Roof Raiser 05-2008 - Habitat for Humanity Northwest Harris County

Roofraiser
May 2008
Land Update for 2008 and Beyond
June 7 & 8
Traders Village
Finding and developing build-able land
continues to be the
biggest challenge facing Habitat Northwest Harris County
and urban Habitat
affiliates across the
country. While this is
a search that must be
on-going, we are currently blessed to have
two locations where
we can build approximately 100 homes.
The engineering and
design work has been
completed for our Hamill Ranch property
and we are in the pro-
June 21
Raise Walls Women‟s
Build Home
A Habitat Hand Up—The Willis Family
Mark Your Calendars:
May 17
Volunteer Orientation
May 22
Clergy Breakfast at
Lakewood UMC
May 31
Orientation for potential homeowners at St.
Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church
May 31
Home Dedications at
Hampton Place
June 28
Raise Walls Thrivent
Home
July 5 & 6
Traders Village
August 16-24
Global Village Trip- El
Salvador
Habitat NWHC recently
partnered with Emily
Akin of FOX 26, Oak
Creek Homes, the
Church at Willow Park,
and the Texas Manufactured Housing Association to place a new manufactured home on the
lot of Viola Willis and
her son Charles. Their
mobile home was falling
apart around them and
due to their ages and
financial difficulties
they were unable to take
cess of soliciting bids
for the infrastructure.
This includes lot development, utilities,
streets and an expansion of the MUD detention pond. September is our target
for raising the walls
on our first home in
Hamill Ranch. To fill
the four months between the completion
of Hampton Place and
the start of Hamill
Ranch we have purchased lots in a development called Lancaster off Highway 529
between Barker Cy-
the steps required to do
the major repair work
that was needed. This
was a great example of
Habitat working with other
community
organizations
in a creative
way to assist
a family in
desperate
need of a decent place in
which to live.
A special „well
press and Fry Roads.
In June we will start
building there with
our Women‟s Build
House and the first
Thrivent/Lutheran
home of 2008.
Construction volunteers please refer to
our website, habitatnwhc.org, to keep
track of where we are
building.
Get your hammers
ready, the second half
of 2008 promises to be
a busy time for Habitat home construction!
done‟ to Bob Young, pictured below, for his
leadership on this project.
Bob Young and students from The Banff School
prep the lot for the Willis‟ new home.
PAGE 2
R O O FR A I S E R
MA Y 2 0 0 8
Chauffeured Help
Promoters of HOPE
W R E C K A G E Makers
Help us make a mess at our deconstruction site! We are removing salvageable building
materials at our current project
at San Felipe and Voss by utilizing this "Recycle, Reuse" operation. The current project is
HUGE and has a deadline: Saturday, May 24th. We work every
day, except Sunday & Monday,
from 9am-3pm.
Join our Family Support team.
Family Support members work
one-on-one with Habitat‟s partner
families providing advice, support
and empowerment as they become first time homeowners.
Red Hats
Become a Habitat Servant Leader. Train to be one of our Saturday construction crew leaders, instructing and overseeing
groups of 6 to 10 volunteers complete various construction tasks.
Tour Houston‟s many subdivisions, assisting our ReStore driver. For this volunteer position we need individuals who can dedicate at
least 2 hours to assist with
ReStore donation pickups.
Bargain Negotiators
Browse and barter goods at
the largest flea market in
Houston, Trader’s Village.
On the first weekend of every
month the affiliate runs a
booth selling merchandise
from the ReStore. Volunteers
are scheduled to work 2 hour
shifts from 8am to 5pm on
Saturday and Sunday.
To help with any of these projects or for more information about volunteering with Habitat for Humanity
NWHC, please contact our volunteer coordinator MaryGrace Hendon at the affiliate office: (281) 820-2307 or
volunteer@habitatnwhc.org
Women Build 2008
Grab your aprons (nail
aprons that is) and join us on
June 21st as we raise the
walls on our 2008 Women
Build House.
2008 will mark the 4th consecutive year that the women of
Northwest Harris County will
join together to do their part
to overcome poverty housing
and provide a decent, safe
home for a
mother
and
her children.
We welcome
new
volunteers to join
us at any
time. Women Volunteers are
needed in ALL areas including non- construction support.
Now is the time to recruit a
group of women and schedule
a construction workday.
We are also asking you to join
the Women Build team with
your support through taxdeductible donations to help
us reach our $55,000 goal.
$50 will sponsor one square
foot of the home. Corporate
sponsors are also being
sought.
For more information, please
contact Carla Ehlers at tcehlers@sbcglobal.net or call the
Habitat office at
281-820-2307.
