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Welcome
to the May edition of the Habitat Update!
Summer is just around the corner and as kids clean out their desks, so are the members of the office staff. We're preparing for our big move to our new Chalfont location, happening the last week of June. Please anticipate our offices being closed the week of June 23. Of course, along with our office reloction, comes a brand new ReStore! Be sure to stay tuned to our website for all of the latest relocation and grand opening news.
In other exciting news, Women Build 2008 is kicking off their build-a-thon this Saturday and our search for a Development Director seems to be nearing close. Read all about it below!
Thanks for being a part of Habitat for Humanity's vision -- enjoy this month's news!
Take care,
Mikaela, Marketing & Public Relations Director
215.348.2204 x306 | m.martin@habitatbucks.org
AS OF MAY...- Number of hours logged at Emerald Hollow to date: 99,511
- Number of volunteers at Emerald Hollow to date: 10,606
- Groups on site: Women Build, Lowe's, Bucks County Association of
REALTORS, Pleasantville United Church of Christ, Merck
- Groups Providing Lunch: Blooming Glen Mennonite Church, Applebee's, Ridge Valley United Church of Christ, 1st
Savings Bank of Perkasie, Merck
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| WELCOMING... |
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The
Family
Selection Committee and Family Program Department welcome Sammy
and Yazmin Pinilla, and their son, Sammy, who live in Perkasie..
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| GIVING THANKS... |
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For
Tom Thunstrom, program manager for Banking on our Future at Operation HOPE. Tom
presented a workshop to the children in our homeownership program that focused
on managing money. He did a fabulous job! Banking on our Future teaches the basics
of banking & credit unions, checking & savings accounts, insurance,
credit and investments to children grades 4-12. For more information, visit www.bankingonourfuture.org.
For
Jacquelyn Knight, bank officer at PNC Bank in Bensalem.
Jacquelyn presented a workshop to the adults in our homeownership program that
focused on raising money-smart youth. She empowered them with ideas on how to
teach children about money by involving them in simple money transactions and
activities. Thank you Jacquelyn for a great presentation!
We love our Women
Build sponsors. Thanks to...
$10,000 Leadership
Builders: The Patricia Kind
Foundation $5000 Independence Builders: First Savings Bank of
Perkasie, Jones Apparel, Lowe's
For
the Family Support Committee, who has been working very hard to advocate for
their partner families in the Habitat homeownership program. The committee also
helped to organize the workshops presented in April and May. Thank you for the
great ideas and for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend them.
It's
about building a better Bucks! Our
Bucks County Commissioners once again have showed their support of our
Women
Build Program. The Bucks County
Commissioners, James F. Cawley, Esq., Charles H. Martin and Diane M.
Ellis-Marseglia, LCSW do hereby proclaim
June 7 -14, 2008 "Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County Women Build
Week" throughout the county of Bucks. Additionally, they made a
donation of $3,500
in honor of the women who will be volunteering their time during our
Women
Build-a-thon. Thank you for your continued support, Commissioners! |
| IN PARTNERSHIP... |
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Instead of tossing your used cell phone or printer cartridges,
bring them to us. We are partnering with the FundingFactory Recycling Program
to generate income for the Family Program Department. According to
FundingFactory, an estimated 350 million inkjet and laser cartridges and used
cell phones will be thrown away this year alone.
Help decrease this number and support Habitat while you're at it! Contact Nancy at 215.348.2204 x304 or n.oconnor@habitatbucks.org for more information!
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| ON SITE... |
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At Emerald Hollow, Cluster 10 has one unit left under construction and will settle in early June. Cluster 9 is well under way with framing and trusses have been delivered. Permits were submitted for our very last cluster in the neighborhood, number 13. > From Construction News The
Bucks County Association of Realtors (BCAR) was out on site on May 15,
working hard on the home for Mary
Beth & Corey Fisher. They had a busy day, installing fire wall,
framing the second floor walls, and laying out roofing tresses! As
part of the Neighbor to Neighbor program, BCAR
has committed to raising $100,000 and has contributed sweat equity
alongside a family to bring their dream of homeownership to reality,
but they
still need your support to hit the goal by this summer. Don't miss out
on this event: we're calling all realtors and alliance partners to
join
our Neighbor to Neighbor program today!
Contact Beth Adams at 215.348.2204 x305 or b.adams@habitatbucks.org.
Let's all work together to move this family
into their home!
In celebration of the compassion, dedication,
talents and abilities of women from all walks of life, Habitat for Humanity
International and Lowe's declared the week preceding Mother's Day, May 4 - 10,
as "National Women Build Week." Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County hosted our
Women Build Day on Wednesday, May 7 at our Emerald
Hollow location. We
had 28 Women Build participants actively building that day, including six
Lowe's employees, two from Lowe's Quakertown and four from Lowe's Warrington, volunteering to work
side by side our Women Builders as we fulfill our mission for affordable
housing in Bucks County. The weather was amazing and the volunteers
were very busy framing interior and exterior walls, installing the second-floor decking, setting roofing tresses and installing the exterior sliding
doors. Women
Build national underwriter Lowe's provided a $5,000 sponsorship to help build a
home for a hardworking Habitat partner family.
Lowe's strongly supports this empowering week, and to show their
appreciation for all the volunteers they distributed $10 coupons to all
participants. > To learn more, visit the Women Build page habitatbucks.org/womenbuild.asp, or contact Laura at l.mcclellan@habitatbucks.org; 215.348.2204 x302.
