The ReStore is thanking a long-time volunteer and top-shelf recruiter this week. Sherry Griffith (picture above R, and C in group shot) has been volunteering at the ReStore for ten years now and has no plan on stopping anytime soon.
“It’s just fun,” Sherry says. “It certainly beats just being at home and not knowing what you’re going to do.”
Griffith spent her career as a special education teacher. After her retirement, she decided to begin volunteering in the community. She worked with another Asheville organization building houses, but found her true calling as an Asheville Habitat ReStore volunteer.
While Sherry eventually found her place in the front of the store, there was a brief period when she worked in the bookstore. She thought she would enjoy the quiet and being able to play her own music, but that was a short-lived experiment. She missed the continuous interaction that the front of the store brings.
“Everybody loves to tell you what they’re going to do with what they bought,” Sherry says. “You know, everybody’s doing unique things like buying coffee cups and saucers and making bird feeders out of them.”
You can find Sherry every Thursday morning working at the register, setting up displays, and talking with anyone and everyone. She has one of those magnetic personalities that naturally draws a crowd, including more ReStore volunteers. In her ten years, Sherry recruited three volunteers – all of them now volunteering on Thursdays.
Her pitch is simple.
“I just talk about how much fun it is, and that you get to meet people and see what they’re buying and what they’re doing with all their fun stuff,” Sherry says. “And they all need to do something else with their lives, so I talked them into it.”
But Sherry isn’t keeping her passion for volunteering and helping others in one place. She and her husband have served as a host family for Haitian youth who have come to Asheville through Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF), and last year she went to Costa Rica with LEAF. She met families and provided connections for those children who will travel to the area for future festivals. “It was cool, and it was fun,” Sherry says. “An average tourist would never get that experience.”
Costa Rica is just the beginning though. This weekend, she and several other volunteers are heading to Guatemala as part of a Habitat for Humanity International mission. Led by Asheville Area Habitat’s Joel Johnson, Sherry and the other volunteers will help Habitat Guatemala build one-room cinderblock homes and install clean burning stoves.
Her friend and fellow ReStore volunteer Rhonda McKenna is participating in this service trip, too. Sherry credits her opportunities for traveling to the connections she’s made while volunteering, saying that it’s difficult to travel by yourself, especially when her husband is still working. “I’m retired and one of my lifegoals was to travel more,” Sherry says. “And I’ve gotten to do that.”
We are incredibly lucky to have a volunteer who is so committed to the Habitat mission and bettering our community, locally and globally. We wish Sherry and the other volunteers luck and good wishes in Guatemala, but we are definitely going to miss her warmth and enthusiasm next week!
https://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/blog-TYT_Sherry-Griffith.jpg350800Asheville Habitathttps://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAHH-logo_black_with-counties-tag-300x150.jpgAsheville Habitat2016-02-18 00:00:002016-02-18 00:00:00Making a Difference, Locally and Globally
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (February 2, 2016) — Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity today announced that Andy Barnett has been named as its new Executive Director. Barnett succeeds longtime Executive Director Lew Kraus, who has announced his retirement from the position.
Barnett comes to the affiliate from St. Paul, Minnesota, where he has been Coordinating Consultant for the Frogtown Rondo Home Fund for the last three years. Frogtown Rondo Home Fund is a unique collaboration of over 30 community, philanthropic, and local government organizations focused upon enriching the quality of life in the Frogtown and Rondo neighborhoods of St. Paul. The Frogtown Rondo Home Fund connects and enhances public and private housing resources and activities in a very diverse section of the city, seeking to bring visible stability to the area while addressing residents’ most pressing housing needs.
Prior to his three years with Frogtown Rondo Home Fund, Barnett was with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity for nearly 14 years. During his tenure with one of the most innovative Habitat affiliates in the nation, Barnett served in a variety of roles including Site Supervisor, Director of Construction, and Director of Community Development. In 2010, as interim Director of Programs and Services, he co-chaired the affiliate’s participation in the prestigious Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project, with responsibility for neighborhood engagement, family services, volunteerism, construction, logistics, gifts-in-kind, and events.
“Andy’s track record of hands-on leadership and experience with affordable housing initiatives at Twin Cities Habitat and Frogtown Rondo Home Fund will be great assets for both Asheville and Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity,” said David Whilden, Board chairman for the organization. “He comes to Asheville having made strong contributions to the cause of improving the lives of Twin Cities residents by building homes and stronger neighborhoods. We believe Andy is an excellent fit for our organization, our community, and our values of collaboration, opportunity, dignity, and empowerment.”
Barnett is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in Housing Studies. However, he is no stranger to Asheville and western North Carolina. He began his studies at Appalachian State University and started his career in affordable housing by helping establish a Habitat affiliate in Rockingham County, NC after attending a regional Habitat affiliate conference in Asheville that was held in 1993. Additionally, Barnett and his wife were married at the Asheville Botanical Gardens.
“The Board of Directors recognizes that we have been so fortunate to have someone with Lew Kraus’ tremendous character, energy, and capabilities as our leader for 28 years,” said Whilden. “The staff, homeowners, volunteers, donors, and supporters of Asheville Habitat have achieved remarkable things during this time. We are also very enthusiastic about having a leader succeed him, who will build upon that legacy and help achieve our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.”
