Sons of a Carpenter is an all-volunteer registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization that was founded in 2005 upon the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

It began when a group of people from a small town in Pennsylvania felt compassion toward the suffering of a small community along the gulf coast called Pass Christian in Mississippi. Upon the storm they immediately began sending supplies, but that just didn’t seem to be enough. Three months after the storm hit, 15 men and women packed up a truck and trailer along with a Penske moving van and filled it with whatever supplies were needed and headed south to Mississippi, the work never stopped during our stay.

Volunteers, including professional builders, skilled craftsmen, and those who just want to help, donate their time, building supplies and borrowed equipment to complete projects that make a positive impact to the community. They have since rebuilt a church, which included an accessible wheelchair ramp with new railing, in Mississippi damaged in a flood; put an addition on a Food Bank in their local town in Pennsylvania; and on our third trip to the gulf coast, rebuilt a home for a family living in a FEMA trailer. The wife was in a wheelchair and the FEMA trailer was not accessible.

We fund-raised over $30,000 and another $50,000 in donated materials. We had over 50 people join our team and in 10 days we built an entire home that was wheelchair accessible. Since the house was in a flood plain, it needed to be built up on stilts. One feature that we were unable to donate our time and talents towards, due to lack of funds, was an elevator for the home.

We have since focused on helping many people affected by disaster and uncontrollable circumstances that include adding accessibility to private and public places for those individuals living with disabilities, as well as military men and women that have been wounded.