In addition to iGive.com, you can also shop through supportyourcause.com and a portion of your purchase will be donated to the charity of your choice. Support your cause will also donate a bonus $5 to anyone who simply signs up (no purchasing necessary!) Just click on the link below to start shopping

$5 to HFH-MC just by signing up to shop!

If you would like more information about iGive please see our previous post: http://habititus.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/shop-and-support-habitat/

Attention all volunteers… because we hear that a major storm is approaching the DC area for tonight and tomorrow, we are closing the construction site for tomorrow (Saturday, December 19th).

Since we aren’t building tomorrow, today was our last build day of 2009! Don’t worry though, we’ll be back to kick-off 2010 on Wednesday, January 6th!! Please check Volunteer Hub for available dates in the new year!

Until then, enjoy your holiday and new year with your family and friends, and from a Wisconsinite, ENJOY the snow Marylanders

Thanks again for all your support in 2009!

Subaru is currently running their 2nd Annual Share the Love Event and Habitat for Humanity is one of five charities that will benefit from this wonderful event.

How it works…

If you purchase or lease  a new Subaru vehicle from your local Subaru dealer before January 4th, 2010; $250 will be donated to your choice of 5 charities!

• Habitat for Humanity
• Boys & Girls Club of America
• Meals on Wheels
• ASPCA
• National Wildlife Federation

It’s that simple, buy or lease a new Subaru and $250 will be donated!

Last year the event raised almost $5 million for participating charities.

Come check out our brand new cabinet sets with granite and Corian counter tops and our brand new Moen and Kohler bathroom and kitchen fixtures.   These items are perfect for anyone remodeling their home.  Don’t miss your chance to upgrade your home for less!

Grace Lutheran Church West Springfield in conjunction with Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity is proud to announce that the dedication for this year’s renovation project at at 61 Sylvan St. in Springfield will take place this Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009, at 4:00 p.m.  Email Williamson@habitatspringfield.org if you plan to attend.  Refreshments will be served. 

Grace Lutheran Church West Springfield supported the Sylvan St. project with both volunteers and a financial contribution, along with Thrivent for Lutherans. Everyone is welcome but those who worked on it are especially encouraged to attend and see the finished product!

In May of 2010, the women of Habitat for Humanity/Buffalo will begin the construction of the home on Fox St. for the _____ family.

It has been nearly five years since the terrible Indian Ocean tsunami killed at least 200,000 people in Asian-Pacific nations. There were deaths in Africa as well.

The tsunami took place on December 26, 2004.

(Above—The 2004 tsunami on the move in Ao Nang, Thailand.)

Here is an explanation of what causes tsunamis and how they do their damage.

In early 2005, National Geographic.com said the following about this tsunami—

“The earthquake that generated the great Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 is estimated to have released the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs, according to the U.S. Geological Survey”

Here is the link to the BBC special report on the tsunami. Article featured here discuss the impact of the tsunami all the up to 2008.

Here is a country-by-country report on the loss of life. More than 130,000 people were killed in Indonesia and at least 31,000 dies in Sri Lanka.

In addition to the dead, many people lost their homes in this disaster.

Habitat for Humanity has been active in helping people rebuild.

Reuters reports that many in Thailand are still suffering today from the tsunami.

From the Reuters article—

“Ban Nam Khem, a small fishing village on Thailand’s Andaman Sea coast, lost nearly half its 5,000 people. Today it is a shell of its former self despite an outpouring of aid in one of the largest foreign fund-raising exercises in history…Its once-thriving center of dense waterfront stores, restaurants and wooden homes is gone, replaced with souvenir shops, a wave-shaped monument and a small building filled with photographs of the tsunami recovery effort….”So many people here are still looking for their family,” said Suvadee, a slight, 43-year-old woman with an easy smile and weathered hands that clutched worn photographs of her son.”

The Voice of America reports on how life has improved since the disaster struck for many who survived the tsunami.

Rarely are we so down-and-out that some improvement in our condition is not possible.

In the United States, the National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration has been bolstering tsunami early-warning systems.

From NOAA–

“In December 2004, lack of an effective international warning system contributed to unprecedented loss of life when a tsunami devastated countless communities around the Indian Ocean and stunned the rest of the world. Through NOAA, the United States accelerated preparation for a potential tsunami along the U.S. coastline and efforts to build partnerships for an international warning program. According to NOAA tsunami experts, the key to surviving a destructive tsunami is people’s ability to receive warnings and willingness to act quickly to move inland or to higher ground.”