Kraus added, “Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity is considered a model Habitat affiliate, and we are grateful to have Barnett’s experience with that organization here in Buncombe County. His involvement with so many facets of the Habitat operation will be especially valuable in his role as Executive Director. Additionally, his experience with a community-based organization like the Frogtown Rondo Home Fund will be a great asset as we address the challenges of affordable housing in our neighborhoods.”
Barnett will begin his work as Executive Director in March.
https://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Housing-NC-Award.jpg350800Asheville Habitathttps://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAHH-logo_black_with-counties-tag-300x150.jpgAsheville Habitat2016-02-02 00:00:002016-02-02 00:00:00AAHH Announces New Executive Director
The Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity ReStore is privileged to have a volunteer who embodies the spirit of being a “jack of all trades.” In his time with the ReStore, Ron Shimberg has volunteered in the bookstore, on the sales floor, and in the receiving department loading and unloading trucks.
Now, Ron can usually be found diligently cleaning the parking lots of both the ReStore and the Administrative building, a task that he took upon himself after noticing a tendency for mess.
“I noticed that there was some garbage in the parking lot, so I started cleaning the parking lot on Thursday, and rewarding myself with volunteering in the bookstore on Saturday,” Ron said. “No one asked me to do it, but I like doing it. And it’s important to me to make this place look nice, because the parking lot is one of the first things people are going to see.” He soon realized though, that once a week wasn’t enough for the parking lot and something had to give.
Giving up the bookstore was hard for Ron, as he says that he had a great time volunteering there. “It was hard giving up my bookstore shift, because it was my favorite gig in the ReStore,” Ron said. “But now I can really make an even bigger difference, by cleaning the lots twice a week.”
While in the bookstore, Ron said that he experienced and contributed to a warm and welcoming environment. “When I was in the bookstore, it was a great vibe,” he said. “I would engage the people and I would have them dancing. I even had one volunteer dancing with his dog!”
Ron attributes this partially to his love of music, which led him to create a lively atmosphere in the bookstore (which also sells vinyl albums and CDs) with the records he would play. “I’m a musician. I play blues harmonica and I’ve been in 3 bands around town,” Ron said. “That’s my soul, music. I love it.”
Ron ended up as a ReStore volunteer due to a total fluke, as he had just recently moved to Asheville and took a wrong turn. “I escaped South Florida, and was staying at my sister’s before I got my own place,” he said. “She sent me on a run to AB Tech, and I didn’t know where I was going and ended up going the wrong way and happened to pass by the ReStore. They had a sign that said ‘volunteers wanted,’ so I arranged to volunteer the very next day.”
In Florida, Ron worked with online sales and marketing, selling data and designing web content for Fortune 500 companies and helping to pioneer embedded advertising in email services. Even with the long hours he worked then, he still found time to volunteer in Florida with an organization called Horses for the Handicapped.
Ron has always really liked doing good things for the community, and he knew he wanted to do the same when he came to Asheville in March of 2013, which he considers a huge turning point in his life.
“Everything changed when I moved here,” he said. “I really dug the vibe and the energy of Asheville right off the bat.” Ron says that same atmosphere permeates the entire Habitat for community as well, which made him feel welcome almost immediately.
“I like the relationships I’ve made here, not just with the staff and volunteers but with customers too. I’ve even become friends with some of the customers.”
Ron has always taken a great deal of pride in his volunteer positions, whether it be making the bookstore customers smile and dance, moving merchandise in the receiving area, or keeping the parking lots clean. To Ron, all of these tasks are his way of making a positive difference for what he calls his family.
We’re glad Ron made a wrong turn back in 2013! We are fortunate to have him as part of the Habitat family and appreciate his ongoing commitment to service, no matter the task.
https://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/blog-TYT_Ron-Shimberg.jpg350800Asheville Habitathttps://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAHH-logo_black_with-counties-tag-300x150.jpgAsheville Habitat2016-01-21 00:00:002016-01-21 00:00:00Committed to Service, No Matter the Task
In 1988, Lew Kraus accepted a one-year position as Executive Director with Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity (AAHH). That one year commitment extended into 28 years of working to provide decent, affordable housing for families in our community. He will be retiring this spring.
Our organization is planning a number of events and initiatives to recognize and honor Kraus, the first of which was announced at an event celebrating the successful culmination of the organization’s $5M Building a Way Home campaign. To Kraus’ surprise, Board Member Spencer Duin announced that the non-profit’s administrative building will be named in his honor. “You probably don’t realize it, but you are sitting in the Lewis J. Kraus Building,” he said to the audience. The signage will be installed this year.
Joan Cooper, long-time Family Services Director and Kraus’ wife, will retire as well. Duin announced that the Family Services Suite in the administrative building will be dedicated and named for Cooper’s own exceptional 26 years of service with the affiliate.
The organization has also decided that the most fitting way to honor the duo who made lifelong careers of helping families in need of safe, decent housing is to build a Habitat house in their name. The Kraus/Cooper Cottage will be built in Habitat’s Hudson Hills neighborhood and will
commence with a wall raising event at 12noon on Friday, February 26th.
Those who wish to give a gift to thank Lew and Joan for their dedicated service and wish them well in retirement are encouraged to donate to the Kraus/Cooper Cottage. (Please select Kraus/Cooper Cottage in Area of Support drop down menu.)
A new Executive Director will be named in the coming months and Kraus and Cooper will subsequently retire in March.
