On Saturday, May 31st Habitat homeowner-to-be Rhonda Kensinger (right) worked her final 7 hours towards her 200 hours of required Sweat Equity. But for Rhonda, it’s not over. She remarked, “We still have a whole neighborhood to finish!” and then signed on as a Friday core construction volunteer going forward.
If you missed the initial article that Rhonda wrote about the paper chain, I encourage you to read it now.
200 hours chain, the start of the build
Rhonda celebrated the completion of her sweat equity hours with a 200 hour cake and her family, friends, fellow volunteers and construction supervisors by her side. Rhonda said, “We decided to celebrate everyone’s 200 hours from now on.” With vast personal and professional responsibilities, imagine also making time to volunteer for 200+ hours. Parents often make difficult decisions and major sacrifices while working towards Habitat homeownership. But each and every one of them say it’s worth it in the end; when they have a safe, decent and affordable HOME to come back to each and every day.
Kudos to Rhonda and all the others who have, are, or will work towards a brighter future for themselves and their families. And thank you to all the Habitat volunteers and sponsors that are helping to provide a hand up.
With family, friends and fellow volunteers on her final day of sweat equity
Rhonda with construction supervisor John Meadows
Cake to celebrate completion of 200 hours or Sweat Equity
Affordable housing is one of the most pressing unmet needs in our region. A recently released report* indicated that the combination of a lack of affordable units, a critically low vacancy rate and a significant projected population growth will make housing availability in our area, especially affordable housing, a rare commodity.
Thanks to an anonymous donation through the Community Foundation of WNC, Asheville Area Habitat is pleased to announce that its first-ever “Business Bungalow” House will soon begin in West Asheville. All donations to this house by local businesses, will be matched (up to $25,000) by this caring donor.
The donor, who wants to address the affordable housing shortage head-on, is offering this match to encourage the business community to get involved and be part of the solution. “This is an opportunity to work together to build a Habitat house, address a pressing community need, and most importantly, transform the life of another local family,” said Betsy Warren, Sponsor Coordinator for Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity. “We are enormously grateful to this donor and we’re excited to partner with the local business community to collectively address the lack of affordable housing in the area.”
How to get involved: Donations of all sizes are welcome and appreciated. All donors will receive a special window cling (decal), be recognized in AAHH’s annual report (printed and online) and be included in a printed program at the dedication of the house. Click here to Donate and select Business Bungalow under Area of Support.
Businesses that give $250 will be recognized as Housing Champions and will also receive the following benefits: the option to schedule one on-site volunteer workday, and a listing on AAHH’s website for the duration of the build (approximately six months).
Sponsorship opportunities ($1,000 and up) are also available. To learn more, visit http://bit.ly/AAHHsponsorships or contact Betsy Warren, Sponsorship Coordinator, at bwarren@ashevillehabitat.org or 828.210.9363.
*The January 2015 Regional Housing Analysis by Bowen Research Group, commissioned by the City of Asheville.
https://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Blog-Business-Bungalow_800x3501.jpg350800Asheville Habitathttps://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAHH-logo_black_with-counties-tag-300x150.jpgAsheville Habitat2015-05-19 00:00:002015-05-19 00:00:00Habitat Announces First “Business Bungalow” House
On Friday, May 8th, local Women Build volunteers and Lowe’s Heroes employee volunteers were among more than 20 volunteers who joined Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity to help build affordable housing in Asheville as part of National Women Build Week, May 2-10.
In recognition of National Women Build Week and in celebration of a well-loved Women Build volunteer, Habitat hosted a dedication ceremony mid-day in honor of Barbara Reynolds, a woman known by Habitat volunteers as the “Women Build Lunch Lady.” For many years, as a way to stay involved after aging out of swinging hammers, Barbara made lunch once a week for the Women Build volunteers, always with a secret ingredient, which she made them guess. Barbara died suddenly last year. To honor her, the Women Build Advocacy Team raised $10,000 for the “Barbara Reynolds Memorial Kitchen” with an online crowdfunding campaign and through memorial gifts given after Barbara’s death. After a potluck on the jobsite, an apron embroidered with the Women Build logo and “Barbara Reynolds Memorial Kitchen” was presented to Christina Demorgoli, the future homeowner of the Women Build House.
Demorgoli noted that although she never had the opportunity to meet Barbara, she felt a closeness with her because of all the love shared among the people that were present at the event and even those who loved Barbara but were not able to be there today. “All this love for Barbara will be felt in my new kitchen, in my new house,” she said.
In addition to the dedication of the kitchen, Lowe’s presented a $5,000 check to Asheville Area Habitat. Those funds will pay for materials used in the Women Build House.