MA Y 2 0 0 8
R O O FR A I S E R
PAGE 3
Collegiate Challenge
Habitat for Humanity
Northwest Harris County
had the privilege of hosting
12 students and 2 advisors
from Boston, Massachusetts‟
Mount Ida College, the week
of March 10th through the
15th. This group of students participated in a nationwide program called
Collegiate Challenge, where
students from across the
country donate their time
during spring break to volunteer for a Habitat affili-
ate. This group came to
Northwest Harris County
and helped on the build site
in Tomball, TX plus kicked
off the beginning of our San
Felipe deconstruction project. A special thank you to:
The Metropolitan Baptist
Church for allowing the
group to sleep at their family life center. Also, Bill and
Clara Wade, Gary and Nikki
Akin and Dick and Betty
Campbell for providing
lunches for this group.
Team members measuring
and cutting siding.
Our Partner Families
Ever wonder about Habitat Partner Families?
Let us introduce you to the Baileys and the Owens:
The Bailey Family:
John and Julia Bailey and
their son Taamir (17) moved
into their Hampton Place
Habitat home in November,
2007. When the Baileys applied to become a Habitat
partner family, they were
sharing a two bedroom, one
bathroom house with Julia‟s
parents. The Bailey‟s moved
to the Tomball area from New
Jersey to be closer to family
and with the idea of purchasing a home as the cost of housing is significantly less. Even
with both John and Julia
working, they were unable to
afford a home mortgage loan,
until they applied for a Habitat
house. All three family members have a disability, but were
anxious to learn and put their
new construction skills to use
building their home. When
asked what was next, John replied to work in some capacity
that would “give people a second chance.”
The Owen Family:
Hurricane Katrina is still having an impact almost 3 years
after it devastated the City of
New Orleans. Corey Owens is
a single father of a 12 year old
daughter, KeAra. They were
displaced after hurricane
Katrina. Moving from house to
house, living with friends and
family, the Owens settled in
Houston sharing a three bedroom, one bathroom house
with friends who have three
children of their own. Trying to
put their lives back together,
Corey found a stable position
with a social service agency.
His next goal was to establish
permanent housing for himself
and his daughter. Corey was
recently accepted into the Habitat program and is currently
working on his sweat equity
hours. The Owens are looking
forward to moving into a home
of their own.
PAGE 4
R O O FR A I S E R
MA Y 2 0 0 8
Message from our Board President- Carla Ehlers
It has been a busy year for Habitat for Humanity NWHC. We‟ve
had a few hurdles to overcome,
but I am pleased to say that with
the hard work and support of so
many people I believe the next
three years will be banner years
for us.
Our current Board of Directors
has a very good mix of skill sets
necessary to handle our business
needs and they are dedicated to
doing the job necessary to accomplish our mission of providing
simple, decent homes in partnership with those in need. We are
also blessed to have many dedicated, hard working volunteers that
serve on committees, at the construction site, the ReStore, Traders Village, deconstruction, and in
the office. We continue to develop
wonderful partnerships with
churches, businesses, organizations and individuals. Finally we
are blessed to have a dedicated,
hard working staff willing to work
above and beyond the call of duty.
This past year has been a tremendous growth year for our ReStore
operations. Not only are we on
track to build our first home from
store profits, we are also receiving
additional funds from our satellite
location at Traders Village. Our
deconstruction efforts are providing a great source of inventory for
the ReStore, while diverting items
from going to landfills.
After exhausting all possibilities
to secure utilities for the site, we
sold the 21 acres on Walters Road
that was donated to us by the Hamill Foundation. However, we
have purchased 19 acres at the
intersection of West Richey Road
and Champions Forest Drive
where we plan to provide homes
for approximately 90 Habitat families. This new neighborhood will
be named Hamill Ranch in recognition of the Hamill Foundation‟s
generous support. Harris County
Commissioners Court has approved a $1.06 million grant to
assist with the development of our
Hamill Ranch neighborhood. In
addition, we are also purchasing
10 developed lots off FM529 to
keep us building while we are in
the development phase of Hamill
Ranch.
While our staff, board of directors,
and supporters are excited about
our new Hamill Ranch neighborhood, some residents in the surrounding community expressed
opposition to the idea of a Habitat
neighborhood built close-by. “Not
In My Back Yard” or NIMBY is a
common objection raised by residents who in general support affordable housing, but do not want
to live near them. Our opponents
expressed concerns that affordable housing would lower property
values. One merely needs to
Google „NIMBY and Affordable
Housing‟ to identify numerous
studies that indicate that affordable housing has little effect on
neighboring property values.
However, we must recognize that
this perception is an issue that we
can not ignore. Better education
and communication is needed to
ensure low-income families are
not denied the opportunity to own
a simple, decent home to live in
safety and dignity.