One of the first things that someone might notice upon entering the Asheville Area Habitat ReStore is the vast amount of building supplies and home furnishings that fill our showroom floors. From small love seats to mammoth cabinet sets, we take pride in our ability to offer such variety to the community at affordable prices.
Ever wonder how we manage to receive something like a full kitchen set or a giant entertainment center? Moving, and in some cases de-installing items like these certainly isn’t easy. That’s where our excellent team of deconstruction staff and volunteers come in. But they might not have the panache of a television deconstruction show, as they instead gently remove everything from kitchen cabinetry to bathroom fixtures, flooring, and more.
Led by long-time Habitat staffer Bryan Ogle, deconstruction and ReStore volunteers work carefully to ensure successful transitions “from home to ReStore to home” and this week was no exception. Brian, along with volunteers Cherin Saxe, Tom Weaver and Cody Bassham worked all day at a home in Biltmore Lake to remove a 15 piece cabinet set (including granite countertops). Now, it is all set up in our lower showroom, available for purchase and waiting for its next home.
The items that come to the showroom floor through the deconstruction program supplement our constant influx of other donations, providing shoppers an even larger array of items to choose from. In addition, our deconstruction service helps reduce the cost of home-improvement for Buncombe County residents while simultaneously funding Habitat’s mission of building and repairing homes in partnership with low-income families. Learn more here.
Thanks to our great volunteers, usable materials that might have otherwise ended up in a landfill, are recycled for someone else’s home; all the while benefiting Asheville Area Habitat’s programs and the families we serve.
https://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/blog-Decon.jpg350800Asheville Habitathttps://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAHH-logo_black_with-counties-tag-300x150.jpgAsheville Habitat2016-01-07 00:00:002016-01-07 00:00:00Deconstruction: Doing the Heavy Lifting to Make Reuse Easier
Saturday, December 12 will mark the 27th Annual Christmas Jam, presented by Warren Haynes. To date, the Christmas Jam has raised more than $1.8m for Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, building houses and neighborhoods for hard-working low income Buncombe County families in need of safe, decent and affordable homes.
As in previous years, Habitat will again host local and out-of-town volunteers for Before the Jam, Lend a Hand. In the days leading up to the benefit concert, fans get involved – in a hands on way – with the cause that the Jam supports. Volunteers help both in the ReStore and on the construction site; on site, the volunteers help on various houses under construction, but some help to prepare the floor system and build the walls that will be raised at the Christmas Jam House wall-raising event on December 11th.
In our ReStore, we had Bryan Prim, Rich Granaas and Shawn Crisholm volunteering all day to make improvements to our well-worn conference room. They painted the room and removed carpet in preparation for new laminate flooring. Over a catered lunch from Village Wayside Bar & Grille, one of the lunch sponsors of the event, Shawn explained what led her and Rich to volunteer.
“We have been fans of Warren Haynes’ music forever, and we came to Asheville for the music,” she said (they recently moved here from Virginia). “This is our first time getting to volunteer with Habitat, though.”
It was this love of the music that led them to volunteering, and they even have a block on an online radio station dedicated solely to the music of Warren Haynes.
“We’ve been to the Jam before and we love the show and it’s for such a great cause,” Shawn said. “We’re really thankful that Habitat does this.”
The event is not just a way for music fans to get involved, but also a means for potentially new volunteers to begin with us at Asheville Area Habitat. Bryan Prim, while new to the area, has volunteered with another Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Pensacola, FL, where he racked up over 100 hours with them.
“When I moved, I looked to continue volunteering here,” Bryan said. “I believe in the cause.”
https://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/BJLH_ReStore-800x350.jpg350800Asheville Habitathttps://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAHH-logo_black_with-counties-tag-300x150.jpgAsheville Habitat2015-12-10 00:00:002015-12-10 00:00:00It’s time again for “Before the Jam, Lend a Hand”!
On Saturday, December 5th, the Asheville Habitat ReStore announced the winner of its 2nd annual “Habitat for the Holidays: 3D Printed Ornament Contest”, kicking off sales of the 3D printed winning design in the store. Jacob Whitten, a 7th grade student at Enka Middle School, was named this year’s winner out of more than 60 entries. He won a free 3D print of his design and had the choice of either a $100 ReStore gift card or a 3Doodler, a pen that prints in 3D. (He chose the latter.) His winning design is for sale for $5 per ornament at the Habitat ReStore, while supplies last. All proceeds of ReStore sales help support Habitat’s building programs.
Whitten submitted his design as an assignment in his “Project Lead the Way” class at Enka Middle School. A national provider of science, technology, engineering, and math programs, Project Lead the Way courses are designed to prepare students for a post-secondary education and careers in the global economy (pltw.org). In his submission, Whitten wrote that his ornament should be chosen “because of its spirit” and includes “the very special Peace House, to show the homes by Habitat for Humanity”. His ornament, depicting a snowman next to the house with mountains in the background, showcased the themes of the holidays in WNC and Habitat for Humanity, a requirement of the contest.
The fairly new contest is gaining attention: with only a handful of entries its first year, this year marked a surprising uptick with more than 60 entries. Although marketed both locally and nationally, most design submissions remained local, ranging from students to retirees.
A panel of judges objectively critiqued each ornament based on printability, creativity, aesthetics, and the theme relating to Habitat for Humanity and the holidays in Western North Carolina. Amateur designers were encouraged to enter the contest, and Spectra3D Technologies, the local 3D printing company sponsoring the contest, held a live webinar and posted links to free training and software resources on the contest’s webpage.
