Peltrie Place gifted NCCF in with a complete renovation and redesign of their teen room. Peltrie Place is a design-focused real estate development firm based in the DMV and Westchester County, New York. The owners of Peltrie Place, two sisters – Robyn Segal and Allyson Bronner, are passionate about restoring homes in the communities they serve, while simultaneously creating thoughtful spaces that feel like home. Beyond their development work, Peltrie Place is deeply committed to supporting charitable organizations in the areas where they undertake projects.
“It all started with a cold call,” says Robyn. “I saw a bus turning into the campus off Greentree Road and thought about those kids getting off it. Allyson and I were familiar with NCCF because we grew up in the area and quickly knew we wanted to do our first Peltrie Cares renovation with this organization.”
On the other end of that line was Dahlia Levin, NCCF’s Director of Development. An enthusiastic and experienced community connector who has spent more than a decade at NCCF partnering with businesses of all shapes and sizes on ways to get involved in helping the agency. According to Dahlia, NCCF prides itself on being a turnkey solution to companies’ philanthropic strengths. “This is exactly the kind of phone call I love,” says Dahlia. “When a business owner or volunteer group or donor comes to us and says, ‘How can I help? What do you need most?’ My next question is always, ‘what do you know how to do?’ As a nonprofit we always want to focus on our partners’ strengths. Ultimately this results in the best outcomes for the families we serve.”
“When we talk about NCCF’s mission ‘to create total, healthy, living environments for vulnerable [people]…’” Dahlia shares, “the word environment it’s really the community. In order to thrive, you need to feel welcome. This teen room is welcoming and conducive to learning and the fact that a member of their community thought enough about these youth to make sure they have this space is even better than it being provided by our agency.”
This phone call marked the beginning of a wonderful partnership between Peltrie Place and NCCF. Impressed with the organization, Robyn and Allyson immediately sought to understand NCCF’s most pressing needs and how Peltrie Place could use its time, skillset, and funds to make a real impact on a space which would help so many. Dahlia explained that they had an immediate need of creating a Santa’s workshop but then also that NCCF hoped someone could refresh the teen room for their Residence program. Peltrie Place quickly decided to help with both.
After setting up Santa’s workshop, NCCF and Peltrie Place began to plan for the comprehensive Peltrie Cares renovation of the Teen Room, used by the boys in their residential group home on the Bethesda campus. Established in 1973, NCCF’s Residence program (formerly known as GAP) serves as a high-intensity, structured group home for boys aged 12-20. The youth receive 24-hour residential care and supportive services that focus on family and community reintegration. This extremely vulnerable population relies on the teen room daily for education and therapeutic purposes. The staff team kept the room as organized and upbeat as possible, but NCCF lacked the dedicated funding to make it a really special or customized place for gathering and learning.
Over the next few months, Peltrie Place worked closely with the staff at NCCF to bring the vision of the revamped lounge and classroom to life. Conversations with everyone from teachers and specialists to the grounds team facilitated a deep understanding of the population and the organization’s needs.
“From there,” Robyn says, “we developed a clear plan for the room, aiming to create three distinct zones for the teens: one for computer work, one for learning, and one for relaxing. We incorporated practical storage solutions with new built-in cabinetry, meaningful design elements which incorporated their core values, and cheerful decorations including a large world map and a boxwood wall with a custom neon sign – a fun request from the NCCF team. Ultimately, we are so proud of the result and so happy by the overwhelming response to the space – not only by the staff but the teens themselves.”
At an emotional ribbon cutting for the room attended by the Residence staff, NCCF Trustees, and every boy in the program, Robyn and Allyson finally got to see the direct impact that Peltrie Place had on the kids who get dropped off by the bus every afternoon on Greentree Road.
“We wanted to help create a special and welcoming space – a place that felt like home,” said Allyson.
Dahlia adds, “when people don’t have a home of their own, a place that feels like home is all the more important.”