Affiliate Volunteer of the Month
The driving force behind Habitat for Humanity NWHC is our volunteers—
those who contribute a few hours, a day, a week, a few months, or more to
give Habitat‟s vision tangible form. Every month our Board of Directors
selects one of our 2,600 volunteers to honor as the Affiliate Volunteer of
the Month in recognition of all that they do for Habitat for Humanity
NWHC‟s partner families, staff members and other volunteers.
THANK YOU:
Susan Bellinghausen, ReStore, January
Bob Dejmal, Family Selection, February
Robert McGee, Construction, March
Tim Ehlers, Where ever needed, April
Tim Ehlers—April Volunteer
of the Month
MA Y 2 0 0 8
R O O FR A I S E R
PAGE 5
Deconstruction
A growing activity for Habitat
Northwest Harris County is in
the area of deconstruction.
This involves removing materials from buildings that are going to be torn down and can
range from „cherry picking‟ a
few items to taking a building
all the way to ground level.
Deconstruction offers two great
benefits: first they create saleable items that can be added to
our ReStore inventory and help
the store generate funds that
can be used to build new Habitat homes. Second, this work
has a positive impact on the
„habitat‟ we all share by keeping items out of local landfills,
plus saving the natural resources that would be required
to manufacturer these prod-
ucts new. Currently we are partnering with
Boymelgreen Developers and Cherry Demolition to
take a 100,000
square foot commercial office
building all the
way to the ground.
Using mainly volunteers Habitat
has removed everySue Lovell, Vice Mayor Pro-tem, cuts the ribbon at the San
thing we can from
Felipe deconstruction project kick-off.
the building, even
including the exup most of the building‟s shell.
tensive redwood exterior. In
We believe this is the largest
June Cherry will finish with
project of this kind ever atthe demolition of what is left,
tempted in metropolitan Houbut they will also re-cycle the
ston and a strong statement on
steel and concrete that make
behalf of helping the environ-
An International Volunteer Experience
Get ready for
an adventure of
a life time! As
of today there
are a few spots
left on our 2008
Global Village
trip to El Salvador. This team
will travel from August 16th to
24th, spending a week working
with the local Habitat affiliate.
They will be building two bedroom, earthquake-resistant houses using cement bricks, concrete
blocks and fiber-cement roof
sheeting. This is a wonderful opportunity to experience the Habitat mission in a unique environment. For more information contact trip leader Gary Akin at
gakin@mrichampions.com.
Strudler Community Center
Our community building at Cherie
Cove, the Robert Strudler Community Center, will complete its first
year of operation in June and
thanks to the efforts of the Cypress
Creek YMCA the results have been
outstanding. Open Monday
through Friday during the school
year, on a typical day the center will
have anywhere from 30 to 40 children
pass through. While most are from
our own community, the Center has
also drawn children from the surrounding neighborhoods. As school
lets out for the summer the center
will expand their hours of operation
during the week. NWHC is proud to
be partnering with the YMCA on this
venture and congratulates the „Y‟ for
the great job they have done in this
first year! Part of our commitment to
do more than just build houses by
helping our families also be successful
in their new environment.
PAGE 6
R O O FR A I S E R
MA Y 2 0 0 8
Habitat for Humanity
Northwest Harris
County’s 3rd Annual
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3 Fabulous
Construction Games

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Nearly 100 Auction
Items
& a Great Time Had By All
The 2008 Tool Box Bash was a great
success. We thank everyone who
sponsored, attended, bid, played and
volunteered to help us raise over
$80,000 to provide safe and affordable housing for families in Northwest
Harris County
R O O FR A I S E R
Thank you Tool Box Bash Sponsors
Drink Tickets
The Tuller Group
Furniture Results, LLC
Stephen and Teresa Villa
Big Bash Builder
Printing
Michael and Mary Jane Mcginnis
General Contract
Rob and Elizabeth Nixon
T-Shirts
Prudential Gary Green Realty
Matthew and Sheryl Kovach
Decorations
Lone Star College CyFair
Construction Supervisor
Paul and Ann Eschenfelder
Jim and Linda Nielson
Framers
Amegy Bank
Ron and Heda Christ
Bob and Sandra Young
Red Hats
Gary and Nikki Akin
Tom and Mary Brandt
Rose Marie Bredeson
Don and Blanca Brooks
Richard and Kathleen Colt
Ron and Nancy Crider
Bill and Beverly Deerhake
Tim and Carla Ehlers
Jeff and Niki Heberling
John and Mary Kay Henry
Jane Kenda
Harold and Carole Kergosien
Chris Kiers
PAGE 7
Mary Ann McElreath
Steven and Valerie Mikel
Nancy Miller
Bruce and Wendy Roloff
Leonard and SueAnn Schwantes
Chris Stelly
Don and Nancy Thomas
Ed and Debbie Van Dike
Tom and Gloria Woodbury
Ray and Susan Young
General Donations
Roger Arras
John & Lois Boldt
Bob & Bernice
Bradfield
Dick & Betty Campbell
Earl Dague
Andre Greenberg
Jim and Katie Hayhurst
Dale and Tami Head
Darrell & Therese
Hollock
Klein Eye Care
Northside Lexus
Kerry and Betsy Stuckey
Ricardo Suerez
Wood Group
A very heartfelt Thank You to the many individuals, churches and corporations that
make Habitat NWHC a success. Your Financial gifts are appreciated by the volunteers,
staff and Habitat homeowners. * Donations made between 1/08 and 3/08.