Next year’s submission timeline will run from October 1st until Thanksgiving. Check back here for details!
Typically, when someone first enters the ReStore, some of the first items on display are our large appliances. A common question might be, “they look nice, but do they work?” Here at the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity ReStore, we individually test them to make sure they are in top shape!
Helping to clean, repair (if necessary), and prepare these appliances for sale is the large appliance team of Joe Kane (L), Bill Crownover (C) and Sid Finkel (R). They typically won’t be found out on the sales floor though, as they toil away in the repair area in the basement, checking out everything from refrigerators to ranges.
“Joe and I both started about the same time, back when the store was still downtown, and we started working on the delivery trucks,” Bill said.
Bill and Joe bonded quickly, and their mutual enjoyment of cycling led to another volunteer assignment in the store. “He and I have done a lot of cycling together, so we had a lot of fun fixing bikes. But bikes have kind of peaked out and there became a greater need for testing and repairing large appliances,” Bill said.
When Sid began volunteering, the diligent repairing of appliances really picked up. “Before Sid came along, we kind of just sold them as-is.” Bill said. This diligence shows, and Sid takes pride in the condition of the appliances that go out onto the showroom floor. “They’re reliable appliances, and they’re tested and clean,” Sid said. “When someone buys an appliance from the ReStore, they can be sure they’re getting something that works.”
Interestingly, none of the three men come from a background of repairs, but backgrounds of finance-related careers, from investment banking in New York to the North Carolina Department of Revenue. “It’s interesting that we all come from different backgrounds,” Joe said. “I think there’s an attraction about Habitat and you get to meet all kinds of different people in the process.”
Perhaps the most common thread between the volunteers is their dedication to Habitat for Humanity, allowing them to take pride in not only their repair work, but the mission of Habitat as well.
“It’s a win-win-win situation in a lot of ways,” Sid said. “We raise money for the cause, we repair appliances that might be otherwise thrown out, and we put them back in the system for people who might not be able to afford new appliances.”
Joe shares these sentiments, and has a personal motivation to help others achieve their goal of affordable housing. “The first time I ever heard about Habitat for Humanity, I thought it was just a great concept. Providing a person with the opportunity to own a house in a good neighborhood really struck my fancy,” he said. My parents struggled very hard for a house, and when we finally got it, it was a great feeling; and it’s a great feeling knowing that I can help someone else have that.”
If you’re interested in volunteer with Asheville Area Habitat, please click here to learn more.
https://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/blog-TYT-ApplianceRepairTeam.jpg350800Asheville Habitathttps://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAHH-logo_black_with-counties-tag-300x150.jpgAsheville Habitat2015-12-03 00:00:002015-12-03 00:00:00From Finance to the Fix-It Shop: Three Volunteers Find Their Niche in the Large Appliance Repair Area
Here at Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, there is a small but dedicated group of volunteers that helps carry out our mission – without wielding a hammer at the jobsite or sorting donations at the ReStore. These are our Office Volunteers and they work diligently every week in our Administrative building, supporting the staff by doing data entry, answering phones, and much more.
This week, we honored them with a special appreciation lunch to show them how important they are to our cause.
Seven of these volunteers work at the front desk (reception), answering phones and greeting visitors with an openly social and cheerful demeanor that reflects our drive to serve the community.
“The volunteers do a lot of miscellaneous stuff that most people wouldn’t even think about, but it’s all that really essential behind-the-scenes work that helps us out so much,” said Office Assistant Abby Suarez.
They also work “independently but together” on a large project for the ReStore. “Everyone who donates to the ReStore gets a receipt, whether it’s a pickup or a drop-off,” Abby said. “With the help of office volunteers, we can keep track of merchandise donations and repeat donors, including businesses.”
With various backgrounds, including current college student and retired teacher, there are some specialized skills such as technical support and dedicated data entry.
One volunteer, Carol, works with Communications to organize press clippings and highlight quotes about Habitat. Another, Aaron, is a wiz when it comes to data entry. Abby noted, “Someone said at the appreciation lunch that Aaron has a respect for data that not many people have, and that’s super helpful!”
Perhaps most important is our office volunteers’ dedication to serving as representatives of Habitat, simply through their position of being at the front desk of the main office. “Front desk volunteers are sometimes the first faces that potential partner families (and anyone) see when they come in,” Abby said. “They really have to believe in the mission of Habitat just as much as all of us, because they sit at the front and say ‘I’m Habitat, how may I help you?’”
Whether behind-the-scenes doing data entry or out front greeting visitors, office volunteers, like all of our volunteers, are dedicated to the Habitat mission. And for that, we thank them!
If you’d like to learn more about becoming a volunteer, please click here.
https://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Blog-TY-Office-Vols_800x3501.jpg350800Asheville Habitathttps://www.ashevillehabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAHH-logo_black_with-counties-tag-300x150.jpgAsheville Habitat2015-11-19 00:00:002015-11-19 00:00:00Computers and Phones, Not Hammers and Nails
Thanks to an affordable Habitat mortgage, Maria Lomeli, a warehouse forklift operator, is now able to provide her children with an opportunity that she didn’t have at their age – higher education.