I am glad that in addition to making U.S. coastal areas more secure, that we have working to help other nations deal with the threat of tidal waves.

Terrible disasters in the world come and go and we forget about them once they are out of the news.

It is easy to forget. I’m guilty of forgetting myself.

If we forget, we will lose sight of the things we can do in the future to save lives as detailed by NOAA as they prepare for the next tsunami.

If we forget, we will lose sight of the fact that things can get better even after they have been as bad as it possibly seemed they could get.

(Below–Folks in-front of a Habitat for Humanity built home in the tsunami zone in Indonesia.)

This man and this woman were co-founders of Habitat for Humanity. You might have thought, as many do, that this man was the founder. We owe much to all of these people, however, now you have a wonderful piece of knowledge for your next Trivial Pursuit game.

Some other things you might want to know about Habitat for Humanity in Skagit County:

• founded in 1994
  
• Twenty homes built as of December 2009
  
• Habitat for Humanity homes are not free. Homeowners carry a no interest mortgage that they must pay back.
  
• Partner families must earn between 30 and 60% of the median family income in Skagit County.
  
• Partner families must contribute over 500 hours of “sweat equity” before they become an owner.
  
• Volunteers may help to build the home. 80% of our build hours are contributed by volunteers. 
  
• Skagit Habitat has a store which is open to the public. The store opened in August of 2009 and is located at 1022 Riverside Drive in Mount Vernon.
  
  • The store sells building materials and furniture at a great discount to shoppers.
    
  • Donations to the store are a tax deduction for donors
    
  • Donations to the store keep excess materials out of the landfill.
    
  • Proceeds from donations sold in the store provide Skagit Habitat for Humanity with dollars to build more houses.
    
  • The store operation creates jobs in Skagit County.
    
  • Operating the store creates work experience for job-seekers to include on their resumes. You can, by the way, volunteer to work in the store.
    

For more information about how to volunteer, donate, or apply for a home, please visit our main Web site, http://www.skagithabitat.com and we hope to see you in our store sometime in the not too distant future.

We are pleased to announce the dedication of the newest Skagit Habitat for Humanity home on Sunday December 13, 2009. The dedication was held at the Central United Methodist Church in Sedro-Woolley with Pastor Marilyn Kallshian presiding. The dedication was followed by a social gathering and an opportunity to tour the new home which is located next to the church. We anticipate that the Martinez family will be able to move into their new home in time for Christmas! This is the twentieth home built by Skagit Habitat for Humanity.

This has been a particularly gratifying project for us for a number of reasons. About two and a half years ago, an idea blossomed in a conversation. We decided to tap into a program that is widely used by other Habitat affiliates, a women’s build. This meant calling upon the women of our community to build the home. The women of Skagit County came together and made an idea into reality. Over 15 months they raised $130,000.00 and did not use any grants. Approximately sixty women, and as they like to say, a few good men, broke ground in March of 2009. Through hard work and dedication, the home is now ready to occupy. Congratulations to all those who participated and congratulations to the Martinez family!

Speaking of the Martinez family, we should not omit the fact that Belen Martinez, our newest homeowner, dedicated over 750 hours of sweat equity in the building of her home. We hope that she and her family have many happy years in the new home.

Of course, you are probably thinking right about now, “I want to get involved in a great project like this.” Never fear, we have another home under construction right next to this one. If you are interested in swinging a hammer or pushing a broom, check out the work schedule on our Web site. If construction isn’t your bailiwick, we can use your help in the new Skagit Habitat Store and if you haven’t been by the store yet, come on in and pay us a visit at 1022 Riverside Drive in Mount Vernon. In any event, if you want to volunteer, send us an e-mail at volunteer@skagithabitat.com or give us a call at (360)428-9402.

Habitat ReStore just received a huge donation of Kohler Sinks and Faucets; all BRAND NEW! Like all merchandise at ReStore the new sinks and faucets are priced at 50% to 75% below retail prices. To make room for our new items, we’ve repriced many of our other sinks between $5 and $10.  Make sure you stop by ReStore today for deals you can’t beat!

We’re building new houses for the the people of Kampung Kali Chode. Working in this weather a killer but the people here are really friendly and the children here make it all worth it.

