Home building is more than building communities. It's being part of the community. Whether it's cheering up sick children in Michigan, donating time and materials to build a halfway house in Florida of helping the homeless by building shelters from San Diego to Boston, home builders are active in their neighborhoods and share their knowledge, skill, time and money with their neighbors generously.

April is New Home Month, and part of this year's salute is a celebration of the efforts of home builder associations and the 185,000 home building professionals across the country whole work to make every neighborhood a better place to live. Across the Country, Home Builders Care is a new program that ties all those projects together under one logo to show how builders are part solutions all through the nation. Local home builder associations across the country participate in community outreach programs because their members are concerned, caring professionals, and they believe their involvement makes the communities where they live and work better places.

Our Association is a Partner in Education with Workman Middle School and through our Auxiliary Council. We also participate in the Habitat for Humanity program and our Remodelors and Multifamily Councils help the Lakeview Kids program.

During this month that we focus on housing and its contributions to our society, I think it is important for builders, and for that matter, all Americans to give serious thought to housing and how it benefits our lives. Equally important, we must focus our attention on finding ways to help make housing more affordable so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of home ownership or decent affordable rental housing.

New Homes Month is a time to recognize the contributions of all the people in the home building industry---the people who are working to build and improve the quality of life throughout our community and showing that Across the Country, Home Builders Care.