Her children took her advice and studied hard in their new, quiet and safe home. Now, her daughter, Maria, is at UNC-Asheville, Abel attends UNC-Chapel Hill, and Emmanuel studies at Berea College in Kentucky. Josue, a junior at Asheville High School, has his sights set on attending UNC-Chapel Hill, too. In the face of Asheville’s housing crisis, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity is committed to providing more hardworking families, like the Lomelis, an opportunity to own a home – a home that can be the foundation for growth and success.
You can change the future for families in our community.
Please donate today.
P.S. – Every dollar matters! $10 can buy a
porch light, $50 a kitchen sink, $150 a front door…
Making a Difference, Locally and Globally
UncategorizedBy Madeline McIntyre
The ReStore is thanking a long-time volunteer and top-shelf recruiter this week. Sherry Griffith (picture above R, and C in group shot) has been volunteering at the ReStore for ten years now and has no plan on stopping anytime soon.
“It’s just fun,” Sherry says. “It certainly beats just being at home and not knowing what you’re going to do.”
Griffith spent her career as a special education teacher. After her retirement, she decided to begin volunteering in the community. She worked with another Asheville organization building houses, but found her true calling as an Asheville Habitat ReStore volunteer.
While Sherry eventually found her place in the front of the store, there was a brief period when she worked in the bookstore. She thought she would enjoy the quiet and being able to play her own music, but that was a short-lived experiment. She missed the continuous interaction that the front of the store brings.
“Everybody loves to tell you what they’re going to do with what they bought,” Sherry says. “You know, everybody’s doing unique things like buying coffee cups and saucers and making bird feeders out of them.”
You can find Sherry every Thursday morning working at the register, setting up displays, and talking with anyone and everyone. She has one of those magnetic personalities that naturally draws a crowd, including more ReStore volunteers. In her ten years, Sherry recruited three volunteers – all of them now volunteering on Thursdays.
Her pitch is simple.
“I just talk about how much fun it is, and that you get to meet people and see what they’re buying and what they’re doing with all their fun stuff,” Sherry says. “And they all need to do something else with their lives, so I talked them into it.”
But Sherry isn’t keeping her passion for volunteering and helping others in one place. She and her husband have served as a host family for Haitian youth who have come to Asheville through Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF), and last year she went to Costa Rica with LEAF. She met families and provided connections for those children who will travel to the area for future festivals. “It was cool, and it was fun,” Sherry says. “An average tourist would never get that experience.”
Costa Rica is just the beginning though. This weekend, she and several other volunteers are heading to Guatemala as part of a Habitat for Humanity International mission. Led by Asheville Area Habitat’s Joel Johnson, Sherry and the other volunteers will help Habitat Guatemala build one-room cinderblock homes and install clean burning stoves.
Her friend and fellow ReStore volunteer Rhonda McKenna is participating in this service trip, too. Sherry credits her opportunities for traveling to the connections she’s made while volunteering, saying that it’s difficult to travel by yourself, especially when her husband is still working. “I’m retired and one of my lifegoals was to travel more,” Sherry says. “And I’ve gotten to do that.”
We are incredibly lucky to have a volunteer who is so committed to the Habitat mission and bettering our community, locally and globally. We wish Sherry and the other volunteers luck and good wishes in Guatemala, but we are definitely going to miss her warmth and enthusiasm next week!
AAHH Announces New Executive Director
StaffASHEVILLE, N.C. (February 2, 2016) — Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity today announced that Andy Barnett has been named as its new Executive Director. Barnett succeeds longtime Executive Director Lew Kraus, who has announced his retirement from the position.
Barnett comes to the affiliate from St. Paul, Minnesota, where he has been Coordinating Consultant for the Frogtown Rondo Home Fund for the last three years. Frogtown Rondo Home Fund is a unique collaboration of over 30 community, philanthropic, and local government organizations focused upon enriching the quality of life in the Frogtown and Rondo neighborhoods of St. Paul. The Frogtown Rondo Home Fund connects and enhances public and private housing resources and activities in a very diverse section of the city, seeking to bring visible stability to the area while addressing residents’ most pressing housing needs.
Prior to his three years with Frogtown Rondo Home Fund, Barnett was with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity for nearly 14 years. During his tenure with one of the most innovative Habitat affiliates in the nation, Barnett served in a variety of roles including Site Supervisor, Director of Construction, and Director of Community Development. In 2010, as interim Director of Programs and Services, he co-chaired the affiliate’s participation in the prestigious Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project, with responsibility for neighborhood engagement, family services, volunteerism, construction, logistics, gifts-in-kind, and events.
“Andy’s track record of hands-on leadership and experience with affordable housing initiatives at Twin Cities Habitat and Frogtown Rondo Home Fund will be great assets for both Asheville and Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity,” said David Whilden, Board chairman for the organization. “He comes to Asheville having made strong contributions to the cause of improving the lives of Twin Cities residents by building homes and stronger neighborhoods. We believe Andy is an excellent fit for our organization, our community, and our values of collaboration, opportunity, dignity, and empowerment.”
Barnett is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in Housing Studies. However, he is no stranger to Asheville and western North Carolina. He began his studies at Appalachian State University and started his career in affordable housing by helping establish a Habitat affiliate in Rockingham County, NC after attending a regional Habitat affiliate conference in Asheville that was held in 1993. Additionally, Barnett and his wife were married at the Asheville Botanical Gardens.