National Women Build Week is a week-long event created by Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build program that challenges women to devote at least one day to help build affordable housing in their local communities. Across the nation, more than 15,000 women volunteered at Habitat construction sites last week to spotlight the homeownership challenges faced by women.
Lowe’s helped launch National Women Build Week in 2008 and each year provides the support of Lowe’s Heroes and conducts how-to clinics at stores to teach volunteers construction skills. “National Women Build Week has made a difference in the lives of thousands of families since its inception,” said Joan Higginbotham, Lowe’s director of community relations. “We’re grateful to all the women in Asheville who got involved this week and were part of something bigger with Lowe’s and Habitat.”
Lowe’s donated nearly $2 million to this year’s National Women Build Week, including $5,000 to Asheville Area Habitat. National Women Build Week is one of the major initiatives supported through Lowe’s national partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Since 2003, Lowe’s has committed more than $63 million to Habitat and helped more than 4,000 families improve their living conditions.
Habitat’s Women Build program recruits, educates and inspires women to build and advocate for simple, decent and affordable homes in their communities. Since the program was created in 1998, more than 2,300 homes have been built in partnership with low-income families using Women Build crews. For more information on Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build program and to learn about Women Build events in communities across the U.S. year-round, visit Habitat.org/wb or the Women Build tab on http://www.facebook.com/habitat.
https://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Blog-NWBW_800x350-copy.jpg350800Asheville Habitathttps://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAHH-logo_black_with-counties-tag-300x150.jpgAsheville Habitat2015-05-11 00:00:002015-05-11 00:00:00Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity and Lowe’s teamed up for National Women Build Week
Our Sponsorship Coordinator, Betsy Warren, writes wonderful updates for our house sponsors. We just had to share her latest one to the sponsors for the Student Build House (students and faculty at Asheville Christian Academy, Carolina Day School and Christ School). It’s a great peek into the goings-on here at Habitat. Take a look!
Student Build Construction Update
Have you been out to the Hudson Hills jobsite lately to check on the progress of the 2015 Student Build House? It’s looking great! The photograph to the right was taken last Wednesday, April 29. The group on the porch is from Wicked Weed, who made a Blueprint Sponsorship donation towards the Student Build House, solicited by Carolina Day School.
Notice the railing lining the roof of the house in the picture. That’s a safety system called the “Hugs.” The orange pins are clamped to the entire perimeter of the roof; once those are in place, boards are threaded through to create a fence. The Hugs system prevents volunteers or construction staff from tumbling to the ground.
Construction sites can be dangerous — we’re proud that our jobsite crew does everything possible to make safety the top priority.
Trish Wolfe enrolled in Homebuyer Class
Trish Wolfe, the Partner Family for the Student Build House, is hard at work on her 250 required hours of Sweat Equity. Besides visiting both Asheville Christian Academy and Carolina Day School to meet and speak to students, she is currently enrolled in Habitat’s 50-hour Homebuyer Class. In those classes, Trish and other future Habitat homeowners will dissect and analyze the closing process and mortgage documents, as well as study such things as budgeting and basic home maintenance.
Last month, the Homebuyer class welcomed guest presenters from the Fire Department, where the topic was fire prevention and safety. That’s Trish on the far right, concentrating hard on the presentation.
In future classes, Habitat board member Skip Helms and volunteer attorney Brattan Gelder will teach Trish and the other Partner Families about asset protection, retirement planning, saving for education, health care directives, and simple wills. It’s no wonder our Partner Families are so well-prepared for homeownership and for the future by closing time!
Aerial View of Hudson Hills
Check out this aerial view of Hudson Hills, taken by a high-flying volunteer just this past week. That’s the Student Build House second from the left — look closely and you can tell the roof was in progress when the picture was taken. If you zoom in, you might see the faint outlines of the Hugs system lining the Student Build roof.
New homes are just beginning on both sides of the Student Build House — the house on the left has its first wall in place; the one on the right is just a foundation. Hudson Hills is a busy place! Come out when you can — you’ll be amazed at how the neighborhood has changed and grown since our kick-off celebration at the end of March.
https://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/800X350-Blog-cover-aerial_4.28.15-3.jpg350800Asheville Habitathttps://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAHH-logo_black_with-counties-tag-300x150.jpgAsheville Habitat2015-05-04 00:00:002015-05-04 00:00:00Update on the Student Build House
Volunteers support Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity staff and homeowner families in every aspect of their work. Last year, 2,100 volunteers contributed more than 64,000 hours of service – a service valued at more than $1.3 million!* Another way to look at it: the hours contributed by volunteers equates to having an additional 30 full-time staff members!
As Executive Director Lew Kraus often says, “We can have all the money in the world, but without volunteers, the Habitat model doesn’t work. Volunteers are the backbone of our organization.” And what better way to honor them, than to build a house in their honor.
