Malcolm Jones had a connection to the mission of Rebuilding Together before he knew the organization existed.
“My grandparents were among the first Black homeowners in Roanoke in the 1950s,” Jones says. “After my grandfather had a stroke, an organization much like Rebuilding Together built them a ramp and widened the doorway to their bathroom.
“[My grandparents] never asked for handouts but it got to a point where they were like, we cannot do this on our own — so I saw how that affected my family.”
For the past seven years, Jones has been facilitating those kinds of sometimes small, but often life-changing renovations for seniors, veterans and homeowners with disabilities across Richmond and the tri-cities area.
He took the reins at Rebuilding Together Richmond (RTR) when only 29 years old and was immediately hit with the challenges wrought by the COVID pandemic. “We were told people needed to shelter in place but, for the homes we were serving, they weren’t safe for homeowners,” says Jones.
Without a playbook for managing a nonprofit through a global pandemic, Jones made it through by working with other local nonprofits, he says. “I really leaned into other leaders, some that were new and upcoming like myself. I learned to be kind of a sponge and absorb knowledge from others.”
He now assists leaders new to nonprofit management through his service on the board of the Virginia Association of Fundraising Executives. His appointment to the Maggie L. Walker Citizens’ Advisory Council allows him to talk about RTR’s key role in community wealth building.
“For the residents we serve, their home is oftentimes the greatest asset passed down from one generation to another,” he says. “We’ve been able to move beyond creating safe and healthy housing for current residents to helping keep that housing part of the family for the next generation.”
Over 400 critical home repair projects have been completed under Jones’s leadership, including revitalization of a struggling urban garden, Williams City Farms, through innovative partnerships with contractors and assistance from companies like Thalhimer.
Grateful feedback from residents is one of the things that keep him going.
“One of our homeowners called the office last week because we had just installed a new HVAC unit,” recalls Jones. “She said, ‘I was cold this morning but now I have heat.’ It’s really an honor to be a part of something like that.”