“The Board of Directors recognizes that we have been so fortunate to have someone with Lew Kraus’ tremendous character, energy, and capabilities as our leader for 28 years,” said Whilden. “The staff, homeowners, volunteers, donors, and supporters of Asheville Habitat have achieved remarkable things during this time. We are also very enthusiastic about having a leader succeed him, who will build upon that legacy and help achieve our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.”
Kraus added, “Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity is considered a model Habitat affiliate, and we are grateful to have Barnett’s experience with that organization here in Buncombe County. His involvement with so many facets of the Habitat operation will be especially valuable in his role as Executive Director. Additionally, his experience with a community-based organization like the Frogtown Rondo Home Fund will be a great asset as we address the challenges of affordable housing in our neighborhoods.”
Barnett will begin his work as Executive Director in March.
Committed to Service, No Matter the Task
ReStore, VolunteerBy Jonathan Dermid
The Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity ReStore is privileged to have a volunteer who embodies the spirit of being a “jack of all trades.” In his time with the ReStore, Ron Shimberg has volunteered in the bookstore, on the sales floor, and in the receiving department loading and unloading trucks.
Now, Ron can usually be found diligently cleaning the parking lots of both the ReStore and the Administrative building, a task that he took upon himself after noticing a tendency for mess.
“I noticed that there was some garbage in the parking lot, so I started cleaning the parking lot on Thursday, and rewarding myself with volunteering in the bookstore on Saturday,” Ron said. “No one asked me to do it, but I like doing it. And it’s important to me to make this place look nice, because the parking lot is one of the first things people are going to see.” He soon realized though, that once a week wasn’t enough for the parking lot and something had to give.
Giving up the bookstore was hard for Ron, as he says that he had a great time volunteering there. “It was hard giving up my bookstore shift, because it was my favorite gig in the ReStore,” Ron said. “But now I can really make an even bigger difference, by cleaning the lots twice a week.”
While in the bookstore, Ron said that he experienced and contributed to a warm and welcoming environment. “When I was in the bookstore, it was a great vibe,” he said. “I would engage the people and I would have them dancing. I even had one volunteer dancing with his dog!”
Ron attributes this partially to his love of music, which led him to create a lively atmosphere in the bookstore (which also sells vinyl albums and CDs) with the records he would play. “I’m a musician. I play blues harmonica and I’ve been in 3 bands around town,” Ron said. “That’s my soul, music. I love it.”
Ron ended up as a ReStore volunteer due to a total fluke, as he had just recently moved to Asheville and took a wrong turn. “I escaped South Florida, and was staying at my sister’s before I got my own place,” he said. “She sent me on a run to AB Tech, and I didn’t know where I was going and ended up going the wrong way and happened to pass by the ReStore. They had a sign that said ‘volunteers wanted,’ so I arranged to volunteer the very next day.”
In Florida, Ron worked with online sales and marketing, selling data and designing web content for Fortune 500 companies and helping to pioneer embedded advertising in email services. Even with the long hours he worked then, he still found time to volunteer in Florida with an organization called Horses for the Handicapped.
Ron has always really liked doing good things for the community, and he knew he wanted to do the same when he came to Asheville in March of 2013, which he considers a huge turning point in his life.
“Everything changed when I moved here,” he said. “I really dug the vibe and the energy of Asheville right off the bat.” Ron says that same atmosphere permeates the entire Habitat for community as well, which made him feel welcome almost immediately.
“I like the relationships I’ve made here, not just with the staff and volunteers but with customers too. I’ve even become friends with some of the customers.”
Ron has always taken a great deal of pride in his volunteer positions, whether it be making the bookstore customers smile and dance, moving merchandise in the receiving area, or keeping the parking lots clean. To Ron, all of these tasks are his way of making a positive difference for what he calls his family.
We’re glad Ron made a wrong turn back in 2013! We are fortunate to have him as part of the Habitat family and appreciate his ongoing commitment to service, no matter the task.
Kraus/Cooper Cottage Celebrates Lifelong Dedication to Affordable Housing
Construction Services, Events, StaffIn 1988, Lew Kraus accepted a one-year position as Executive Director with Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity (AAHH). That one year commitment extended into 28 years of working to provide decent, affordable housing for families in our community. He will be retiring this spring.
Our organization is planning a number of events and initiatives to recognize and honor Kraus, the first of which was announced at an event celebrating the successful culmination of the organization’s $5M Building a Way Home campaign. To Kraus’ surprise, Board Me
mber Spencer Duin announced that the non-profit’s administrative building will be named in his honor. “You probably don’t realize it, but you are sitting in the Lewis J. Kraus Building,” he said to the audience. The signage will be installed this year.
Joan Cooper, long-time Family Services Director and Kraus’ wife, will retire as well. Duin announced that the Family Services Suite in the administrative building will be dedicated and named for Cooper’s own exceptional 26 years of service with the affiliate.
The organization has also decided that the most fitting way to honor the duo who made lifelong careers of helping families in need of safe, decent housing is to build a Habitat house in their name. The Kraus/Cooper Cottage will be built in Habitat’s Hudson Hills neighborhood and will
commence with a wall raising event at 12noon on Friday, February 26th.
Those who wish to give a gift to thank Lew and Joan for their dedicated service and wish them well in retirement are encouraged to donate to the Kraus/Cooper Cottage. (Please select Kraus/Cooper Cottage in Area of Support drop down menu.)
A new Executive Director will be named in the coming months and Kraus and Cooper will subsequently retire in March.