The kids here are TOTALLY COOL

these guys are three times my age (the dude in blue is 81) and still building houses with handtools. RESPECT..

also i look really plae here, shows how much time i’ve been spending in the office. ITS GOOD TO BE OUT!

I’ll post more pictures if i had a stable internet connection (we’re getting free wireless from a local shopping mall).

MORE SOON!

A few months ago you might remember a post Erin published on the Habitat for Humanity’s “Green” Community here in Central Florida. Well, Erin, a couple of friends, and I were given the opportunity to go to the Community a couple of weeks ago for a more in-depth look at this fantastic charitable service/site. We were even lucky enough to tour the model, which contains eco-friendly paint, recycled carpet, and energy-efficient appliances. Amazing!

This effort truly is an awesome thing, not only providing amazing homes to those in need, but also giving some love to the planet! I’m going to leave the nuts-and-bolts to Erin since the “green scene” is really her thing, but in true fashion I took many photos on our tour, and wanted to post them here to share.

!!!

If you’ve ever visited this site or have volunteered for Habitat, we’d love to hear about it!

The political parties are constantly begging for money.  However, if you watch the parties spend money you can see that there’s plenty of evidence that they have money to burn. A good example is the current party attacks on candidates. The Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star Telegram (among others) have recently reported Republican ads attacking Bill White’s candidacy for governor–even before White announced his candidacy. Democrats have already been attacking Perry and company in their own set of ads.

Few voters are paying attention to ads this early in the year. Some of this is political leg-lifting designed to show the few insiders and bloggers paying attention that the party organizations are actually doing something to justify their existence. Should the Republicans be so worried about Bill White that they need to start attacking him four months before they select their own nominee?

These early attack ads are a waste of money and only distract voters attention away from the real issues that impact their lives. Don’t support the parties’ bad habits. Starve the beast.

When the parties call – hang up. Give your money to Habitat for Humanity, the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or the charity of your choice. Your money will do more good for people and less harm to democracy.

On November 24, 2009, Habitat Greenville dedicated a house that was refurbed this fall with the help of community volunteers. The Doll family was presented with the keys to their house, a Bible, a gift basket with cleaning supplies, and a Thanksgiving food basket donated and presented by Piedmont Natural Gas.  Thanks to everyone who made this happen!

The holidays are quickly approaching and like us you’re probably doing your fair share of last-minute, online shopping.  As you shop online this year, we’d like you to shop with us by purchasing your gifts through igive.com! 

IGive is a great way to support Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County and your other favorite charities while making your purchases.  Donating to HFH-MC is as simple as clicking the link below, registering and shopping at over 700 stores supported by iGive, including: ebay, amazon, travelocity and other travel sites, staples, dsw, home depot and the list continues. Also, please keep iGive in mind after the holidays as well! Planning a trip for a spring break? Book your airport and hotel through an iGive store!

Start shopping through iGive today by clicking here.

For every purchase you make through iGive, a portion of the proceeds will benefit HFH-MC. Please help us by spreading the word to your family and friends!

 You can also use isearch.igive.com as your search engine, every time you search the web a penny ($.01) will be donated to HFH-MC.

Do you consider the issue of homelessness to be a public justice issue requiring a response?   Does our society have an obligation to do what it can to adequately house all people?

Consider the story of Julia.  Julia is a single mother who is one pay-cheque away from being homeless.  She has a low-income job and spends more than 30 percent of her income on rent.  She is on the list for social housing.  She cannot afford child care for her two children and is often forced to make hard economic choices between basic needs or depending on food banks and other social assistance to make ends meet.1 

Julia is a working member of her community yet cannot support herself and her children adequately.  She is at risk of homelessness and one of the 4 million Canadians in need of affordable housing.2   She is on the list for affordable housing however, the average wait for social housing to assist low-income families is between 5 and 20 years. 3

Does Julia have a right to adequate housing that enables her and her children to live in dignity?   If your answer is yes, you have identified homelessness to be public justice issue requiring a response.   

