Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County - Home for the Holidays

[Howard Hartman]

As you may know, Habitat for Humanity was founded over 30 years ago in Americus, Georgia, by Millard and Linda Fuller.  The world-wide organization he founded was saddened by his death this year.  However, we all rejoice that his dream lives on!   In Montgomery County, we continue to rehabilitate vacant foreclosed homes in the Aspen Hill/Glenmont areas of Montgomery County.  Since March of 2009 we've purchased 12 homes as part of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program.  The work continues and 12 qualified families consisting of 54 adults and children are well on their way to completing the "sweat equity" hours to help renovate their homes.  We expect to complete the rehabilitation of four houses by the end of this calendar year just in time for families to celebrate the holidays in their new homes.   Who are Habitat family homeowners?      When you go to the bank, the person handling your account might be a Habitat homeowner.  When a health care worker takes your vital signs at your doctor's office or hospital, she might be a Habitat homeowner.  When you go out to dinner, the person serving you might be a Habitat homeowner.  These are some examples of individuals who live and work in our community and are living in sub-standard conditions and cannot afford decent housing.   Your partnership with us is a dynamic force in all of our lives, without you, the dream of Millard Fuller could not live on.  Eliminating poverty housing and homelessness in our community takes financial commitments.   By making a donation to the Neighborhood Revitalization Program, you can become our valuable partner, gaining an active role in stabilizing neighborhoods.  We know that better quality of living leads to stronger citizens and families.  With your help we can change lives, one home at a time.   Thank you for your support.   Sincerely, John Paukstis Executive Director   Please donate your generous gift online today through Network for Good! Home for the Holidays This holiday season four more Montgomery County families will wake up each morning in their very own simple, decent, affordable home thanks to the continued support of the HFH-MC community. These families are currently living in overcrowded, unhealthy housing and they are looking forward to a place to call home. One of these four families, Seifu and Fiketere and their two children will say good bye to their run down one bedroom apartment, to the chronic problems as well as shoddy maintenance. They will say hello to a new home that is free from mold and infestation and gives them plenty of room to live, love and learn together. At HFH-MC we believe that good stable housing should be a priority for families and communities. HFH-MC is committed to making good, stable housing a reality for as many families as possible in our community and we hope you will continue to support our efforts as we continue our Neighborhood Revitalization Program. Currently, we are rehabilitating 12 homes in the Silver Spring area, partnering with 12 families, including 54 individuals, 31 of which are children who will now have a backyard to run and play. After all, what better gift is there than the gift of home this holiday season. Volunteer Recognition This year's Volunteer Recognition event was held at our affiliate office in Gaithersburg on November 18th. It was great to see all our volunteers together and celebrate all their success over the past year! Besides all the mingling and great food (thanks to Whole Foods Market in Bethesda), we also recognized and thanked lots of our volunteers for their awesome service over the past year. We honored our Habitat Heroes for their extraordinary service and commitment to HFH-MC throughout our various departments including; Construction, Volunteer and Family Services, Development, Finance, ReStore and our Board of Directors. Volunteer Recognition Continued Below Women Build 2010: Working Together, Giving Together, Making Dreams Come True, Together Today, an increasing number of people are living in substandard housing and women have the capability and the determination to be a part of the solution! Since the NRP began in 2008 it has been extremely rewarding and successful, and we are currently working to extend the program to include additional homes. As part of the program, Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery, Maryland will launch the Giving Together Campaign to fund an additional NRP home, focusing on Women Build 2010, extending the impact women have on the community. Women Build 2010 is about women working together and giving together to provide safe, decent, affordable housing for families in need. Women build is a national program, which is not about excluding men; it is about including women! Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County is offering the opportunity to make a difference, while meeting and networking with other women. By working together and giving together, women in the community will fully fund and rehabilitate a NRP home. Through tax-deductible donations and volunteer hours women have the power to make dreams come true, together. We are currently looking for women to become involved! For more information and to get involved, please contact: Amanda Fein Manager of Individual and Corporate Gifts 301.990.0014 x20 amanda.fein@habitat-mc.org Building on Faith Looking for an opportunity for your congregation to give back to the community? Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County is currently seeking committed, passionate and motivated members of your faith community to help us fulfill our mission of creating homeownership opportunities for very low-income families living and working in Montgomery County. Here are just a few of the many ways you can help with affordable housing needs in our community: Volunteer in a team build with a group from your faith organization. Plan a fundraiser to incorporate your youth group. Join our Faith Relations Committee. Please contact Cara Montufar, Faith Relations VISTA, at cara.montufar@habitat-mc.org or 301-990-0014 x25. Holiday Shop with Habitat As the holidays quickly approach, I'm sure you are doing a fair share of holiday shopping, whether it be online or in the stores, to get ready for your holiday events. Well Habitat would like to ask you to shop with us this season, by purchasing your gifts online at igive.com! It is a great way to support HFH-MC while you make your purchases. The process is simple: Click below to select HFH-MC as your cause, register and start shopping at over 700 stores supported by iGive, including: ebay, amazon, travelocity and other travel sites, staples, dsw, home depot and the list continues. Also, please keep iGive in mind after the holidays as well! Planning a trip for a spring break? Book your airport and hotel through an iGive store! Start shopping through iGive today by clicking here. For every purchase you make through iGive, a portion of the proceeds will benefit HFH-MC. Please help us by spreading the word to your family and friends! You can also use isearch.igive.com as your search engine, every time you search the web a penny ($.01) will be donated to HFH-MC. Community Nights Out Please join us as we begin our Community Night Out Campaign. Beginning in December HFH-MC will be hosting various Community Nights Out at local restaurants who will donate a portion of their proceeds to HFH-MC. This is a great way to support Habitat and our local community, all while enjoying a bite to eat with friends! UPCOMING COMMUNITY NIGHTS: Friday, December 18th, 5-8pm 10% of proceeds (Dine-in or Carry-out) COSI RESTAURANT (Bethesda Location) 7251 Woodmont Avenue Bethesda, MD 20814 301.652.6098   Monday, January 25th, 4-9pm 20% of proceeds (Dine-in or Carry-out) POTOMAC PIZZA (Kentlands Location) 625 Center Point Way Gaithersburg, MD 20878 301.977.9777   *Community Night on the last Monday of every month at various Potomac Pizza locations Thank you to Freddie Mac for their 4 Full House Sponsorships! In October, Freddie Mac sponsored 4 of our Neighborhood Revitalization Program homes in Silver Spring and worked on the construction sites over a 2-week build, known as MAC (Making A Community) Week. After the 2 week blitz build, HFH-MC and Freddie Mac dedicated the NRP home on Denley Road! Thank you Freddie Mac employees! 2nd Annual Affordable Housing Benefit Breakfast Thanks to everyone who attended this year's Affordable Housing Benefit Breakfast. The morning was filled with wonderful people, and the word of Habitat was spread by various members of our community, including our County Executive Isiah Leggett and one of our current Habitat Homeowners Fernando Sarceno. We hope to see everyone again next year at the 3rd Annual! Special thanks to all our sponsors! $25,000 Lead Presenting Sponsor $10,000 Event Sponsor $5,000 Neighborhood Revitalization Sponsor $2,500 Nuts and Bolts Sponsor Bozzuto Group IT Matters, LLC McWilliams Ballard OBA Bank Sandy Spring Bank Wiencek + Associates $1,000 Table Sponsors City of Gaithersburg               Hamil Builders                     Hamil Commercial                   Harkins Builders                      JBG/Rosenfeld Retail              Lerch Early & Brewer            Merrill Lynch Miller & Long Montgomery County Department of Housing & Community Affairs Beverly Paukstis PNC Bank Riderwood Village Sandy Spring Builders Shulman Rodgers ReStore is looking for volunteers! Are you a people person who enjoys working with customers?  Volunteer with ReStore!  We are open Monday - Saturday from 9am to 5pm and Thursday from 9am to 7pm.  Shifts are either 4 hours or 8 hours and we are looking to fill all shifts (particularly Thursday 3pm to 7pm).  If you're interested in volunteering please contact Sarah Reddinger at sarah.reddinger@habitat-mc.org. The Habitat ReStore Holiday Shoppe is now open! Looking to decorate for less this holiday season?  Shop at Habitat ReStore's Holiday Shoppe.  We have Christmas trees, ornaments, stockings, candles, potpourri, Dickens Village homes, and so much more! Have you started to unpack boxes in your basement and realized that you have too many decorations?  