Deconstruction: Doing the Heavy Lifting to Make Reuse Easier
Deconstruction, ReStore, VolunteerBy Jonathan Dermid
One of the first things that someone might notice upon entering the Asheville Area Habitat ReStore is the vast amount of building supplies and home furnishings that fill our showroom floors. From small love seats to mammoth cabinet sets, we take pride in our ability to offer such variety to the community at affordable prices.
Ever wonder how we manage to receive something like a full kitchen set or a giant entertainment center? Moving, and in some cases de-installing items like these certainly isn’t easy. That’s where our excellent team of deconstruction staff and volunteers come in. But they might not have the panache of a television deconstruction show, as they instead gently remove everything from kitchen cabinetry to bathroom fixtures, flooring, and more.
Led by long-time Habitat staffer Bryan Ogle, deconstruction and ReStore volunteers work carefully to ensure successful transitions “from home to ReStore to home” and this week was no exception. Brian, along with volunteers Cherin Saxe, Tom Weaver and Cody Bassham worked all day at a home in Biltmore Lake to remove a 15 piece cabinet set (including granite countertops). Now, it is all set up in our lower showroom, available for purchase and waiting for its next home.
The items that come to the showroom floor through the deconstruction program supplement our constant influx of other donations, providing shoppers an even larger array of items to choose from. In addition, our deconstruction service helps reduce the cost of home-improvement for Buncombe County residents while simultaneously funding Habitat’s mission of building and repairing homes in partnership with low-income families. Learn more here.
Thanks to our great volunteers, usable materials that might have otherwise ended up in a landfill, are recycled for someone else’s home; all the while benefiting Asheville Area Habitat’s programs and the families we serve.
It’s time again for “Before the Jam, Lend a Hand”!
Construction Services, Events, ReStore, Sponsors, VolunteerSaturday, December 12 will mark the 27th Annual Christmas Jam, presented by Warren Haynes. To date, the Christmas Jam has raised more than $1.8m for Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, building houses and neighborhoods for hard-working low income Buncombe County families in need of safe, decent and affordable homes.
As in previous years, Habitat will again host local and out-of-town volunteers for Before the Jam, Lend a Hand. In the days leading up to the benefit concert, fans get involved – in a hands on way – with the cause that the Jam supports. Volunteers help both in the ReStore and on the construction site; on site, the volunteers help on various houses under construction, but some help to prepare the floor system and build the walls that will be raised at the Christmas Jam House wall-raising event on December 11th.
In our ReStore, we had Bryan Prim, Rich Granaas and Shawn Crisholm volunteering all day to make improvements to our well-worn conference room. They painted the room and removed carpet in preparation for new laminate flooring. Over a catered lunch from Village Wayside Bar & Grille, one of the lunch sponsors of the event, Shawn explained what led her and Rich to volunteer.
“We have been fans of Warren Haynes’ music forever, and we came to Asheville for the music,” she said (they recently moved here from Virginia). “This is our first time getting to volunteer with Habitat, though.”
It was this love of the music that led them to volunteering, and they even have a block on an online radio station dedicated solely to the music of Warren Haynes.
“We’ve been to the Jam before and we love the show and it’s for such a great cause,” Shawn said. “We’re really thankful that Habitat does this.”
The event is not just a way for music fans to get involved, but also a means for potentially new volunteers to begin with us at Asheville Area Habitat. Bryan Prim, while new to the area, has volunteered with another Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Pensacola, FL, where he racked up over 100 hours with them.
“When I moved, I looked to continue volunteering here,” Bryan said. “I believe in the cause.”
Middle School Student Wins 3D Printing Contest!
Award, Contest, Events, ReStoreOn Saturday, December 5th, the Asheville Habitat ReStore announced the winner of its 2nd annual “Habitat for the Holidays: 3D Printed Ornament Contest”, kicking off sales of the 3D printed winning design in the store. Jacob Whitten, a 7th grade student at Enka Middle School, was named this year’s winner out of more than 60 entries. He won a free 3D print of his design and had the choice of either a $100 ReStore gift card or a 3Doodler, a pen that prints in 3D. (He chose the latter.) His winning design is for sale for $5 per ornament at the Habitat ReStore, while supplies last. All proceeds of ReStore sales help support Habitat’s building programs.
Whitten submitted his design as an assignment in his “Project Lead the Way” class at Enka Middle School. A national provider of science, technology, engineering, and math programs, Project Lead the Way courses are designed to prepare students for a post-secondary education and careers in the global economy (pltw.org). In his submission, Whitten wrote that his ornament should be chosen “because of its spirit” and includes “the very special Peace House, to show the homes by Habitat for Humanity”. His ornament, depicting a snowman next to the house with mountains in the background, showcased the themes of the holidays in WNC and Habitat for Humanity, a requirement of the contest.
The fairly new contest is gaining attention: with only a handful of entries its first year, this year marked a surprising uptick with more than 60 entries. Although marketed both locally and nationally, most design submissions remained local, ranging from students to retirees.
A panel of judges objectively critiqued each ornament based on printability, creativity, aesthetics, and the theme relating to Habitat for Humanity and the holidays in Western North Carolina. Amateur designers were encouraged to enter the contest, and Spectra3D Technologies, the local 3D printing company sponsoring the contest, held a live webinar and posted links to free training and software resources on the contest’s webpage.
