Please join us for an evening of live and silent auction, delicious food, and jazz to help Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley raise the roof on more homes for families in Washtenaw County.  This fundraising event and celebration of volunteers will be held on Friday evening, April 25, 2008 from 6:30 to 9:30 at Washtenaw Community College, Morris Lawrence Atrium (4800 E. Huron River Drive, Ann Arbor). Tickets are $50 each - please contact the office at 734.677.1558 or email lynnep@h4h.org or comdir@h4h.org.

Here are just a few of the unforgettable items and events we will be auctioning off this April:

• Six-day, six-night South African Safari trip for two to the Zulu Nayla Reserve (meals included!)
• Six-day, six-night trip to a castle in the south of France known as the Chateaus Andelot (maximum six guests)
• Three laps around the track at the Michigan International Speedway traveling at speeds up to 160mph with a professional race car driver
  
• Baking classes for 2 at the Zingerman's Bakehouse
• Baseball autographed by Detroit Tigers pitching sensation Joel Zumaya
  
• 2 mug club memberships and gift certificates to Grizzly Peak
• University of Michigan vs. Notre Dame football tickets, plus many other University of Michigan sports tickets
• Rounds of golf for four at Travis Pointe and Polo Fields

... the list goes on to include dinners, sporting and theater events, jewelry, fine art, trips to Florida and Michigan, handmade quilts, and more!  We hope to see you there.

This year the Thrivent Builds house will be located on Firwood Street in Ypsilanti.The new home will belong to Tammie Weinberg and her family. Tammie has three children, two boys and a girl, who are anxious to help build their own home. In fact, Tammie and her 18-year-old daughter Amanda began earning their required sweat equity hours late last summer.

Excavation on their home is expected to begin in April with footings and pads being poured by the end of the month.Basement walls can then be set in early May with decking to follow towards the middle of the month. With that in place, the foundation will be set  for the Saturday, May 31^st Build Kick Off.

Lutherans from at least 10 different congregations will participate in the build, but other volunteers are welcome too.Watch for dates and opportunities to be posted on the volunteer website in the coming months. 

Progress has continued on the Friends House, however three weekends of snow, ice, and frigid temperatures put a temporary damper on getting the roof shingled. However, the roof is now complete, and the house is ready for siding. We would again like to thank the folks of the EMU Constructors and Eagle's Nest for their leadership over the past weeks. 

We are currently looking for someone to step into the house leader role and lead the next stage of construction.  If you can lead a crew of volunteers in any phase of construction, please contact Bill Dunphy at 734.323.7028 or Lynne Punnett at 734-677-1558 ext. 110.

The position of a House Leader is pivotal in the process of constructing a Habitat home.  The main skills that a successful House Leader will be required to call upon include planning, organization, and communication.  A working knowledge of residential construction is helpful but not required as the hands on building of the home can be delegated to others such as volunteer crew chiefs or professional subcontractors. 

 

The main responsibility of a House Leader is to stay on top of the project by following a construction schedule as closely as possible.  To do so, the House Leader anticipates the needs of the project in the way of manpower and supplies, and communicates these needs to the various volunteer coordinators and to the Construction Manager. 

 

The time requirement of a House Leader is approximately double the time spent working at the site.  For example, if a group plans to spend two days a week working on the home, the House Leader will spend an additional two days organizing those functions.  For this reason many sponsor groups find it advantageous to have more than one House Leader. The Co-House Leader approach eases the time commitment and spreads the responsibility so as not to overwhelm any one person. 

 

The following duties are performed by the House Leader:

• Creating a time line and construction schedule for the project
• Reviewing the schedule with the sponsoring group's Volunteer Coordinator and HHHV's Construction Manager
• Modifying the schedule when necessary and communicating the changes to all concerned parties
• Requesting the number of volunteers needed for each day's work one to two weeks in advance
• Requesting materials for construction from the Construction Manager one week in advance
• Assigning tasks to Crew Chiefs and volunteers
• Requesting subcontracting services from HHHV's Construction Manager
• Requesting inspections from the building department through HHHV's Construction Manager
• Verifying the results of inspections before continuing construction
• Signing off Partner Family time sheets to verify their hours
• Communicating with the sponsor's partner family about any concerns they may have and referring them to the appropriate parties to help them
• General oversight of the entire construction process with the help of the HHHV's Construction Manager
  

If you would like to learn more about becoming a House Leader, please call Lynne Punnett at 734.677.1558 ext. 110 or e-mail lynnep@h4h.org. We would love to hear from you.

We are also having a Crew Chief and House Leader training session on March 8th from 10am until noon at the Habitat Office. It will be led by our Construction Manager, Bill Dunphy. To RSVP please call Bill at 734.323.7028. Sign on to our volunteer website to learn more.

For a closer look at the ReStore please visit our website or call: (734) 822-1530