Dear Habitat Supporter,
Welcome to the June edition of the Habitat Update!
The Habitat Update functions as a way to improve intra-organizational
communication, and will be sent once a month. If you have any
questions, please feel free to contact me!
As committee members, board members and other important volunteers,
it helps to know what is going on throughout the organization.
If you have information to send to others as part of the update,
or would like to make a suggestion in regard to the content or
style of the update, please contact me. If you prefer to have
a hard copy version sent to you or would not like to be included
on the list, please respond, stating your preference.
Take Care!
Mikaela
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JUNE 2005 UPDATE
CONSTRUCTION VOLUNTEER OF
THE MONTH: Anthony
Rogers
GROUPS ON SITE: Enterprise
Rent-A-Car, Weichert Realtors, Zwingli UCC, St. Paul’s United
Methodist Church, Doylestown United Methodist Church, Prudential
Fox & Roach, Dallas AmeriCorps, Bux-Mont Runners Club, Bucks
County Young Republicans, St. David the King Youth Group
GROUPS PROVIDING LUNCHES: Faith
Relations Committee, Blooming Glen Mennonite Church, St. Paul’s
Lutheran Church, Warrington Women’s Club, Domino’s
Pizza
NUMBER OF VOLUNTEER HOURS LOGGED
AT EMERALD HOLLOW TO DATE: 66,303
NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS AT HABITAT
BUCKS IN 2005: 358
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WELCOMING…
The Family Selection Committees recently accepted
the following families: Robin Myers and her daughter, Heather,
who live in Quakertown, will be working through the Emerald Hollow
Two homeownership program. The following four families have been
accepted for the Emerald Hollow One model: Stephen Ngaruiya with
wife, Mercy Mwangi, and son, Daniel, currently reside in Bristol;
Cynthia Hedden with children, Eric and Robin, hail from Fallsington;
Henry Kaufman and son, Benjamin, are Quakertown proud; and Michael
and Rachel Williams, with daughters, Emiy and Abigail, are happy
to be staying in the Quakertown area. Congratulations and welcome
to all of our new families!
Marie Hillegas was conditionally accepted for the Emerald Hollow
Two homeownership program. She currently lives in Quakertown with
her children, Brielle and Justin.
Susan Policastro, of Doylestown, has achieved the goals of her
conditional acceptance, which was extended to her in May. Congratulations
on achieving your goals so quickly!
We would like to welcome two people who will be working behind
the scenes in the development office as volunteer researchers:
Erin McDonald and Joann McGowan. Both of these talented women
will be assisting in gathering essential information related to
individuals, corporations and foundations that we hope to cultivate.
Welcome aboard, and thanks for your help!
John Benincasa has been named the new Chairperson of the Family
Selection Committee. He is replacing Bill Tuszynski, who will
remain on the committee for a short time before heading up a newly
created board leadership committee. John has been volunteering
with Habitat Bucks since 2000, mostly serving on the Family Selection
Committee. Congratulations!
Stacey Saul has been elected the new Chairperson of the Family
Support Committee. She is replacing Larry Reinfeld, who will remain
on the committee and is looking forward to working more closely
with families again. Stacey has been a member of the committee
for over a year and has been a very active family partner from
the start. Hooray!
ON SITE...
On 11 June, we kicked off construction of Phase II of the Emerald
Hollow community with a brief ceremony, then celebrated the annual
Volunteer Appreciation Picnic with food, volleyball, and face
painting. Special thanks to Wawa for donating hot dogs and drinks
for the event!
Cluster 14 framing is moving along , the second floor walls are
going up on unit 62. All other units are progressing nicely –
concrete pads are complete so there is no stopping us from doing
all our houses! The basin is complete and a site contractor is
installing storm sewer this week.
Phase I finish black top is scheduled for the first week of August.
OUT + ABOUT…
From 12 – 19 June, Habitat AmeriCorps volunteers across
the country got the chance to experience building with another
affiliate at the annual Affiliate Swap. Bucks County hosted four
AmeriCorps members from the Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity at
the beginning of the week, and then the Bucks crew traveled to
Dallas for a few days to build, attend a dedication ceremony,
and take in the local attractions.