Next year’s submission timeline will run from October 1st until Thanksgiving. Check back here for details!
From Finance to the Fix-It Shop: Three Volunteers Find Their Niche in the Large Appliance Repair Area
ReStore, VolunteerBy Jonathan Dermid
Typically, when someone first enters the ReStore, some of the first items on display are our large appliances. A common question might be, “they look nice, but do they work?” Here at the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity ReStore, we individually test them to make sure they are in top shape!
Helping to clean, repair (if necessary), and prepare these appliances for sale is the large appliance team of Joe Kane (L), Bill Crownover (C) and Sid Finkel (R). They typically won’t be found out on the sales floor though, as they toil away in the repair area in the basement, checking out everything from refrigerators to ranges.
“Joe and I both started about the same time, back when the store was still downtown, and we started working on the delivery trucks,” Bill said.
Bill and Joe bonded quickly, and their mutual enjoyment of cycling led to another volunteer assignment in the store. “He and I have done a lot of cycling together, so we had a lot of fun fixing bikes. But bikes have kind of peaked out and there became a greater need for testing and repairing large appliances,” Bill said.
When Sid began volunteering, the diligent repairing of appliances really picked up. “Before Sid came along, we kind of just sold them as-is.” Bill said. This diligence shows, and Sid takes pride in the condition of the appliances that go out onto the showroom floor. “They’re reliable appliances, and they’re tested and clean,” Sid said. “When someone buys an appliance from the ReStore, they can be sure they’re getting something that works.”
Interestingly, none of the three men come from a background of repairs, but backgrounds of finance-related careers, from investment banking in New York to the North Carolina Department of Revenue. “It’s interesting that we all come from different backgrounds,” Joe said. “I think there’s an attraction about Habitat and you get to meet all kinds of different people in the process.”
Perhaps the most common thread between the volunteers is their dedication to Habitat for Humanity, allowing them to take pride in not only their repair work, but the mission of Habitat as well.
“It’s a win-win-win situation in a lot of ways,” Sid said. “We raise money for the cause, we repair appliances that might be otherwise thrown out, and we put them back in the system for people who might not be able to afford new appliances.”
Joe shares these sentiments, and has a personal motivation to help others achieve their goal of affordable housing. “The first time I ever heard about Habitat for Humanity, I thought it was just a great concept. Providing a person with the opportunity to own a house in a good neighborhood really struck my fancy,” he said. My parents struggled very hard for a house, and when we finally got it, it was a great feeling; and it’s a great feeling knowing that I can help someone else have that.”
If you’re interested in volunteer with Asheville Area Habitat, please click here to learn more.
Computers and Phones, Not Hammers and Nails
Volunteerby Jonathan Dermid
Here at Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, there is a small but dedicated group of volunteers that helps carry out our mission – without wielding a hammer at the jobsite or sorting donations at the ReStore. These are our Office Volunteers and they work diligently every week in our Administrative building, supporting the staff by doing data entry, answering phones, and much more.
This week, we honored them with a special appreciation lunch to show them how important they are to our cause.
Seven of these volunteers work at the front desk (reception), answering phones and greeting visitors with an openly social and cheerful demeanor that reflects our drive to serve the community.
“The volunteers do a lot of miscellaneous stuff that most people wouldn’t even think about, but it’s all that really essential behind-the-scenes work that helps us out so much,” said Office Assistant Abby Suarez.
They also work “independently but together” on a large project for the ReStore. “Everyone who donates to the ReStore gets a receipt, whether it’s a pickup or a drop-off,” Abby said. “With the help of office volunteers, we can keep track of merchandise donations and repeat donors, including businesses.”
With various backgrounds, including current college student and retired teacher, there are some specialized skills such as technical support and dedicated data entry.
One volunteer, Carol, works with Communications to organize press clippings and highlight quotes about Habitat. Another, Aaron, is a wiz when it comes to data entry. Abby noted, “Someone said at the appreciation lunch that Aaron has a respect for data that not many people have, and that’s super helpful!”
Perhaps most important is our office volunteers’ dedication to serving as representatives of Habitat, simply through their position of being at the front desk of the main office. “Front desk volunteers are sometimes the first faces that potential partner families (and anyone) see when they come in,” Abby said. “They really have to believe in the mission of Habitat just as much as all of us, because they sit at the front and say ‘I’m Habitat, how may I help you?’”
Whether behind-the-scenes doing data entry or out front greeting visitors, office volunteers, like all of our volunteers, are dedicated to the Habitat mission. And for that, we thank them!
If you’d like to learn more about becoming a volunteer, please click here.
This holiday season, help change the future.
Construction Services, Habitat Families, SponsorsThanks to an affordable Habitat mortgage, Maria Lomeli, a warehouse forklift operator, is now able to provide her children with an opportunity that she didn’t have at their age – higher education.
Her children took her advice and studied hard in their new, quiet and safe home. Now, her daughter, Maria, is at UNC-Asheville, Abel attends UNC-Chapel Hill, and Emmanuel studies at Berea College in Kentucky. Josue, a junior at Asheville High School, has his sights set on attending UNC-Chapel Hill, too. In the face of Asheville’s housing crisis, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity is committed to providing more hardworking families, like the Lomelis, an opportunity to own a home – a home that can be the foundation for growth and success.
Please donate today.
P.S. – Every dollar matters! $10 can buy a
porch light, $50 a kitchen sink, $150 a front door…