There are various ways to assist people who are homeless and people who are at risk of becoming homeless.  Opportunities for short-term responses include:

• Invite a Habitat for Humanity (HH) representative to speak at your church or community group to increase awareness and engage your peers in HH building projects.
• Contact a transition shelter in your community to find out the needs of the residents and organize a drive in your church, school or office to fill those needs (ex. mitten and sock drive, food drive, baby items, personal care items etc.).
• Volunteer at a shelter for people who are experiencing a housing crisis and become a source of support and encouragement for them.
• Donate time and/or money to front-line organizations like Habitat for Humanity or Raising the Roof.  
• Explore starting an affordable housing project in your community with Habitat for Humanity.4

Long-term solutions to homelessness involve becoming informed on the political and funding issues of homelessness and looking for opportunities to do advocacy (check the Citizens for Public Justice website which has developed an advocacy toolkit).   Develop a relationship with your MP and make him/her aware of your concerns.   And, if possible, donate to a charitable organization involved in advocating for those who are homeless.

Footnotes:

1.  Ling, Trixie, from “Housing Insecurity: the Face of Poverty.” 

2.  From the Citizens for Public Justice website www.cpj.ca.

3.  From Where’s Home, 2008

4.  From the Diaconal Ministries Canada justice initative addressing homelessness.

This post is based on the Justice initiative of Diaconal Ministries Canada addressing homelessness in Canada.  

“I’m headed out to the build,” I hollered to my family as I ran out the door Thursday morning. The last time I heard that line, it was uttered by a serial killer on the Showtime television series Dexter. You don’t want to know what ends up in the “Trinity Killer’s” concrete. I felt perfectly safe since the concrete portion of this job looked to be complete, and the most prevalent material was the “blue stuff” making up the still-in-progress walls.

I had a hard time finding the place I was looking for—a home lot where cast members of the musical Little House on the Prairie, playing now at ASU Gammage as part of the 2009/2010 Broadway Across America series, were assisting Habitat for Humanity folks with building a home for a Phoenix family. But as I drove by the site, windows down, and radio blasting a South Pacific tune—someone recognized me.

I walked up to the build, past a chain link fence with a sign that read “Lot #16”—and indicated that its sponsor is Bank of America. Every build on the block had a similar sign, but with its own lot number and sponsor. Other sponsors included the Desert Schools Federal Credit Union, the University of Phoenix, UPS Freight and more.

I mention this because I always make time to review the sponsors listed in programs for the performances I attend. I wonder if they know how much I appreciate their support for the arts, that I go out of my way to give them business, that I wish I’d followed through more often on my plans to send a thank you note or make a thank you call.

I didn’t get to see Melissa Gilbert, who plays the role of Ma in the musical, in her hardhat—but I did get to don one of my own. It brought back memories of the construction of Phoenix Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Museum of Phoenix. I’ll bet they have plenty of “blue stuff” in their walls too.

My own “ma”—among others—might be mystified by my lack of finesse for naming building materials. Not to worry, I am able to fathom more than the color when choosing a new car—something that happens every few years during the holiday season when I manage to kill a vehicle racing from rehearsals and shows to recitals and volunteer gigs.

My mother was a nurse, an R.N., who earned a master’s degree in public administration while raising me single-handedly in Colorado, Alaska, Hawaii and California. She developed substance abuse treatment programs for native populations in northern Alaska. I was always so impressed to see pictures of her in her heavy parka with a fur-rimmed hood about to board one of those tiny planes that land and take-off from the water.

My mom knew her way around a tool box and a great deal more, flipping houses for extra income before anyone thought of divine designing or trading spaces. When she was younger, she once told me, women just didn’t go into construction. Her parents would have been mortified.

So she learned to be content with her garage workshop filled with the finest in hand and power tools. You never had to wonder what kind of gift certificate to get for my mom’s birthday. And I never had to go far to explore a variety of visual arts forms. Our garage was project central for weaving rugs, making sterling and turquoise jewelry and more.

Maybe that’s where I first felt the power of the arts to connect people, to bridge distances and to expand my horizons. I discovered that the arts are fun and fulfilling. And I got a glimpse of the person behind my mom, a privilege too few children enjoy before losing a loved one.

The Habitat for Humanity build was a giant canvas of hammers, levels and saws. Despite my mother’s attempts to teach me her craft, I’ve never been gifted in this area. I didn’t really feel at home on the site until I saw a roll of chicken wire. Aha, I thought, this is something I know how to use—for gardening, and for constructing the innards of some theater set pieces.

On this crisp and sunny Phoenix morning, Habitat for Humanity staff and volunteers were joined by touring Broadway cast members—a cause they have supported in other cities as well. You have only to learn of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the wildly successful industry-based non-profit that does AIDS fundraising and grant-making, to know that theater folk have long loved a good cause.

