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Upcoming Events
Thursday, May 13, 2010
3rd annual Build a Home Frame a Future fundraising breakfast
Embassy Suites Hotel
Sat & Sun, May 22 & 23, 2010
Fundraiser at New Seasons Market
Habitat staff and volunteers will be
selling yummy BBQ with all
proceeds benefiting Habitat.
Details to follow
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No Bare Cupboards
in Habitat Homes.
For new homeowner Joel Lopez, February 26 was anything but typical. He started the day signing his mortgage papers and receiving his house key. When he got to his new home, he found Tony & Tina Slyter from the Tigard Grocery Outlet inside and his cupboards and fridge stocked with his favorite foods.
Tony & Tina (pictured with Joel Lopez) are collaborating with Willamette West Habitat and will be stocking the kitchen, bathroom & laundry rooms of our families as they move into their new home.
They also give the family a gift card, so they can go shopping for even more goodies. The Lopez and Nguyen families are the first to receive this special gift. |
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Outgoing President's Final Words
Lane Clem, outgoing board president.
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This has been a very full and eventful year for Willamette West Habitat for Humanity and I am honored to have had a part in leading this fine group. In this past year:
- We were able to not only survive in a very difficult economic time, but also actually grow financially.
- We established and utilized an active and effective Nominating Committee that resulted in five new board members, a complete slate of officers and backup for all of the critical board positions.
- We rounded out our staff with competent, experienced and committed employees. We augmented our paid staff with skilled assistance from agencies such as AmeriCorps.
- We purchased six lots for future habitat homes.
- We found new office space and moved the staff in.
- We received a very clean financial audit from Jones and Roth.
- Accepted the transfer of assets from the Pioneer Spirit Habitat for Humanity in Astoria.
But most importantly, in the past year, we provided first-time homeownership for six hard-working, deserving families by moving them into homes of their own. This included 11 adults and 16 children. One of those homes was home designed and built specifically to meet the special needs of the handicapped owner.
The credit for all of this goes to three great groups of individuals:
1. A Board of Directors made up of members who have the expertise and dedication to lead the organization effectively;
2. A competent and committed staff led by an effective and skilled Executive Director;
3. An army of tireless, capable volunteers doing everything from clerical tasks to carpentry work to professional consulting.
I want to wish God's blessing on Dan Fako as he takes over as president. Hang on tight Dan. It's going to be a fast and exciting ride! |
| Willamette West Habitat, Portland Habitat, Vancouver Habitat and the Portland & Vancouver ReStores now have a joint Facebook page. Become a fan and see what is happening all over the metro area with Habitat for Humanity.
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Help put more kids at the school bus stop pictured above!
Please join us, and emcee KC Cowan of OPB, at the 3rd annual Build a Home Frame a Future Breakfast. We'll hear from current, and soon-to-be, Habitat homeowners, meet the Habi-kids, and learn how you can help them reach
their goal of a simple, decent, affordable home.
This year we once again have a $25,000 match challenge,
so your donations are worth even more!
Bring your heart and your checkbook (and your appetite)
and help us meet our goal of raising $125,000 in just one hour! |
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Thanks to our Build a Home Frame a Future Title Sponsor:
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For Some, February is New Home Month
Did the atmosphere in February feel a little more special to you this year? I guarantee it did for the Nguyen and Lopez families. That is because thanks to you, two more families have achieved the American Dream of homeownership. The Nguyen family (pictured left) signed their mortgage papers and moved into their home in our Cornerstone project just 11 months after being accepted into the Habitat program.
Hoang, husband Hanh and daughter Peyton, moved out of a 100-year-old-home they rented which had dry rot in the floors, mold growing on the ceiling, newspaper-covered drafty windows, and only two rooms with working heat. For all this, they paid $800 per month in rent!
Now they are Habitat homeowners and their monthly mortgage payment (including HOA fees and property taxes) is 40% less than what their rent payment was. That's a MINIMUM savings to them of $162,000 over the length of their mortgage! "It's my dream...it's my dream come true" repeated Hoang over and over, with a big smile on her face.
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Fire Department Collaborates with Habitat
For several months during the fall and winter, the Hillsboro Fire Department conducted training drills in an old home located on Habitat property in Hillsboro. After several months of drills, the department conducted what they call a "Burn to Learn" and took the house down. Lieutenant Scott Stutzman, who coordinated the Maple Street Burn to Learn, told us:
"Homes such as the one donated by Habitat for Humanity are so important to the Hillsboro Fire Department and the fire service in general. The Burn-to Learn offered four of our newest members the opportunity to practice their new skills in a controlled fire environment under the supervision of seasoned Firefighters and Company Officers. This type of training gives the Recruits a "real-life picture" of fire besides just talking, teaching from curriculum, or watching videos."
A house on fire is never a happy picture, but at the end of this bittersweet day our lot was cleared and out of the ashes, a Habitat neighborhood - Brauner Brook - will rise, giving hope to nine families as they escape their circle of poverty and can look to a more secure future.
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Lieutenant Scott Sutzman (right) talks with neighbor kids about being a firefighter.
Recruits (left) put out a controlled fire in the living room before bringing the house down. |
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About Us
Willamette West Habitat for Humanity incorporated on October 12, 1988 as the 350th U.S. affiliate of Habitat for Humanity. By late 1990, our territory included west Portland, and the affiliate consisted entirely of volunteers, occupying a small rented office in Multnomah. We owned a steeply sloping lot in SW Portland, and had a set of house plans.
Today Willamette West has four paid staff members, a very active 17-member board of directors, and a dozen specialized committees ranging from site development to family selection, family partnering, and faith relations.
With your help we have completed 60 homes (45 since 2000) and you have helped 89 adults and 165 kids escape the circle of poverty and achieve a better life.
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