Lauren Arredondo
Thomas and Rebecca Bailey
Brenda Ball
Sharon Borders
Alison Brayton
Alan & Diane Brown
Stephen & Cynthia Brown
Ron & Janet Buchert
Harold Bufford
Richard & Delores Burgess
C.M. Castlebury
Charles & Lynnette Coe
Shawn & Debra Cozine
Cypress Creek Christian
Church
Cypress Creek FFA
David & Betty Dodd
Don Drover
Roy Dunnam
Varadarajan Dwarakanath
Theresa Esra
Merle & Eileen Evans
Charles Farber
Nadene Galagaza-Weaver
Glenn Gilbreth
Richard & Linda Goddard
Peggy Graham
Karen Gustave
Fred & Debbie & Nick
Hagemeyer
Susan Hanks
Ron & Mary Hatcher
Ronald & Kathleen Hemmen
Pamela Henson
Heritage Presbyterian
Church
James & Linda Hesse
Hewlett Packard
Mary Higginbotham
Richard and Patricia
Hughes
Ken Jansen
JD Metals, LLC
Edward Johns
Robert & Nancy Jean Johnson
Ronald Johnson
Christopher Kennedy
Dick Kregel
Allen & Johanna Langston
Michael Lardner
Lewis & Margaret Ledlow
John Love
Thomas Ludlum
Royal Lundsford
Gregory Madeley
George & Katherien Martinez
James McCusker
Mrs. Charles McHugh
James Meek
Gregaroy & Barbara Michael
Bill & Mary Beth Moehring
Will Morefield
Thomas & Patricia Murphy
Linda Nielson
Northwoods Presbyterian
Church
Janet Nufer
Rob Pennington
Alan & Rebecca Peterson
R. Richardson & Caroline
Pettit
Carl Pietrzak
Clayton Price
Prince of Peace Catholic
Church
Coy Purkey
Clarence Reed
Robert Robinson
Tawn Roddey
Donna & Jerry Rogers
Al Roy
James Ruoff
George & Dot Saxton
Ruth Schnell
Al Schoof
Jack Serpas
Glenn Sollberger
Jim & Mary Ann Stallings
Chuck Strange
Kerry Stuckey
Susan Suessmuth
Deborah Sulak
Harriet Summerville
Marie Taravella
Gary & Pam Thome
Dudley & Skarlet Warner
Gary & Benita Whittington
Brian & Carol Williams
Willowbrook Rotary
Windwood Presbyterian
Church
Marcus Winkler
Womens Council of Realtors
Jeremy Zimmerman
NONPROFIT ORG
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
N O R T HW E S T HA R R I S C O U N T Y
US POSTAGE PAID
SPRING TX
P.O. Box 682785
13572 State Hwy 249
Houston, TX 77268-2785
PERMIT NO 342
Phone: 281-820-2307
Fax: 281-820-2527
E-mail: home@habitatnwhc.org
We’re on the web!
Habitatnwhc.org
Please contact us to update your
mailing address. If you would like to
be removed from our mailing list, or
notify us if you are receiving
duplicate copies of our newsletter.
Habitat for Humanity NWHC’s Wish List:
Donation Pick-ups Available
13572 State Hwy 249
Open to
the Public!
Open Monday-Saturday
9am-6pm
Selling Building Materials, Furniture and Appliances
Pick-Up Truck: In good condition for use by our ReStore or
construction staff
Office File Cabinets: Fire proof, lockable
Small farm tractor or commercial lawn mower: For use
at the construction site
Land: Property suitable for building homes or which we could
sell and use the proceeds for home construction
Houses: Homes in any condition that we can „deconstruct‟ and
use the materials at the ReStore
(832) 327-1120
Kroger Stores are making an adjustment to their share card program. Beginning
May 1, 2008 shoppers will need to bring the Habitat for Humanity Northwest Harris County barcode along with their Kroger Plus card to the service desk and have
them scan both cards. Please look for the barcode to be printed in the next newsletter or contact the office to receive it. If you follow these directions each time you
shop at Kroger using your plus card 1% of your purchases will be donated to Habitat NWHC.