Tile Partners for Humanity Announces Board of Directors

(ATLANTA, GA)— Tile Partners for Humanity (TPFH), a nonprofit partnership between the tile industry and Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), recently announced the formation of its board of directors.

TPFH provides donated tile products, installation labor and other support to HFHI, an international nonprofit working to eliminate substandard housing around the world. Industry partners have participated in large- and small-scale projects with HFHI, including the Jimmy Carter Work Project in LaGrange and Valdosta, Ga., in June 2003 and a number of single-home projects across the country.

TPFH pledged, on behalf of the industry, to provide Habitat with $250,000 worth of materials and labor per year for a minimum pledge of $1,250,000 over five years.

The TPFH board includes Rick Church, Executive Director of the Ceramic Tile Distributors Association; Bob Daniels, President of the Board of the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation; Gray LaFortune, Executive Director of the Ceramic Tile Institute of America; Bart Bettiga, Executive Director of the National Tile Contractors
Association; Curt Rapp, CEO of The Tile Doctor.com; and Eric Astrachan, Deputy Executive Director of the Tile Council of America.

Board members elected Rapp, who co-founded TPFH with LaFortune, as chairman of the board. Bettiga will serve as vice chairman and Astrachan will serve as secretary/treasurer.

The board will work to raise awareness within the industry of TPFH and the value associated with participating in TPFH/Habitat projects. Additionally, members will help solicit donations of materials, labor and funding for projects and continued operations.

“As chairman, I believe it’s important to acknowledge that our board is made up of a dynamic group of people within our industry, who, along with the organizations they represent, will represent our industry’s support for this notable cause,” Rapp said. “We are delighted they chose to become involved with TPFH and look forward to their participation in TPFH projects.”

Astrachan recognized the role and contribution of manufacturers in the organization.

“Tile manufacturers and manufacturers of tile installation materials have long wanted to participate in the helping hand of Habitat for Humanity. Many have actively helped in their local markets but struggled for a way to contribute nationally. Through TPFH leadership and their team building efforts, manufacturers, labor, and Habitat affiliates can be brought together to realize a goal of getting tile into every new Habitat for Humanity home in America. We are honored to participate in this most worthwhile effort.”

TPFH solicits donations of tile, installation materials, installation labor, tile tools, tile cleaners, and other support for Habitat projects. Typically, TPFH provides floor tile for the kitchen/dining area, entryway, and bathrooms in a Habitat home. Partners have helped to tile 50 homes this year.

A number of tile product manufacturers donated materials to projects in 2003. In June, Crossville Porcelain Stone/USA and Dal-tile Marietta contributed 6,000 and 3,000 square feet of floor tile for 21 homes in LaGrange, Ga., as part of the Jimmy Carter Work Project. LATICRETE donated setting materials for all 21 homes. North American Tile Tool Company donated buckets of tile tools for that and several other projects throughout the year.

Millard Fuller told industry representatives in January of this year, “I would like to see every Habitat home in North American, at a minimum, have tile in the entrance, kitchen and bathroom. Those are the heavily-trafficked areas that ought to be easy to clean.”

There are more than 1,700 active Habitat affiliates in North America with a singular goal to build 100,000 homes by 2005, and ceramic tile plays an important role in this initiative by providing simple, decent homes built with lasting quality. Habitat also builds in 89 countries worldwide.

TPFH partners can contribute in a number of ways. Manufacturers can donate tile either to active Habitat projects, such as a house build in their community, or to Habitat restores where donated products are resold to the general public. All proceeds from restores go to local Habitat affiliates and help fund additional construction. Both types of donations are tax deductible, but donations to active projects are worth more to TPFH partners. Donors may claim the value of the cost of their products for restore donations, but UP TO TWICE that value for donations to active projects under 170e3, IRS guidelines for donations to needy organizations. Habitat qualifies as such an organization.

Donors can also contribute financial support to TPFH to ensure continued operations and partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

For more information on TPFH or the benefits of donating materials, please visit the website at www.tpfh.com. Contact Ally Fertitta, executive director, for more information or to contribute materials, labor or funding.

This article was reprinted with the permission of JDS Publishing, which publishes Slippery Rock Gazette. For more information, please contact Stacie Lawrence at slawrence@braxtonbragg.com.