Asheville Area Habitat Receives Malachi 3:10 Award for Tithe Contributions

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Malachi 3-10 Award (2)Recently, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity (AAHH) was presented with Habitat for Humanity International’s Malachi 3:10 Award for surpassing the $500,000 benchmark in our tithe program. Mike Carscaddon, Executive Vice President of International Field Operations at Habitat for Humanity International, presented the award at Asheville Area Habitat’s Staff and Board of Directors Holiday Breakfast.

Habitat for Humanity International explains why we tithe: Tithing within Habitat — a global organization that seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the face of the earth — ensures that funding reaches the countries that have both a Habitat presence and some of the greatest need.

As Habitat is an ecumenical Christian organization, the name of the award comes from a bible verse on tithing. Malachi 3:10 reads: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

For every house AAHH builds locally, it tithes to build a house in one of these five countries: Bangladesh, Egypt, Guatemala, Haiti and Malawi. In addition to tithing, Asheville Area Habitat volunteers have participated in at least five Global Village trips to help build Habitat homes in Guatemala.

Winner Reveal! 3D Printed Ornament Contest

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On Wednesday, December 17th Habitat and Spectra 3D Technologies announced the winning design of the first “Habitat for the Holidays: 3D Printed Ornament Contest”. After the reveal, multiples of the winning 3D ornament became available for sale at $4.99 each. The ornaments will remain for sale in the store until they are sold out. All proceeds will benefit Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity.

The winning design was created by Roger Gauthier. He received a $100 ReStore gift card and a free print of his ornament. Congratulations, Roger!

Also, from noon to 6pm that same day Spectra 3D Technologies held a live 3D printing demonstration. Both events were open to the public.

Roger Gauthier stands next to a display of his winning 3D ornament.

Roger Gauthier stands next to a display of his winning 3D ornament.

3D WinningOrnament

The digital submission of Gauthier’s winning ornament.

Give the Gift of Habitat

Looking for the perfect gift? Look no further! When you give to Habitat*, you build much more than houses. Houses become homes. Communities take shape. And dreams once out of reach before possibilities. This holiday season, please help more families host gatherings, play safely in their neighborhood, save for college, and take their first-ever family vacation. Your support changes lives in Buncombe County, so give the gift of Habitat today and cross another item off your holiday shopping list. Thank you!

* To acknowledge your gift, Habitat will send a card to your honoree. 

Please click the button below to donate and give more families the opportunity for a new start.

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Habitat for the Holidays: 3D Printed Ornament Contest

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3D printing is all over the news these days and now you get a chance to be part of the next big thing. Starting today through November 24th, the public is invited to submit original 3D designs to “Habitat for the Holidays: 3D Printed Ornament Contest”. Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity is partnering with Spectra3D Technologies to host its first 3D ornament design contest. The winning design will be printed in multiples and sold to the public at the Habitat ReStore, and the designer will win a $100 gift card to the store as well as a free 3D print of their ornament. Files of other submissions will also be available for purchase online for those who want and have the ability to print their own ornaments. All proceeds from sales related to this contest will benefit Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity.

“I’m an evangelist for 3D printing and I just like to build awareness for its capabilities. And to help Habitat at the same time, that’s even better,” said Steve Schain, President of Spectra3D Technologies.

Contest guidelines, including links to resources on how to design a 3-dimensional object for printing and options for free software to use for the contest, are available online at www.HabitatOrnamentContest.com. Submissions will be judged by a panel of artists and 3D printing specialists from the community. Judging will be based on creativity, design quality, and adherence to guidelines. Ornaments should have a holiday theme and be no larger than 3”x3”x3”. The winning design will be announced at 2:45pm on Wednesday, December 10th at the Habitat ReStore (located at 31 Meadow Road in Asheville), where a live 3D printing demonstration will take place until 6pm.

Carney Place Wins Statewide Housing Award

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Four housing developments, including Asheville Area Habitat’s Carney Place, and the cities of Asheboro and Jacksonville recently received Housing North Carolina Awards for excellence in affordable housing. The winners were selected for affordability; design (attractiveness, energy-efficiency); contribution to the community; sustainability as affordable housing; and features such as services for residents and creative partnerships.