That house was started last fall and is known as the Hearts & Hammers House; built in celebration of all Habitat volunteers who make safe, decent, affordable homeownership a reality for local families. On Friday, April 17th at 12:30pm, Habitat will dedicate the Hearts & Hammers House and present a ceremonial key to future homeowner Gwen Jones and her family. The event will be held in Habitat’s Hudson Hills neighborhood in West Asheville and the public and media are invited to attend.
Habitat announced the idea for a house honoring volunteers last fall and the community responded swiftly to a $30,000 challenge match by generous sponsors New Morning Gallery and the local branches of BB&T, Carolina Alliance Bank, SunTrust, and Wells Fargo. During the past six months core volunteers and visiting team alike, were busy building the Jones’ future home and Gwen herself contributed 200 Sweat Equity (volunteer) hours on the jobsite, in the ReStore and Office and in homeownership education classes as part of her partnership with Habitat. She is absolutely thrilled to soon move into her forever home. In fact, Habitat staffers heard her shrills of delight just the other day when Gwen received the good news that her closing would happen even earlier than anticipated!
During National Volunteer Appreciation Week, volunteers will receive small gifts of appreciation as well as complimentary lunch. On the construction site, lunches will be provided by Subway for the second year in a row. Subway will be saluting approximately 2,000 Habitat for Humanity volunteers working across the Carolinas by providing catered boxed lunches from local Subway franchises.
We hope you’ll join us on Friday, April 17 at 12:30pm to celebrate our volunteers and welcome the Jones family home!
https://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Blog-HH-Dedication_800x350-copy.jpg350800Asheville Habitathttps://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAHH-logo_black_with-counties-tag-300x150.jpgAsheville Habitat2015-04-08 00:00:002015-04-08 00:00:00Celebrating National Volunteer Appreciation Week (April 12-18) with a very special house dedication and more
March Madness is here, but for Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity that means an influx of volunteer groups spending their spring break volunteering rather than heating up the basketball courts. The groups come from all over the country and bring with them volunteers, funds, and a surge of energy that matches any overtime game.
“The students bring a lot of enthusiasm to the jobsite. You can see them go through a transformation over the week that shows it truly is a life-changing experience for many of them,” says Charlie Franck, core volunteer with Asheville Area Habitat.
Most groups will work mainly on Habitat’s construction site in West Asheville, but some will also try their hand in the Habitat ReStore and on Habitat’s Home Repair sites. This year brings a mix of Collegiate Challenge and Global Village groups, comprised of college students and one national IT business. The groups are housed at Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, allowing them to enjoy the beauty of the mountains with access to hiking trails nearby. Each group will participate in a dinner with Habitat partner families who are in-process, allowing the volunteers an opportunity to get to know the people they are helping through their volunteer labor.
Construction Services Volunteer Coordinator Stephanie Wallace noted, “We are thrilled to welcome both new and repeat groups this year. Wilkes, Heartland Technology and University of Missouri are joining us for the first time, while Lesley and Ramapo are returning for the 4th time!”
https://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/WilkesUniv2015_800x350.jpg350800Asheville Habitathttps://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAHH-logo_black_with-counties-tag-300x150.jpgAsheville Habitat2015-03-09 00:00:002015-03-09 00:00:00Jobsites Heat up for March Madness
“Core” Construction volunteers are those who help Habitat build and repair homes on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Last year, these core volunteers helped Asheville Area Habitat build 14 new Habitat houses in Swannanoa, Shiloh and West Asheville. They also repaired 33 existing homes in Buncombe County. We thanked and recognized them with a breakfast event at Warren Wilson College recently. Click here to see photos.
“While these folks don’t volunteer for the recognition or the accolades, we feel it’s important to thank them and honor the immense contribution they make to our organization and the community at large. Without volunteers – especially the cores who we can count on week after week – we would not be able to build and preserve communities,” notes executive director Lew Kraus.
In 2014,74 core construction volunteers collectively contributed more than 16,000 hours of service to Asheville Area Habitat! To put that in perspective, 1,700 individuals volunteered on a construction site last year, collectively providing a whopping 35,000 hours of service! 46% of those total hours (16,000 hours) were completed by just 74 individuals – the “core” volunteers!
Among this core group, were 10 individuals who contributed more than 300 hours and one who topped the scale at more than 600 hours! Habitat congratulated and thanked:
Top Ten Hours volunteers
CJ Obara – 640 hours
Dick Allen – 622
Ken Clark – 454
Bob Laveck – 424
Jerry Ray – 407
Bill Reid – 343
Ray Ducharme – 321
Kevin Cox – 316
Ross Akin – 315
Paul Finegan – 309
In total, 32 core construction volunteers were recognized for contributing more than 250 hours of service last year, each receiving a golden hammer to signify the milestone.
