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HABITAT HAPPENINGS September/October 2010
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LETTER FROM OUR
BOARD CHAIR
Dear Friends,
It's hard
to believe, but this month Habitat Broward is celebrating the 10th
Anniversary of the Habitat Re-Store!
It has been a truly inspiring experience
to see the Re-Store evolve from a simple idea into a thriving business that
helps recycle good, usable materials into use while at the same time raising
hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to support the Habitat mission.
The first
Habitat Re-Store, which was located at 513 W. Broward Blvd., opened in September
2000, but we received so much support from the community that we quickly
outgrew that space. In 2005, Habitat purchased the adjacent 20,000-sq. foot
building at 505 W. Broward Blvd., where the Re-Store has been in operation ever
since.
We are so
grateful for the generosity and support of community leaders such as Bob
Elmore, Ed Ansin, Keith Koenig, and so many other donors, volunteers and customers who have
helped make the Re-Store such a tremendous success these last 10 years. Of
course I must also express a special thanks to Nancy Daly, our Re-Store
committee chair, for her volunteer leadership, support and tireless commitment to
the store since the very beginning.
Thank you
all for your continued support, and I cannot wait to see what the next 10 years
have in store for the Habitat Re-Store!
Sincerely,
 Robert W. Leider
Chairman of the Board
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Featured Article
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Ladies,
get your hammers ready...Women Build 2011 is in the works! Habitat Broward's Women Build program is all about empowering women to take
action and help provide safe, decent housing for families living in
poverty. And take action they have - with more than 40 homes built in the
last 8 years, Habitat Broward has one of the largest Women Builds in the
country. But in order to make this year's Women Build a success, we need YOUR help to
raise funds! To find out how you or your
company can get involved, please contact Maureen Hodgson, Director of
Development, at maureen@habitatbroward.org. |
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Featured Article
| DID YOU KNOW?
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This year Habitat Broward helped Habitat for Humanity
achieve the rank of No. 8 on the Builder 100 list, marking the first time the
nonprofit has been recognized among the top 10 biggest builders in the United
States. Builder Magazine's annual Builder 100 List compiles data provided by the
nation's builders, including their closings. Habitat for Humanity, with 5,294
closings last year nationwide, moved up three spots in 2009 from its 2008
ranking of No. 11. Check out the recent Wall Street Journal article to learn more about what Habitat affiliates, such as
Habitat Broward, are doing across the nation! |
| HABITAT VOLUNTEER RECEIVES 'HELPING HANDS' AWARD
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Congratulations to AllState employee and longtime Habitat
Broward volunteer Alicia "Lish" Ewen, who was named AllState's Helping Hands
Volunteer of the Season! Alicia was nominated by her AllState peers in the
Coconut Creek office and selected out of more than 33,000 AllState employees
nationwide.  A Habitat volunteer since 2005, Lish serves as a team leader
on the construction site every weekend, and she also dedicates one week each
year to participating in Habitat's Jimmy Carter Work Project helping to build
homes in locations around the world.
This award marks the third time Lish has been recognized by
AllState for her outstanding volunteerism, and - thanks to AllState's matching
grant program - Habitat Broward has also received $2,000 this year as a result
of her countless hours of service!
Did you know that many other companies also match
employee volunteerism with a donation to their favorite charity? Contact your employer to find out if your hours of service on the
job site could have double the impact by also raising funds to support our
mission!
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MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Habitat Broward is excited to announce that we have partnered
with the cities of Sunrise, North Lauderdale and Hallandale Beach to use funds
from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help revitalize Broward
neighborhoods that have been affected by the mortgage crisis!
This summer we completed the first phase of the program by
acquiring more than 20 bank-owned, foreclosed properties, and we have begun the
permitting and rehabilitation phase through which we will transform these
properties into safe, decent, affordable homes for families in need.
Over the next 12 months we will rehabilitate 10 homes in
Sunrise, 4 homes in North Lauderdale, and an 8-unit community in
Hallandale Beach. At the same time, we
plan to complete construction on 20 more brand-new homes, making this one of
the busiest years yet for Habitat Broward!
As always, we could not accomplish our goal without the tireless
work of our volunteers and the generosity of our supporters. Thank you for your
continued partnership as we embark on this newest endeavor and work to change
the lives of Broward children and families for the better.
Sincerely,
Jason S. Crush, Esq.
Executive Director
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WHAT IS THE NEIGHBORHOOD STABILIZATION PROGRAM?
With South Florida being hit particularly hard by the nationwide foreclosure crisis, Habitat Broward's mission to revitalize neighborhoods through
homeownership opportunities is now more relevant than ever. Not only do
foreclosed and abandoned properties reduce surrounding property values, but
they can also attract crime and become health and safety hazards, resulting in
increased costs to local government for added police and fire protection,
emergency repairs and demolition.