Sponsored by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, the 25-year-old statewide awards recognize outstanding rental, homeownership and supportive housing developments that can serve as models for other communities. More than 1,000 people attended the awards luncheon that was part of the 2014 NC Affordable Housing Conference in Raleigh.

Great location, appealing design, energy-efficient construction – all at an affordable price. This is Carney Place. This 22-home Asheville Area Habitat neighborhood created with partnership from the City of Asheville, produced a community of energy-efficient, single-family homes in the trendy West Asheville area. With the city financing the land costs, Asheville Habitat for Humanity created a subdivision affordable to buyers who would have otherwise been priced out of this trendy and convenient part of town.

Making the homes even more affordable, construction to SystemVision™ standards will keep heating and cooling costs to an average of $25 to $35 per month. The two-, three- and four-bedroom homes range from 900 to 1,400 square feet, incorporate universal design features such as accessible bathrooms and at-grade or ramped entrances, and are Green Built NC certified through the use of high-efficiency vinyl windows and high-efficiency heat pumps, water heaters and appliances. Forgivable second and third mortgages provided by Habitat and the city of Asheville, plus zero-percent participation loans from the N.C. Housing Finance Agency, made the homes affordable to qualified buyers. In addition to helping build their own homes, homeowners completed 50 hours of homeownership education to help ensure that they will be able to maintain their investment.

To read more about the 2014 Housing NC Awards and other award-winning communities, please click here. Want to see Carney Place? Click here to watch a short video about the community.

Warren Haynes Presents: The 26th Annual Christmas Jam on December 13, 2014

On October 6, 2014 – World Habitat Day – Warren Haynes announced that the 26th Annual Christmas Jam will be held on Saturday, December 13, 2014. Held at the US Cellular Center in Asheville, NC this year’s benefit concert will feature Vince Gill, Gov’t Mule, Billy & The Kids, Hard Working Americans, The Revivalists and Jason Isbell with his band, with additional artists to be announced soon.

One of the most celebrated and longest-running live concerts in the U.S., the Christmas Jam will benefit our affiliate for the 16th year in a row! Just a few months ago, Haynes presented Asheville Area Habitat with a record-breaking $500,000 in proceeds from last year’s epic, sold-out Silver Anniversary event. Read more.

Home Repair Program Makes One Shiloh Resident Dance with Joy

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Written by Pat Bacon, Habitat’s Family Support Specialist

Eugene (Gene) Rone’s mother died in 1929, just thirteen days after he became a year old. On her death bed, his mother asked his seventeen year old sister, Willie Mae, to take care of him; and she did. Willie Mae also taught him to care for himself and to seek a good life. As a teenager, he cooked, washed and ironed his own clothes, cleaned house, went to school and worked a part time job. He earned $1.00 a week and every week he gave his dad fifty cents. Later he met and became “family” with a Cuban family that owned a grocery store. He started working for the family at $3.00 a week and when his income increased, so did his dad’s – “$1.50 a week.” Gene said that along the way he grew tired of “lamp light,” especially when he was entertaining friends, so he saved his money and before long and much to his and his family’s pleasure,  he was able to have electricity and a telephone installed in the family home.

After graduating from Stephens Lee High School in 1949, Gene started doing domestic work and in 1953 he married his sweetheart, Mary, who at that time lived in the Shiloh Community. From 1954-1956 he served in the Army, barely missing a stint in Vietnam. Upon his return to Asheville, fifty-eight years ago, he and Mary purchased their home in the Shiloh Community for what was then the colossal sum of $4,500.

The Rone house is modest by conventional standards – two bedrooms, one bath. But it is rich because of a unique nuance, wonderful pictures and a cadre of mementos from many years of special occasions, family and community events which adorn all the walls, nooks and crannies – including ballroom dances with Mary who died in 1993. On a wall in the living room is a smiling picture of Mary and a framed poem dedicated to her – lit by an eternal candle flame.

Gene indicating damage near a windowGene is very proud of his community and he knows everybody on his street and everybody knows him. They all take a lot of pride in their homes and their yards. When Gene noted that his house needed painting, downspouts and gutters, he learned from a neighbor who happened to be a Habitat volunteer, about Habitat’s Home Repair program. Gene obtained and completed an application and as we say, the rest is history. Habitat’s Joel Johnson assessed the work and made the needed arrangements to get it done.

