GHBA Members Build Hope for Less Fortunate

CONROE, TX --The Greater Houston Builders Association (GHBA) is excited to announce the home ASGi Homes and Ellison Development built for charity in Williams Reserve East in Conroe sold, resulting in a $292,954 donation to the GHBA Benefit Homes Project.

“There is no way we could have achieved this level of success for the GHBA and the charitable partners without the support of the 44 vendors who gave to the project,” Colleen Ellison, co-owner and co-founder of Ellison Development, said. “We will be forever grateful to these remarkable companies for their generosity.”

The GHBA Benefit Homes Project was formed 44 years ago by the GHBA’s Board of Directors to ensure a brighter future for the community’s less fortunate through the hearts and hands of the homebuilding industry. Every year, GHBA members work together to build homes sold at market value for a profit that is donated to the Benefit Homes Project. Each check the Benefit Homes Project receives is then donated to two local nonprofit organizations, HomeAid Houston and Operation Finally Home, and the GHBA’s Charitable Foundation.

HomeAid Houston, a 501(c)(3) charity, is the local chapter of HomeAid America – the nation's largest provider of transitional shelters for the homeless. Established by GHBA leadership in 2003, HomeAid Houston acts as a bridge between homeless care providers in need of new or remodeled facilities and the GHBA's home builders, remodelers and vendor suppliers. Operation Finally Home, a 501(c)(3) organization, addresses the most pressing need of our returning heroes and their families – a home of their own. Established in 2005, Operation Finally Home builds custom, mortgage-free homes, transitional housing and home modifications to veterans, first responders and their families. The GHBA Charitable Foundation leads programs to foster education and career advancement in the residential home building industry, offering scholarships and financial support in training for young people and underrepresented groups as skilled workers and business owners.

The 44 generous vendor partners on this project contributed 100% of the labor, supplies, products and materials needed to build the home, even before groundbreaking. When vendor partners can donate the full extent of their services, it significantly increases the overall donation to the Benefit Homes Project.

“When GHBA members build a Benefit Home, they are digging deep to help those in need,” Scott Merovitch, chairman of the GHBA’s Benefit Homes Project said. “And it’s incredible – how much of the project was donated. Our charitable partners are going to be thrilled to receive such a significant donation.”

The generous vendor and supplier partners include Adam Olson Team, AES Septic, Alejandro Martinez, Argenis Garza, Aztec Glass & Mirror, Inc., Builders Post Tension, Cabinet Solutions of Texas, Ciro Cuellar Trucking, Coburn Supply Co., Inc., CopperWeld, Corey Roofing, Crimson Irrigation, DataSmart, Excell Foundations, Factory Builders (GE Appliances), French Inspections, Galvan Clean Up Services, HardCo Pest, Hardware Resources, Heritage Sanitation, Hoelscher Door and Weatherstrip, IES Mechanical, IES Plumbing, Innovative Structural Consultants, Installed Building Products, James Hardie, JT Lanehart, LoanDepot, Madrid Painters, McCoy’s Building Supply, Mohard, Preferred Custom Floors, Project Lighting, RLA Building Group, Rock Materials, Sherwin Williams, Southern Pearl, Southern Singles, Southwest Sales (Delta Faucets), Stewart Door, Texan Drywall, Texas Professional Surveying, Titan Foundation, Trophy Windows, Western Pacific Building Materials and WR Watson.

“We were deeply appreciative when ASGi and Ellison Development committed to donating a home for the Benefit Homes Project,” Aimee Bertrand CEO of the GHBA said. “To also receive a full donation from each vendor and supplier partner on this project is truly remarkable and demonstrates the incredible generosity and community spirit within Houston’s homebuilding industry.”

When construction started on Williams Reserve East in Q1 of 2023, ASGi and Ellison Development dedicated the very first home to the Benefit Homes Project. Nestled in the area’s piney woods, the Conroe master-planned community by Ellison Development features 46 homesites ranging from three-quarter of an acre to one and a half acres.

The 1,932 square foot home was built in ASGi’s “Olivia” floorplan – an open concept featuring three bedrooms, two full baths and a study that could be used as a fourth bedroom. The home features tile flooring, granite countertops, 42-inch cabinets with crown molding, a kitchen island, a large utility room, stone wainscot, 9-foot ceilings, a beautiful 8-foot exterior mahogany door, two exterior coach lights, a spacious back patio and a three-car garage.

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About Greater Houston Builder Association

The Greater Houston Builder Association is the leading organization representing all aspects of the residential real estate industry in the Greater Houston area. Chartered in 1941, the GHBA is a trade organization made up of members in the residential building, development and remodeling industry throughout 11 counties – Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend, Brazoria, Waller, Liberty, Wharton, Galveston, Matagorda, Austin and Colorado counties. Committed to quality housing, education and advocacy, the association plays a vital role in shaping the region's housing market and the communities it serves. The GHBA is also committed to community outreach and charitable efforts through HomeAid Houston and Operation Finally Home. For more information about the GHBA, visit ghba.org, follow @greathoustonba on Instagram and find us on LinkedIn.



About HomeAid Houston

HomeAid Houston, a 501(c)(3) charity was established by the leadership of the Greater Houston Builders Association in 2003 with a mission to help people experiencing or at risk of homelessness build new lives through construction, community engagement and education. As one of 19 chapters of HomeAid America, the nation’s largest provider of transitional shelters for the homeless, HomeAid Houston’s core construction programs facilitate the construction or renovation of homeless shelters to save community non-profit providers anywhere from 45% to 100% of construction costs. Since 2003, HomeAid Houston has completed over 87 projects, which house over 7,000 homeless men, women, and children annually.



About Operation Finally Home

Operation Finally Home is a nonpartisan/nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to provide custom-built, mortgage-free homes, transitional housing and home modifications to veterans, first responders and their families. Established in 2005, the organization has completed or is planning over 430 home projects in over 32 states. Operation Finally Home partners with corporate sponsors, builder associations, builders, remodelers, developers, individual contributors and volunteers to help these heroes and their families by addressing one of their most pressing needs – a safe place to call home. For more information about Operation Finally Home, visit OperationFinallyHome.org, follow @OPFinallyHome on Twitter and find us on Facebook.



About GHBA Charitable Foundation

The GHBA Charitable Foundation spearheads and supports several programs in the residential home-building industry. These programs are designed to foster education through scholarships, and by also investing in efforts to advance the education, training and career progression of young people and people of underrepresented groups, as skilled technical workers and as business owners in the residential construction industry.



MEDIA CONTACT: Morgan Peters

Greater Houston Builders Association

305-450-9608

mpeters@ghba.org