Dear Habitat Supporter,
Welcome to the February edition of the Habitat Update! The Habitat
Update functions as a way to improve communication about the goings-on
of Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County, and will be sent once
a month. 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 (m.martin@habitatbucks.org
or 215.348.2204 x306). If you prefer to have a hard copy version
sent to you or would not like to be included on this distribution
list, please respond stating your preference.
Take Care!
Mikaela
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FEBRUARY 2007 UPDATE
CONSTRUCTION VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH:
Jason Elsing
GROUPS ON SITE:
Episcopal Hammers, Doylestown United Methodist Church, Falls Township
Teen Advisory Panel, Davisville Church, Bucks County Community
College
GROUPS PROVIDING LUNCHES: Blooming
Glen Mennonite Church
NUMBER OF VOLUNTEER HOURS LOGGED
AT EMERALD HOLLOW TO DATE: 89,053
NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS AT EMERALD
HOLLOW TO DATE: 10,060
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WELCOMING…
Maria Ramos and Juan Carlos Rugliancich, along
with their son, Juan Carlos Junior, welcomed Gabriella Maria to
the family on Jan. 26. She weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and measured
at 19 inches at birth. Everyone is doing well!
Ryan and Mary Beth Clymer and daughter, Jillian, also welcomed
a new little one recently. Ryan Jude was born on Feb. 7 at 6:38am,
weighing 8 pounds, 15 ounces and measuring 21 inches. Welcome
to the neighborhood, Jude.
ON SITE…
The final mid-unit in Cluster 12 settled in February,
and volunteers painted, installed doors, trim, and flooring in
the end-units.
Framing continues on three of the homes in Cluster 11. Roofing
trusses have been set, the roof is sheathed and windows have been
installed in the first end unit in the cluster.
JOIN US…
The Faith Relations Committee is on fire! This
small but lively group has set some significant goals for strengthening
relationships within the local faith community in 2007 and we
need your help! The committee will next meet on Tue., Mar. 13
at the Habitat office at 6:30pm. We’d love to see you there!
For more information, contact Laura at l.mcclellan@habitatbucks.org
or x302.
Women Build 2007 is here! Though we can hardly believe it, our
third year of Women Build has begun! About 25 women attended the
initial interest meeting held on Feb. 28. A second interest meeting,
covering the same information, will be held on Fri., Mar. 9 at
11am at our office. This informational meeting will tell you everything
you need to know about the 2007 program, including ways to be
involved throughout the year and the greatly anticipated Women
Build-a-Thon Week 2007. Veteran and new Women Build-ers are invited!
Bring your friends, co-workers, sisters, daughters and mothers.
Additionally, our first Women Build steering committee meeting
will be held on Thur., Mar. 8 6:30pm at our office. This amazing
group of women truly make Women Build possible. This program is
largely volunteer-driven and there is much behind-the-scenes work
being done by Women Build-ers. This lively group could definitely
use your help!
For more information on either of these meetings or the Women
Build program, contact Laura at l.mcclellan@habitatbucks.org.
ReSale is around the corner! Come out to the Habitat Bucks Bargain
Barn ReSale, Sat. Mar. 17 from 7am-noon at our Big Red Barn on
1733 Creamery Road, Quakertown (map). We will have an extensive
selection of doors, windows, flooring, cabinets, and more to meet
your remodeling needs. This sale also features dining room tables
from a premier name brand furniture retailer! For more information,
contact Trish at t.schoor@habitatbucks.org
or x303.
Trees and shrubs. Trees and shrubs. We need trees and shrubs!
Are you a landscaper? Work at a nursery? We need your help! As
our building project winds down at Emerald Hollow, we need donations
of trees and shrubs to make the outdoor space feel as good as
the indoor space. Contact the very good looking Trish for more
details and how you can help at t.schoor@habitatbucks.org
or x303.
IN PARTNERSHIP…
Habitat Bucks is only able to accomplish our mission
through partnerships. While we have many supporters that contribute
in a variety of ways, it’s a rarity to find a partner who
is willing to contribute in all of them. Trinity Lutheran Church
of Lansdale has been just such a phenomenal partner since we began
working with them. Our connection to Trinity was forged through
the Thrivent Builds program, which began in early 2006. In addition
to a significant contribution of $10,000, Trinity has also provided
75 volunteers who have worked 844 hours at Emerald Hollow! Led
by Paul Pinther and Deb Zabrodski, their Habitat Mission Committee
has risen to gladly assist with every request made of them. The
congregation most recently played a significant role in our dedication
of the Thrivent homes. Rev. Eric Shafer dedicated the homes while
members of their mission committee presented the Ngorimo family
with their key and organized the creation of gift baskets to welcome
the families into their homes. The congregation also donated the
candles used during the candle-lighting ceremony. We are incredibly
grateful to the members of Trinity Lansdale for their tremendous
support over the past year. We very much hope to continue partnering
with them in the future!
National Association of the Remodeling Industry of Bucks and
Montgomery Counties (NARI Bucks-Mont) donated 60 gifts for Habitat
kids this holiday. Santa Wally and his elf, Jean, delivered the
gifts to the Emerald Hollow kids on Dec. 20. Selection committee
member and holiday elf, Jim Brescia, delivered gifts to the Bristol
kids the same day. HO HO HO! The Family Program Department was
completed wowed by the incredible wrapping techniques of Jim Brescia,
Susan Vincent, Chrissy DiPaolo, Phyllis Boyer, Tom and Marie Marquis,
Jen Gordon, Sue Patterson, Bev Cupo, Jessica Robinson and Connie
Yung—those 60 gifts got wrapped in such a jiffy! And they
were so pretty, too!