Habitat did a variety of repair work including servicing the oil furnace; scraping and painting exterior windows, doors, and trim; replacing rotten window trim and broken siding; re-routing water runoff from downspouts away from the house; replacing missing gable vent trim and installing a new gutter.

Gene is very grateful to Habitat for repairing his cherished home. He readily admits that it would have been very difficult if not impossible, to afford the work on his retirement income. He said that “these days folks charge an arm and a leg for anything that they do for you. Folks like me need organizations like Habitat.”

Gene has wonderful recall of the past and a positive outlook for the future. He remembers riding street cars at six cents a pop and cutting wood for the kitchen stove. These days he enjoys the good feeling he gets from driving his 1995 white, convertible mustang and entertaining family and friends. He speaks readily about what it means to live a full, rich life with no regrets. He smiles and says, “I’m still dancing with Mary!”

ReUse Contest Winners Announced!

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We are pleased to announce the winners of the third annual ReStore ReUse Contest. The forty entries ranging from furniture to houses and everything in between, were built using predominantly reused materials. The judges selected winners in five categories: Furniture, Homesteading, Live/Work Space, Best in Show and the add-on category Most Unique. And for the first time, voting was also open to the public. Public voting in the ReStore and on Pinterest generated the winner in the People’s Choice category.

The winners are:

Homesteading – Tim and Amanda Sorrill

Furniture – Ana Medina

Live and/or Work Space – Wayne Ruth

Best in Show – John and Diane Vogt

Most Unique – Jeff Tallman

People’s Choice – Doug Parris

Photos of  these and all entries, can be viewed in this FlickR album.

The purpose of the contest is to showcase innovative projects constructed predominantly of used building materials. Entries were judged on quality of design and execution; replicability of concept; clarity of description; and quality of photos. “We really saw a lot of ingenuity and complexity this year,” said judge and ReStore General Manager Scott Stetson. “We even decided to add a Most Unique category to more fairly judge the entries that did not necessarily fit neatly into one of the other pre-established categories.”

In addition to Stetson, the judging panel included:

Joel Johnson, Asheville Habitat’s Home Repair Project Supervisor

Linda Keep, 2013 winner in the Furniture category

David Earl Tomlinson, local metalworker/metal artist and musician

Brigitte Bassham, Habitat homeowner, teacher, and reuse enthusiast

Keep, who won the Furniture category in 2013, especially loved this year’s winning entry in that category. “The door and bathroom vanity cabinet transformed into a mudroom bench is completely replicable – one of the criteria for judging. I could find a vintage door and old cabinet at the ReStore and make this project myself. And I think I might!”

 

Pisgah Brewing Company, F.A.T.E., Asheville Area Habitat and WNCW Join Forces for the end of season closer on the Outdoor Stage for WNCW’s 25th Anniversary

{From Pisgah Brewing Company press release}

Pisgah Brewing Company is hosting their end-of-season celebration for the Pisgah Brewing Outdoor Stage the last weekend of September, which will jointly benefit and celebrate 25 years of stellar local radio from the North Carolina media gem that is 88.7 WNCW. Pisgah and WNCW will also trade help hand-in-hand with Funding America Through Entertainment (FATE) as well as Asheville Area Habitat For Humanity for this special occasion. The free community event will take place on Saturday, September 27th and will feature a headlining set on the Outdoor Stage from local new-grass pioneers Acoustic Syndicate. Other acts for the event will include a special set from guitar virtuoso Shane Pruitt Band and Friends, as well as an opening set from the Pisgah Brewing house band, Phuncle Sam. The event is set to be an all day celebration with the gates opening at 4pm and music starting at 5pm. Click here for more information.

Bring your friends and family to what is sure to be a fantastically fun event!

ReUse Contest: People’s Choice voting 9/5 – 9/15

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Voting is now open for the People’s Choice award in the 2014 ReStore ReUse Contest! Vote in the Asheville ReStore (lower level showroom, on the wall) and/or on Pinterest between 9/5 and 9/15. One vote per person, per location. Our panel of judges will be convening next week to select the winners in the three main categories: Furniture, Homesteading and Live/Work Space. Winners of those categories as well as People’s Choice, will be announced later this month (September). Check out the 40 entries, vote, and be inspired to take on your own creative reuse project!