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Home  /  About Us  /  40 Years Strong

40 years of
builders giving back.

Four decades ago, a handful of Maryland builders decided their trade could shelter their neighbors. What began as Operation Tom Sawyer is now the Home Builders Care Foundation, and the mission has never changed.

In memory of our founder

A belief that built a foundation

Everyone deserves the dignity of a home.

Home Builders Care Foundation mourns the loss of our Founder Bob Mitchell, who passed away on Nov 12, 2025. As stated in NAHB's tribute to Mr. Mitchell, he believed “home builders have a unique responsibility to serve the needs of growing communities.”

HBCF is forever grateful for Mr. Mitchell's commitment to philanthropy and vision to “see the building industry making tangible contributions into the communities we helped to build in the first place.”

Bob Mitchell, founder of the Home Builders Care Foundation
Robert L. “Bob” Mitchell
Founder · d. November 12, 2025
Read NAHB's full tribute →
40+
Years of builders giving back
$25M+
In-kind materials & labor
85%
Of Maryland now served
1983
Year of our first project

1984 — 2024

Four decades of milestones

The moments that turned an idea into forty years of shelter-related construction across Maryland and Washington DC.

Early 1980s

Operation Tom Sawyer begins

Founded by Robert L. Mitchell as the charitable arm of the Suburban Maryland Building Industry Association.

May 21, 1983

The first official project

OTS completes its first project at the Muncaster Youth Home in Montgomery County.

July 2, 1984

Articles of Incorporation filed

The OTS Foundation is formally incorporated in the State of Maryland.

Aug 19, 1985

Tax-exempt status & a new name

OTS obtains 501(c)(3) status and is later re-branded as the Home Builders Care Foundation.

Sept 1, 2014

Merger with the Building Industries Foundation

The merger expands HBCF's reach to roughly 85% of Maryland.

2024

Forty years strong

Four decades in, HBCF has contributed more than $25 million in materials and labor, with total project value estimated at more than double that.

Where it started

The founding Board of Directors

The volunteers who chartered the foundation in 1984–1985 and set forty years of giving back in motion.

Neil Moreland
President
Joel Brodsky
Director
Larry Hogan, Jr.
Director
Ray LaPlaca
Director
John Pettit
Director
Roy Murphy
Director
Bruce Winston
Director

The next 40 years

Help write the next chapter

Forty years of builders giving back was made possible by people who showed up. Join them, lead a project, give, or bring your trade to the table.

Get involved Meet today's leadership