The Family Support Committee has organized this year’s
Habitat Family Outing to the Franklin Institute! The families
will be enjoying the IMAX film, Aliens of the Deep, and touring
the always-amazing exhibits while greeting current and new neighbors
alike! The committee and families are anxiously awaiting the 27
August trip – it’s going to be a great time!
Recent Birdhouse Blitz Builds
JOIN US…
Yee-Haw! The 2005 Harvest Hoedown will take place on Saturday,
5 November, from 3 -9 pm at the red barn in Milford Square, PA.
We are currently rustlin' up the folks who will be part of the
planning committee, so if you are interested, please respond to
j.morrison@habitatbucks.org; extension 303. This high energy,
family-oriented fundraising event promises to once again be a
foot-stompin', knee-slappin', overall-wearin' good time. Be sure
to save the date!
Faith Youth Week, 11 – 17 July: Partner with youth groups
and Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County and put your faith into
action by supporting the work of Habitat for Humanity. Make new
friends and help build a stronger community by praying, enjoying
fellowship, landscaping the grounds of the Emerald Hollow Community,
building homes, preparing and sharing meals and raising money.
Come one day or for the whole week. Help to provide safe, simple,
affordable homes for all people. For more information, please
contact Dan O’Connor at extension 312 or d.oconnor@habitatbucks.org.
Submit entries now for the 16th Annual Holiday Card Design Contest!
Entries should reflect the spirit and mission of Habitat for Humanity,
and should not be representative of one specific holiday. The
winning image will be printed as a greeting card and sold in Bucks
County to benefit the important work of Habitat Bucks. For an
entry form and information, contact Sam at extension 310 or click
here, http://www.habitatbucks.org/holiday%20card%2005_flyer%20%2B%20entry%20form.pdf.
MAKING NOTE…
The board approved new sweat equity
policies for the Phase II Emerald Hollow One & Two homeowners.
EH1 partner families’ required hours have been reduced from
500 hours total to 250 for a family with a single head of household
and 375 for a family with a double head of household. EH2 partner
families’ hours have stayed at the same 100 total hours
for a family with a single head of household but have increased
to 150 total hours for a family with a double head of household.
Habitat Bucks believes the new policies will provide for a richer
sweat equity experience for all families and is looking forward
to implementing them right away.
Building On Faith Week, 11 – 18 September: This weeklong
event is a true celebration of faith in action. Join and partner
with Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County and other congregations
as we express our faith through prayer, fellowship, advocacy of
Habitat’s mission, building homes, preparing and sharing
meals and raising money to help provide safe, simple, affordable
homes for those who need them. Come one day or for the whole week.
For more information, please contact Dan extension 312 or d.oconnor@habitatbucks.org.
Support Habitat Bucks while getting your caffeine fix! Through
a partnership with Café Campesino, a fair trade coffee
company located in Americus, GA, you can now purchase Habitat
House Blend Fair Trade coffee. Soon, you will be able to purchase
the coffee online at our website, but in the mean time, stop in
to our New Britain office or the Doylestown Bookshop to pick up
a bag!
WOMEN BUILDING A BETTER BUCKS…
Happy First Week of Summer!
Women Build Advisory Chairs:
We are happy to announce the members of the Women Build Advisory
Board, leaders in our community who have committed to supporting
the program. They are Diane Gibbons, Bucks County District Attorney;
Sandra Miller, Bucks County Commissioner; and Deanna Mindler,
Executive Director of the Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce. We
welcome them to Women Build and are grateful for their support.
Training:
Both the Quakertown and Warrington stores continue to give us
devoted support. We obviously can’t thank them enough, but
we can certainly try! If you have attended a clinic and feel some
praise is in order, please write to Lowe’s corporate office
at webeditor@lowes.com. Our letters show the higher-ups that what
they are allowing their stores to provide for the program is invaluable.