But love is never enough. Action must follow—as it did at today’s Little House build. But why the Habitat for Humanity project, with so many worthy causes in our Valley of the Sun? Because, shares the cast, home is what the musical Little House on the Prairie is all about.

I have tickets to see the show at ASU Gammage this weekend—in addition to watching my daughter offer an amusing portrayal of a gin-guzzling wench (not her official role) in Greasepaint Youtheatre’s Oliver! I hope they’ll be taking voluntary donations after the show so anyone with an interest can join the Little House cast in supporting Habitat for Humanity. I love these types of opportunities to give back because they allow me to do good works while enjoying the things I love most. (My girls do too–when I took them to see Springsteen earlier this year, the food bank folks seemed charmed by the fact that they’d drop money in every single donation bin each and every time they passed it!)

When the Broadway Across America production of Rent came to ASU Gammage a while back, folks had the opportunity to take home autographed Rent souvenirs (Playbills, posters, etc.) with certain donation levels. No pressure involved—ever. But the opportunity is there. I spotted a little something for Lizabeth at the recent Arizona Thespian Festival, which featured a sale of Broadway memorabilia to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. I get the double joy of treating her to a special holiday gift and supporting a cause I believe in.

I remember learning of Habitat for Humanity many years ago, thanks to the involvement of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalyn Carter. Come to think of it, they’ve introduced me to many a good cause—including the Carter Center in Atlanta, which houses a renowned mental health program dedicated to policy goals such as reducing stigma, raising awareness, improving prevention and achieving health care equity.

I’m certain I’ll fall in love with Little House on the Prairie when I see it this weekend. But it’ll be more than the heartwarming story, charming dance numbers and moving dialogue—it’ll also be a renewed appreciation for the role of theater and theater folk in promoting social justice.

I love them for that…

–Lynn

Coming up: The Southwest Shakespeare Company, Holiday art book selection

Our affiliate is dedicating a home this Saturday, December 12th in Silver Spring, MD.  Everyone is invited to celebrate this wonderful occasion but we do ask that you please RSVP to the event.

The new home is the fourth completed as part of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program, a partnership between HFH-MC and the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) to purchase and rehabilitate vacant, foreclosed homes in Montgomery County. This particular home was a result of another partnership between Habitat for Humanity International and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. This partnership, called Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity, has resulted in more than 2,000 decent, affordable homes across the country and around the world since 2005.

Last Friday a group of design students from Montgomery College very generously donated their services to Habitat ReStore.

The students spent hours arranging beautiful vignettes around our shop. We’d love to have you come check them out, but they were so beautiful that most of the items have sold already (although we still have great items in the store for you to come check out).  We’d like to thank these wonderful students again for their time.

The 2nd annual Habitat ReStore Holiday Shoppe has been all over the news recently.  Check out our article in the Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/08/AR2009120803588.html?sub=AR

Interested in learning more about ReStore, the Holiday Shoppe, and Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County?  Listen to this great radio interview with Adeela Abbasi (ReStore marketing & communications manager) and Nicole Kunard (Assistant Sales Manager)!

http://www.wmzq.com/pages/wafaudio.html

Today, Realtors from Iredell County and North Mecklenburg, our Northern Region of the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association, got together for our annual Holiday Meeting and Luncheon in Statesville.  This is a time when we get together as real estate professionals to socialize and to celebrate some of our accomplishments on behalf of the larger community over the past year.  This year we had speakers from some of the housing related non-profits to whom we’ve provided funding and other forms of support- Roy Helm of Wesley Community Development, Scott Loudermelt of Habitat Iredell, Donna Nestor of Our Towns Habitat, and Zach Jakobs of HAMMERS program.  All of these groups got grants from the CRRA’s Housing Opportunity Foundation, each in the thousands of dollars raised or donated by Realtors.  It was great to hear how these groups leveraged the funds we provided to do some great work in our communities.  We also worked with these groups on this year’s Realtor Care Day when we spend a day rehabbing 33 homes in Iredell and Mecklenburg Counties using the labor of around 700 Realtors.  We’re already making plans for a Realtor Care Day next year.

Toys for Salvation Army

To top it all off, our Realtors raised more funds for Housing Opportunity Foundation with a raffle of donated gifts and also brought in toys for the local Salvation Army to give to area children who might otherwise have none for Christmas.  It’s been a tough year in real estate for some Realtors, but one of the best ways to deal with tough times is to help people who are having it rougher than you.