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Rebuilding Together Boston wins the first Karen Holmes Ward award

WCVB gave its first public-service award in Karen Holmes Ward's name to a nonprofit that has spent 35 years repairing homes for seniors, veterans, and families.

Verified · Source: WCVBOct 22, 2026 · 1 min read
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Volunteers framing a house with lumber at a building site
Illustrative photo of volunteers framing a house. This is not a Rebuilding Together Boston project. Arizona National Guard / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

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WCVB gave the first Karen Holmes Ward public-service award to Rebuilding Together Boston. For 35 years the nonprofit has made free repairs for seniors, veterans, families with disabilities, and households under 80 percent of the area median income. It also works on community spaces, not only private kitchens and porches.

Executive director Janice Walker accepted the award for a volunteer network that shows up with tools. The group has a workforce partnership with Franklin Cummings Tech, so students in the trades put hours into the same houses. The station's award is new. The repair list is not.

For the classroom

Rebuilding Together Boston fixes houses for free. For 35 years it has helped seniors, veterans, families with disabilities, and families with lower incomes, and it also repairs shared places like community buildings. WCVB gave the group the first Karen Holmes Ward public-service award. Executive director Janice Walker accepted it for the volunteers who swing the hammers. The nonprofit also works with Franklin Cummings Tech so students can learn the trades while homes get repaired.

  1. Why do small repairs, like a step or a railing, matter so much in a home?
  2. Who in a neighborhood might need that kind of help the most?
  3. How can students learning a trade help and learn at the same time?

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