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| JOIN US... |
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 The Women Build-a-thon from June 7 through June 14 is a
very special week, one dedicated solely to women, on the Habitat for
Humanity of Bucks County construction site. Participants of Women
Build-a-thon gather sponsor pledges to build at Emerald Hollow during
the week. This year, Women Builders have been challenged to collect a
total of 2000 hours (equivalent to one house) and $30,000 (7 days of
building) during Build-a-thon Week. Registration
is closed but there is still time to show your support, make a donation today at http://habitatbucks.org/donate.asp! |
| OUT AND ABOUT... |
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Women Build hosted a booth at thePeddler's Village
Strawberry Festival this month in Lahaska, PA. In
addition to providing information about our Women Build 2008, volunteers sold Women
Build sweatshirts and House Pins, and took orders for their latest building
products. The Women Builder's also
raffled off a wide variety of gift items.
Overall, they raised over $900!
(insert photo: F:/Mktg &
Pr/photos/Women Build 2008 2008.05.03 Strawberry Fest)
Raffle winners from the event are:
- Trenton
Thunder 4-ticket packets -- T. Sheehan, A. Sheehan and N. Gloner
-
Earl's
Dinner for two - J. Stoffa
-
Western
Chic Gift Bag - S.
Renninger
-
Paul Krapf
Signed Print - F. Kelly
Thank you to all who made donations and
committed their time to this annual event!
Also on May
4, a Women Build demonstration
took place at Gracious Living in
Lahaska (http://www.graciousinteriors.com/). Habitat's Women Build crew leaders lead the construction of wooden
plant stands and other projects right in the public view on Sunday. Thank you to Melinda Kuehne for hosting all
of us for this fun day of building!
We love our Realtors! BCAR's biggest event of the Spring, their Annual Community Services Charity Auction celebrating it's 25th "silver anniversary," was hosted at the
Radisson Hotel in Trevose, PA on May 8.
Proceeds from the event benefited: Bucks County Housing Group, American
Red Cross, Lower Bucks County Chapter Homeless Shelter and Habitat for Humanity
of Bucks County. It was a fabulous
evening, allowing our wonderful realtors a chance to mingle with Habitat family members,
Marybeth and Corey Fisher. The winning ticket for the BCAR's cruise raffle was pulled
at the event by Mary Beth, and winner Bill Mahler from Prudential Fox and Roach in Newtown was thrilled to have his name called! Thank you to our sponsors Wells Fargo and US
Inspect and efforts of Michael Dameron of Dameron Travel that put the cruise
package together. |
| MAKING NOTE... |
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A great gift for teachers, dads and grads -- or treat yourself! We're holding a fabulous Fall foliage weekend getaway raffle in Vermont, sponsored by State Farm Agent Shawn Velez!  Purchase your tickets now for the chance to win a this four-day, three-night trip for two including accommodations at Hollister Hill Farm Bed and Breakfast in Marshfield, Vermont from Oct. 2 through 5, $100 gas card and a half-gallon of the farms very own maple syrup! Tickets are $20 each and are available online at www.habitatbucks.org/shopProducts.asp or they can be purchased at the Habitat office. The drawing will be held on Sat., June 14 at the closing ceremony of the Women Build-a-thon. You do not need to be present to win. All raffle proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County's Women Build program!
It
is that time of year! What better way to
give thanks to your moms and teachers than with a gift that gives back? When you purchase Pins by Lucinda through us, we receive a portion of the sale. And remember, you can always make a donation in your favorite teacher's honor. For your contribution, we'll send a personalized note for you
to sign, a "golden hammer" pin and Habitat for Humanity of Bucks
County window sticker to share. Show the specail people in your life how much you care with these unique and meaningful gifts. Contact Beth Adams at 215.348.2204x 305 or b.adams@habitatbucks.org to
get your order in today!
Habitat Bucks put a bid in on a 1920 circa building in Perkasie to
convert into 2 bedroom condos. Stay tuned for more exciting news! Also, we are actively looking for land or properties in the southern-end of
the county. If any one has information about possible projects please contact
Mike Fallon at 215-348-2204 x 312 or m.fallon@habitatbucks.org.
As
mentioned in previous newsletters, Habitat for Humanity will next be
working on new home designs for the Bristol-area with a focus on
sustainable/green building. Also, we're actively looking for land or
properties in the southern end of the county. If any one has
information about possible projects please contact Mike Fallon at the
Habitat office; 215-348-2204 x 312 or m.fallon@habitatbucks.org.
Our
job posting for a new Resource Development Director has yielded many more
applicants than we expected. We
certainly appreciate the number of people who are interested in devoting their
talents in support of Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County's mission. Our
search committee has selected six candidates for an initial round of
interviews. The number of well-qualified
applicants makes a very optimistic that we will find the perfect person very
soon. Stay tuned!
> Read more details and how-to-apply instructions
at www.habitatbucks.org/employment.asp.
 We're moving! Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County anticipates moving to our new offices at 31
Oak Avenue in Chalfont during the week of June 23. The new facility provides new office space, much-needed warehouse space and the room to open our very own ReStore operation. Based on our successful ReSale events, the ReStore will be open to the
public and sell donated, new and gently used construction materials
and home furnishings; we expect the ReStore to open in late-July. Stay tuned for exciting details as they unfold! |
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It's about...
Act! Give!
Share!
Habitat Bucks is a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization
that extends the opportunity to purchase simple, decent, affordable homes to
local families who would not otherwise have that chance. Three key resources
are necessary in order to make homeownership a reality for Habitat partner
families: funds, volunteers and advocacy. |
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