GIVING THANKS…
Excitement was in the air and everyone (especially Family Program
Co-Director Stefanie) was a little giddy as we dedicated four
homes, including the two sponsored through Thrivent Builds, on
Dec. 14 at Emerald Hollow. Keys for the Kaufman and Ngorimo families
were presented by volunteers from Trinity Lutheran Church in Lansdale
and Trinity Lutheran Church in Perkasie, while the Women Build
2006 Team Leaders and Crew Leaders presented the keys for the
Kniele and Kamel families. Rev. Eric Shafer of Trinity Lansdale
dedicated the homes and the Faith Relations Committee presented
gifts to each of the families. Following a very moving ceremony,
the Kniele and Kaufman homes were toured. Thank you to everyone
who made the evening a success and congratulation and welcome
to all four families!
On Dec. 9, Over 130 attendees were treated to a performance by
a group of local artists which raised more than $800 for Women
Build at the Artists Taking Action fundraiser. The diverse group
of performers included Collective Motion, a dance company from
Maine, the DeSales University Dance Company, White Wire, an all
female band playing original compositions and pianist Michael
Wall. The highlighted vocalists of the evening were 6-year-old
Sabrina Carpenter of Quakertown and Ryan Whitmore, a senior at
Central Bucks South High School, where the event was held. The
event was produced by and included a work choreographed by Courtney
Andrews, a senior at DeSales University. Although the event was
done as her senior project, the group is enthusiastic about doing
it annually. Thanks to Courtney for her hard work in organizing
this event and to everyone who attended and made the night a success!
Our “Wednesday Boys” are a critical component of
our volunteer workforce. This eclectic group of retired gentlemen
joins our crew nearly every Wednesday to build at Emerald Hollow,
and often accompany Ray for a round of golf afterward. We are
quite fond of them and grateful for their efforts. So we were
ecstatic to see others taking notice also! The Gloria Dei Church
of Huntingdon Valley recently sent a sizable donation to Habitat
Bucks in honor of Dan Baird, one of the longest-standing “Boys”
and a Gloria Dei member. At last count, Dan has served over 800
hours with Habitat Bucks! Thank you, Dan, for your tremendous
dedication to Habitat Bucks and an equally hearty thanks to Gloria
Dei for recognizing Dan and providing us with much-needed financial
support!
Through the Homes for the Holidays partnership with area Lowe’s
stores, Habitat volunteers have been spending Saturdays at Lowe’s
distributing information about Habitat and selling house pins
and holiday cards. Thank you to the Central Bucks West Key Club,
who worked at the Warrington Lowe’s on Dec. 2 and 9, Women
Build Crew Leaders, who worked at the Quakertown location on Dec.
2, and partner family Lee Dorn, with children James, Devon, Sydney
and Shelby, who worked at Quakertown Dec. 9.
The Family Support Committee and Family Program Department sends
out super-big thanks to Neil Hilkert of Affiance Property Management
and Larry Menkes of the Energy Advisory Committee and Mary Comtois
for their superb presentations at our recent Family Support Workshop.
Thanks also to Christ Lutheran Church for the use of their building
and for inviting the kids to attend their “Kids’ Day
Out” while their parents got very educated about the Emerald
Hollow Homeowners’ Association and energy conservation.
OUT AND ABOUT…
Tool envy runs rampant among our Women Build crew leaders. If
one gets a new tool, it’s not long before the others follow
suit (they frequently run into one another at Lowe’s). Recently,
two-year crew leader Deb Thorrick beat them to it, and brought
her fellow crew leaders up to speed with an early Christmas gift.
Having received copious praise for her fabulous new speed square
clip, Deb decided to contact the manufacturer, Swanson, to see
if she could secure a donation of additional clips for her cohorts.
Swanson sent her not only enough clips to go ‘round, but
also the speed squares to go with them! There’s not a group
that deserves them more or who would put them to better use. Congratulations,
ladies!
MAKING NOTE…
We are still holding Bargain Barn Re-Sale events
on a regular basis! That means we’ll happily accept the
following donations:
· New and unused building materials and supplies, including
lumber, carpeting, windows, doors, unopened paint, lighting and
interior fixtures, etc.
· New appliances
· New and gently used garden, power and hand tools
· Extension ladders
· New and gently used furniture and children’s items
such as strollers and playpens
For more information, contact Trish at t.schoor@habitatbucks.org
or x303.
Thank you for showing your support by collecting supermarket
register tapes or registering your supermarket cards! Would you
like to participate in this simple way to raise funds for Habitat
Bucks? Every time you shop, a percentage of your purchases will
be donated to our mission:
· Genuardi’s Community Cash Back
program (http://www.escrip.com/merchants/identity/genuardis/index.jsp)
is powered by eScrip, an electronic fundraising tool. To join,
simply register your Genuardi’s club card or your credit/debit
card at www.escrip.com, or use a sign-up sheet at the Genuardi’s
customer service counter. Our Group ID Number is 149390004.
· If you shop at Acme Markets (https://www.acmemarkets.com/eCommerceWeb/LandingPageAction.do?action=begin),
just mail or drop of your receipts/register tapes to our office.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mikaela D. Martin
Marketing + Public Relations
Director
Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County
215 Matthews Avenue
New Britain, PA 18901
215.348.2204 x306
fax: 215.348.7988
www.habitatbucks.org
From 2005-2008, Habitat for Humanity will
build 36 affordable homes in Bucks County. Each home will require
a commitment of 2000 volunteer hours and financial contributions
averaging $4,250 per day. Habitat relies strictly on the generosity
and commitment of our neighbors and partner families to provide
these resources, and to make safe, affordable housing a matter
of conscience and action in our community.
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