Habitat also recognized those who hit significant longevity milestones. The honorees were:
10 Year Award – Alan Lang and CJ Obara 15 Year Award – Ted Faber and Cliff Joslin (pictured
In addition to Construction volunteers, Habitat utilizes volunteers in the ReStore, administrative office and on committees. These volunteers are recognized in separate appreciate events. Collectively and across the entire organization, nearly 2,100 volunteers contribute more than 64,000 hours to Asheville Area Habitat in 2014.
With a volunteer hour valued by Independent Sector at more $21/hour, this equates to a “gift” of more than $1.3million. Volunteer labor helps keep construction costs low and houses therefore affordable to the families who purchase them (from Habitat). Kraus added, “The Habitat model only works with a strong volunteer component. We cannot overstate the value of volunteers to our organization”.
By Rhonda Kensinger, Habitat Partner Family in process
Small children have no concept of time. Jimbo and Nick were no exception. I forgot about something I did – more out of self preservation from the “When are we going to Disney?” kind of questions than anything else – and that was to make a paper chain. Each day they would take a link off; that way they knew how many more days before an event would happen.
I forgot that until Nicholas presented me with my very own paper chain last Sunday. It had 200 links! How a doctor and a first-semester physical therapist student (Havely) have had time to cut and count and staple that many, I don’t know! But they did!
I took 7 links off last week. Here is a picture of a Habitat construction crew holding the 193 left to go. At the end of my last shift, I took off another 7. I’ll keep you posted with pictures as the chain shortens.
What I loved about doing this is that it made everyone, even the serious guys on the construction site, smile wide and big. The connection there was more than staples to paper.
Thank you Nick and Havely for putting my chain together!
https://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Rhonda-paper-chain.jpg409545Asheville Habitathttps://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAHH-logo_black_with-counties-tag-300x150.jpgAsheville Habitat2015-02-13 00:00:002015-02-13 00:00:00More than paper and staples
Students from Asheville Christian Academy, Carolina Day School, and Christ School are already well on their way to making the second Habitat Student Build House in Buncombe County a reality. These schools have committed to jointly raise the $55,000 it takes to fully sponsor an Asheville Area Habitat house and provide student volunteers (ages 16 and up) and adult chaperones to help build the house. Each school will raise $18,333. Construction on the house is slated to begin March 24th, with the first wall to be raised three days later.
Reaching such a lofty goal takes leadership. The schools have formed a Student Advisory Committee with students from each school who stepped forward to take on the task of leading the charge. The group met last fall in a preliminary Student Build Workshop, and recently met again for their second workshop at the Habitat office this past Saturday, January 24th.
13 high school student-leaders and a faculty member from each school spent Saturday morning with Habitat core volunteers and staff preparing and learning. They toured the ReStore, learned how to effectively recruit and schedule volunteers for the Student Build House, and were trained on how to use an online crowdsourcing campaign to raise money. They reported on what they had already done to raise money (as a total, they are already 63% to their goal!), and discussed what worked and what didn’t. Plans were also made to prepare for the 2016 Student Build House!
The icing on the cake that day was the presentation of a $4,000 check from State Farm. Proof that they had already come far since the first workshop, this check was the result of a grant proposal the students penned and submitted together. It’s amazing what a group of motivated young people can accomplish with a little bit of guidance and a whole lot of heart!
https://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Blog-Student-Build-WorkshopState-Farm-Check-Presentation.jpg350800Asheville Habitathttps://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAHH-logo_black_with-counties-tag-300x150.jpgAsheville Habitat2015-01-28 00:00:002015-01-28 00:00:00Students Leading the Charge to House Sponsorship
The New Year is symbolic of new beginnings, resolutions, and goals. For Lekisha Beamon and her two children, 2015 will truly mark a fresh start. On Friday, January 9th at 12 noon in Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity’s Hudson Hills subdivision, Habitat volunteers raised the first wall of the Beamons’ future home. See pictures from the Wall Raising here. By June, Lekisha will be a first-time homeowner and the family will be moving into a new, energy efficient, affordable home of their very own.
“This will be a new start for me and my family…This will be the security that my family and I need in our lives. My children being able to go outside and play in ‘our’ yard means so much to me”, Lekisha wrote to Habitat.
This home will be fully sponsored with a generous gift by Steve and Frosene Zeis and is to be built in honor of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. In turn, Lekisha will repay a 30-year, 0% interest mortgage to Habitat, which Habitat will use to build more homes.
https://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/CP-JAN-2015-Holy-Trinity-Zeis-1.9.15-FAMILY.jpg445670Asheville Habitathttps://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAHH-logo_black_with-counties-tag-300x150.jpgAsheville Habitat2015-01-14 00:00:002015-01-14 00:00:00New Year Truly Marks a New Beginning for Local Family
