Pete began volunteering with RTP in 1999, and has done so every year since . A trusted leader, and skilled contractor, he was often assigned to special projects, including coordinating as many as 80 volunteers to paint an elementary school. Pete was also the driving force behind a long-time RTP fundraiser, Dreams Happen, that included designing, building, and auctioning playhouses.
Pete first served on the board from 2009 through 2018, and then joined again in 2020.When asked where his deep commitment to RTP’s work stems from, he replied, “As a site captain, I saw the living conditions of our clients, so I was able to articulate how to make sure we were serving them in the best way possible.A lot of the board members see this in a more limited fashion as they might volunteer for a few projects that only last a day. Because I might be knee-deep in a project for a month or longer, I was able to share that perspective.”
As Pete looked back over his time with RTP, he recalled the ways repairs can change lives. His most memorable? Leading a remodel of a shelter for abused teen girls in Palo Alto in 2005. Lacking adequate resources to maintain it, the shelter had become unfit to live in. His team installed an alarm system, painted rooms, and transformed the kitchen – helping provide safe, dignified living conditions. “Without RTP and a group of strangers, the girls would’ve continued to live in squalor,” Pete said. Having volunteered for five years at that point, he had intended to stop. That transformative project completely changed his mind.
Now that Pete Hooper has moved to Southern California, he leaves behind a remarkable legacy as a long-time board member, volunteer, site captain, and donor.