Congress
created the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help cities, counties and
states deal with community problems that are resulting from the mortgage
foreclosure crisis across the nation. NSP funds were allocated to local governments
across the country for the purpose of purchasing, rehabilitating, and reselling
foreclosed properties in especially hard-hit neighborhoods that might otherwise
become sources of abandonment and blight within their communities.
The
Cities of Sunrise, Hallandale Beach and North Lauderdale allocated a portion of
their NSP funds to Habitat Broward to purchase foreclosed and abandoned
properties and use the traditional Habitat model of volunteer labor and "sweat
equity" to completely rehabilitate the homes, transforming them into safe,
decent, affordable housing for local families in need. Habitat Broward has
already purchased and begun renovations on 22 homes, to be completed over the
next year.
To learn more about Habitat Broward's NSP efforts, check out the recent Sun-Sentinel article, "Habitat for Humanity in the rehab business."
North Lauderdale Commissioner David Hilton helps remove debris from a foreclosed home.  |
Volunteers perform interior demolition on of one of the homes before the rehabilitation process begins.
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Habitat board member Roger Metcalf removes a broken door from one of the rehab homes.  |
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A LOOK BACK AT FAMILY SUPPORT 2009-10...
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As Habitat Broward prepares for another year of its Family Support programs,
HomeWORKS and Blueprints4Life, we would like to recognize all of the supporters and volunteers who made the
2009-10 program year such a success!
Financial support for Habitat Broward's 2009-10 Family Support programs was
generously provided by:
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
BJ's Charitable Foundation
Community Foundation of Broward
Florida Marlins Community Foundation
Sun-Sentinel Children's Fund, A fund of the McCormick Foundation
The William R. Watts Foundation, Inc.
Wells Fargo Housing Foundation
Thank you to the following individuals who volunteered as
nurture partners and/or youth leaders throughout the year:
Antoinette Johnson, Becky Muzychka, Beverley Douglas, Camilla Mitchell, Carrie
Schechter, Clifford Mack, Deborah Bowen, Eloise McCoy-Cain, James Ferriero,
Kathy Craven, Mary Rivers, Nicola Guthrie, Nicolas Lampariello, Susan Schwartz,
Timisha Byrdsong, and Yamina Sullivan, with additional help from Bonnie
Craven.
Habitat Broward sincerely appreciates your hard work and dedication, and we're
looking forward to another successful year of providing education, support, and
resources to our homeowner families and children. Click on the photo below for a slideshow of highlights from Habitat's 2009-10 Blueprints4Life youth enrichment program!
Habitat youth with FLIPANY's Chef Maria, following a workshop on nutrition  |
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| MEET THE NEWEST FACES OF HABITAT
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Habitat Broward is excited to introduce the three newest members of our dedicated staff:  Mark Chatlos recently joined Habitat as a full-time site supervisor who will oversee the
home rehabilitation projects. As a certified commercial and residential building
inspector as well as a Florida
building contractor, Mark looks forward to sharing his knowledge and skills
with volunteers and making a difference in the lives of others. A lifelong Florida
resident, Mark graduated from Miami
Norland High
School and enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. He
later served as a firefighter for the Town of Davie and retired after 27 years of service.
He and his wife have a son, daughter and have been blessed with four
grandchildren.  Jason Tibbetts joins
our staff as a part-time site supervisor, after volunteering with various
Habitat affiliates since 1992 and with Habitat Broward for more than a year. He has always enjoyed the opportunities that
Habitat offers - working side by side with the homeowners to build something
new and seeing the immediate results. Born and raised in Atlanta, Jason
moved to Florida
seven years ago, and he and his wife had their first child last year. Both he
and his wife are also huge Atlanta Braves fan and have the goal of visiting every
Major League ballpark - 12 down, 18 to go!  And finally, Starr Heinzmann joins our office staff as an executive assistant. Starr comes to us most
recently from Tallahassee, although she grew up
in parts of Georgia
as well as South Florida. Starr previously
worked in museum administration, and she is excited to bring her
passion for community outreach and enrichment into another area of the
non-profit arena. She graduated with a degree in Studio Art from Florida State University;
and continues to make mixed-media art in her spare time. To Mark, Jason, and Starr - Welcome to the Habitat Broward family!
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Habitat for Humanity of Broward, an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, is a non-profit, non-denominational Christian housing ministry. Established in 1983, Habitat Broward has successfully built more than 300 safe, decent, affordable homes, changing the lives of more than 1,200 children and adults. By engaging future homeowners, volunteers and community-minded businesses, Habitat revitalizes neighborhoods and empowers people to take an active role in determining a healthy future for their families.
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