the US-based volunteer staff is a testament to the life-changing process that occurs through building youth and dismantling poverty.

The economic impact of UthBuild’s work in Mexico exceeds the actual cost of $2,400 per home. Families in stable, secure living environments are better able to support themselves. In secure environments (home and community) children often perform better in school, Research has shown that stronger community ties, stable housing and better education increases a child’s chance of succeeding in life free from crime, drugs or violence. (“The Positive Impacts of Affordable Housing on Education”, Brennan, M., 2014)
The quantitative economic impact of UthBuild’s programs with young people has yet to be determined. The “older” UthBuild student volunteers are (as of 2014) entering their early 20ies, with a majority enrolled in community college or university programs. Many Uthbuild student volunteers are utilized their leadership skills in sports, student council, career development and with other volunteer organizations. Preliminary qualitative observation would suggest a strong correlation between both the quality and duration of the UthBuild experience, and fundamental personal and educational outcomes.

Because of the successes in Mexico the UthBuild Board of Directors has identified building projects in the United States to be the next logical step. UthBuild will identify and develop Arizona-based home repair projects and train volunteers unable to travel outside of the United States. Our near-term objective for Arizona-based projects is to complete 2 home repairs in 2014, and establish partnerships with three local community housing organizations. In 2015 UthBuild will build 5 new homes in Mexico and develop 8 Arizona-based projects, while increasing the volunteer base by 10%.

Long-term goals (5+years) for UthBuild include 1) 12-14 US-based projects annually; 2) 6-8 new builds annually in Mexico; 3) leadership and vocational training in partnership with 10 local organizations; 4) partnership with new national and international companies for building supplies and resources. By 2020 UthBuild will be involved in sustainable development by building and repairing homes with locally sourced, resource-efficient building materials.

To properly grow the number of families and youth served UthBuild needs to grow the funding to pay for administrative, technical infrastructure and other essential services.