Celebrating National Volunteer Appreciation Week (April 12-18) with a very special house dedication and more

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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!

 

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Jobsites Heat up for March Madness

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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.

Visiting groups in March are:

Week One (March 2-6): Wilkes University (Pennsylvania), pictured above and in this Flickr album

Week Two (March 9-13): Heartland Technology Group (IT Company)

Week Three (March 16-20): Lesley University (Massachusetts); Ramapo College of New Jersey (½ week with Habitat, ½ week with other non-profits)

Week Four (March 23-27): University of Missouri

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!”

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Core Construction Volunteers Honored

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“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”.

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More than paper and staples

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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!

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Students Leading the Charge to House Sponsorship

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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!

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New Year Truly Marks a New Beginning for Local Family

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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.

 

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Meet your match on the Habitat jobsite!

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This Valentine’s Day, join 30 other young, single professionals for a meaningful day of making connections and making a difference.

Your $20 registration fee will cover the cost of building materials and lunch. Participants will also take part in fun meet & mingle activities and will be invited to a Singles Build happy hour at the end of the day!
No experience is necessary, just come prepared to work hard and have a great time.

♥ Saturday, February 14, 2015

♥ 8:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Hudson Hills jobsite off Johnston Boulevard in west Asheville.

Step 1 – Sign Up: Register on HUB, our volunteer sign-up page.
Step 2 – Donate: Your $20 donation will complete your registration; please click here to donate online. Remember to choose “Singles Build” as your Area of Support.
Step 3 – Build! You will receive an email confirmation with details upon registration and a reminder before your build day on February 14th.

For more information, please contact Stephanie Wallace, Construction Services Volunteer Coordinator.

Jen and Josh Morris met on a Habitat jobsite on the Gulf Coast. They married last summer and honeymooned in Asheville, where they spent a day volunteering on Asheville Area Habitat’s jobsite (pictured here).

 

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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.

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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!”

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23 Years and Still Going Strong

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Last Friday, under a hot end-of-summer sun, we kicked off Labor Day weekend “Habitat-style”. With the help of local United Methodist and Presbyterian churches, Elisabeth Pallante and her husband Joshua London celebrated new beginnings as they raised the very first wall of their new home.

Local Presbyterian and United Methodist churches have been helping Asheville Area Habitat build homes for 23 years now; each year renewing their commitment to provide funds and volunteers to help build. This year, members of the various congregations along with the London-Pallante family and Habitat staffers socialized over lunch before raising the first wall. View pictures here.

We are grateful to these sponsoring Presbyterian Churches (PC) and United Methodist Churches (UMC):

Abernethy UMC
Asbury Memorial UMC
Central UMC
Christ UMC
Francis Asbury UMC
Grace UMC
Groce UMC
Oak Hill UMC
Oakley UMC
Sardis UMC
Skyland UMC
Snow Hill UMC
St. Paul’s UMC
Trinity UMC		 Black Mountain PC
Christ Community Church – Montreat
First Presbyterian Church of Asheville
Grace Covenant PC
New Hope PC
Reems Creek-Beech PC
Warren Wilson PC
West Asheville PC

And did you know that each home’s lot has a sponsor that helps to offset the cost of purchasing and developing the land for the home. An Adopt-a-Lot sponsor donates $10,000 and a challenge grant supports the remaining $5,000 needed for each lot. We are grateful for this home’s Adopt-a-Lot sponsors: David M. Greiner & James A. Gray.

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