Warrington
The second set of basic trainings at Warrington wrap up next week,
with How to Finish Interior with Paint and Trim on Tuesday, 28
June from 7-8:30pm. A few spaces remain. To register, contact
Laura at extension 302 or l.mcclellan@habitatbucks.org.
Advanced trainings will be offered at the Warrington location
in July. Stay tuned for dates and times.
Quakertown
Quakertown will hold their second round of basic training clinics
in August. Each clinic will run from 7-8pm. To register, contact
Cheryl Leddy at august02rose@msn.com. Topics and dates are as
follows:
How to Safely Use Hand and Power Tools: Tuesday, 9 August
How to Frame for Walls and Roofs: Tuesday, 16 August
How to Install Insulation and Drywall: Tuesday, 23 August
How to Finish Interior with Paint and Trim: Tuesday, 30 August
Fundraising Campaign:
Our fundraising campaign has officially begun and we are already
receiving a wonderful response. Thank you to all of those who
have sent in a contribution! Beginning with the next update, I
will keep you posted on how much has been raised to date. You
can also keep track of our progress on the women build webpage
(www.habitatbucks.org/womenbuild.asp).
Volunteers Needed:
The Penndel McDonald’s has agreed to let us use their facilities
for a WB carwash fundraiser, to be held on Sunday, 14 August.
Volunteers are needed to help organize and participate in this
event. If you can spare a few hours and a little elbow grease,
please contact Patty at clovers100@aol.com.
Grant Writer Needed:
Fundraising plans for next year’s program are already underway
in the form of grant and foundation proposals. We are looking
for volunteers that might be interested and qualified to help
on this front. Interested volunteers should contact Kelly at k.hile@habitatbucks.org.
Team Member Site Tour:
Just a reminder for planning team members, the introductory tour
of Emerald Hollow will be on Thursday, 30 June. The purpose of
this tour is to help the teams plan for the event. Please RSVP
to Kelly (k.hile@habitatbucks.org) if you plan to attend. Stay
tuned for a second date later in the summer for all you on vacation
this time around.
Planning Teams:
The Activities Team enhances the Women Build event by organizing
an orientation, opening and closing ceremonies, and daily morning
speakers.
Next Meeting: 27 June, 6:30pm, Habitat Bucks New Britain office
Contact: Theresa Durkin hailjas@comcast.net
The Training Team arranges for construction skills and crew leader
training classes for Women Build participants. They coordinate
with other teams to publicize training opportunities and schedule
participants.
Next Meeting: Tuesday, 12 July, 7pm, Neshaminy Warwick Presbyterian
Church
Contact: Linda Andrews landrews@bucksmontnari.org
The Volunteer Team ensures that participating volunteers have
a quality experience. They help to determine appropriate partner
groups to target, strategies by which to reach out to them, and
contact groups. This team also works to involve girls in the event.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, 13 July, 7pm, Neshaminy Warwick Presbyterian
Church
Contact: Margie Horton mmhortonpa@comcast.net or Christine Turturro
mcturturro@mindspring.com
The Public Relations Team enhances Habitat’s image while
educating the community about the plight of women and children
in poverty, the goals of Women Build and the mission of Habitat
Bucks.
Next Meeting: Thursday, 14 July, 7pm, Doylestown Public Library
Contact: Lauren Kirk laurenkirk2004@yahoo.com
The Fundraising Team implements a campaign to raise the funds
for one house sponsorship plus the tithe ($70,000).
Next Meeting: Thursday, 21 July, 6:30pm, Habitat Bucks New Britain
office
Contact: Kelly Hile k.hile@habitatbucks.org
The Food Service Team recruits individuals and groups to provide
breakfast and lunch during the build week as well as refreshments
or meals for specials events.
Next Meeting: Thursday, 28 July, 7pm
Contact: Janet Pagenkemper janfran@erols.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mikaela D. Martin
Marketing + Public Relations
Director
Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County
new address:
215 Matthews Avenue
New Britain, PA 18901
215.348.2204 x306
fax: 215.348.7988
It is the mission of Habitat for Humanity
of Bucks County to build affordable homes, better lives stronger
families and safer communities through partnerships with people
and organizations throughout Bucks County. |