ReStore is accepting donations until the Holiday Shoppe closes on January 9th, 2010.  With every Holiday Shoppe donation you will receive a coupon for 10% off you next purchase! Volunteer Recognition Continued We also presented our two annual awards to a member of our board of directors and an amazing volunteer: Harry Semmes Outstanding Service Award Harry Semmes has been an invaluable board member since 1999 and as Chair of the Site Selection Committee Harry was key in securing the Linganore Woods building site. Fellow volunteer Flo Hunt has been quoted saying "I don't think he ever does a thing with the thought of taking credit for himself. I think he does things because he generally feels in his heart it is the right thing to do." The Harry Semmes Outstanding Service Award was created to honor Harry's legacy and annually recognizes a member of the Board of Directors (selected by their peers) for exceptional service and leadership to HFH-MC. The 2009 Harry Semmes Award was presented to: Beth Harvey Beth Harvey is a long time volunteer and great contributor to the mission and goals of HFH-MC. She started volunteering in the finance department on her days off from her 'other job' and is now our trusted Board Treasurer. Beth has a keen understanding of our accounting process and always keeps the interest of our homeowners and staff in mind when making difficult financial decisions Not only will you find Beth sitting in front of a computer crafting complex spreadsheets for our finance department, but you'll also see her swinging a hammer or promoting Habitat at a community event. HFH-MC has benefited not only from her astute finance and business abilities, but also from her Human Resources expertise. Beth has been an invaluable resource as we have grown our infrastructure over the past five years. With Beth involved in our work, we can be comfortable in knowing that we are making the right decisions as we continue to grow and try to have a greater impact in providing affordable housing in our community for those most in need. Thank you Beth! R. Glynn Mays Volunteer Recognition Award R. Glynn Mays was a founding member of HFH-MC and our first Executive Director who served in that capacity for almost 15 years. Glynn was always a volunteer; never paid nor a Board Member. In recognition of his service, The R. Glynn Mays Volunteer Recognition Award was created. In the spirit of Glynn, this award honors an affiliate volunteer (selected by the Habitat staff) for their dedication, leadership and service to the mission of HFH-MC throughout the affiliate. The 2009 R. Glynn Mays Award was presented to: Gina McAndrew Gina McAndrew defines dedication! Gina has been with Habitat ReStore since it opened and has contributed time, ideas and heart from the very beginning. She is a Volunteer Leader and a valuable asset to our management team. When ReStore went through its biggest transition to date, Gina stepped in and helped maintain calm in a time of chaos. Gina was always there to lend the extra help needed on any day, even Saturdays! In addition to volunteering with Habitat ReStore, Gina is engaged in the community and gives time to her church and family. She believes strongly in Habitat's mission of building affordable housing and in ReStore's mission of selling low cost merchandise to Montgomery County residents and workers. Her sense of service is inspiring and we can all learn from her dedication and commitment to serve her local community. If anyone deserves this award, it is Gina. We are so thankful and fortunate that Gina finds time to volunteer at Habitat ReStore. Thank you Gina! In This Issue Home for the Holidays Volunteer Recognition Women Build 2010 Building on Faith Holiday Shop with Habitat Community Nights Out MAC Week Benefit Breakfast ReStore Holiday Shoppe Volunteer Recognition Continued Montgomery County is one of the most affluent communities in the nation, however thousands of its residents are living in poverty. Habitat's unique homeownership model provides a solution to this problem by offering low-income families the opportunity to purchase their own simple, decent, affordable home. Our goal is to end the cycle of poverty and show families that with the right tools, they can have the confidence and competence to maintain their own stable community.   Upcoming Events Pittson Home Dedication: December 12th 3-4pm Cosi Community Night: December 18th 5-8pm Potomac Pizza Community Night: January 25th 4-9pm Save the Date: 5th Annual Golf Classic June 4th, 2010 Quick Links Sign-up to Volunteer Quarterly Newsletter HFH-MC Amazon Wishlist Social Media Facebook Twitter Habi-Titus Blog LinkedIn YouTube Picasa Shop & Search   with Habitat iGive.com iSearch.iGive.com Follow us Online

Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County Maryland, Inc. | 9110 Gaither Road | Gaithersburg | MD | 20877

[Emily Wulf]

This is actually the Habitat for Humanity Affiliate E-Newsletter for December that we just recently started. The Volunteer E-News does not get published until middle of December. If you could create a new category that would be great!