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In this issue:

Nelson Family Home Dedication	Crew Leader Training	Support Habitat for Humanity California
Veteran Home Repairs	Cosentino Donates Kitchen Surfaces for New Homes	Save The Date - 2016 Hollywood Build
ReStore Benefits Local Community	Lent Build
Remembering Super Ted	The Benefits of Charitable Lead Trusts

It's been a busy beginning of the year for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles (Habitat LA)! We had our first home dedication of 2016 at the beginning of this month and officially welcomed home the Nelson family! This celebration was truly inspiring, bringing together many of our supporters and members of the Long Beach community, and reminding us all of the power of homeownership. In this edition of Habitat Happenings we will share ways that you can get more involved with Habitat LA and help families, like the Nelsons, achieve the dream of homeownership and support Building a Greater Los Angeles.

NELSON FAMILY HOME DEDICATION

On February 6th, many gathered outside a beautiful, green craftsman style home in Long Beach that is now proudly owned by Yvette Nelson. She shares this five bedroom, 2 3/4- bath home with her sister, daughter and two granddaughters.

Mayor Robert Garcia, Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez, John Thomas of the Long Beach Community Investment Company, donors, volunteers and Habitat LA board members and staff came together to celebrate Ms. Nelson's journey to homeownership. Her journey has not always been an easy one, but through her faith and lots of hard work, she was able to purchase her first home. Together, Yvette and her sister,Loyce, completed Habitat LA's Family Investment Program and sweat equity hours helping to build their home.

The Nelson home was one of three sites conveyed to Habitat LA by the City of Long Beach and the Long Beach Community Investment Company. It is also located in the Washington neighborhood, a community that Habitat LA has targeted for Neighborhood Revitalization.

Read the complete press release HERE.

VETERAN HOME REPAIRS

Do you know a veteran in need of home repairs? Habitat LA currently has funding available to assist local, low-income veteran homeowners through our Home Repair Program. Through this program, we serve those who have so selflessly served our country by making critical repairs and home improvements. Take a minute today to show your support for Veterans and help us spread the word!

ReSTORE BENEFITS LOCAL COMMUNITY

The ReStore is a place where deals and treasures can be found, but it is also a place that benefits the local community and environment. Reusable items such as furniture, appliances, building materials and rugs are sold to the general public at discounted prices. All proceeds support Habitat LA's programs building, rehabilitating and repairing homes in partnership with low-income families and individuals. An additional benefit is that the ReStores have kept more than 7.8 million pounds of otherwise discarded materials and goods out of Southern California landfills.

Read the complete post on our blog HERE. Find ReStore locations and hours HERE.

REMEMBERING SUPER TED

One of our most valued volunteers and a great friend to many of us at Habitat LA, Ted Nguyen, passed away this month. He was more commonly known as "Super Ted" and began volunteering with us during a blitz build in 2004. He was incredibly humble and was nominated as our Volunteer of the Year many times, but always requested that the honor go to someone else. After being diagnosed with leukemia, Ted still volunteered more than 65 hours with us last year despite chemo therapy treatments and extensive hospital stays. Ted touched many lives and helped to build many homes that will now stand in his memory as a powerful reminder of his commitment to Habitat LA.

CREW LEADER TRAINING

Are you a contractor, carpenter, electrician or plumber? Do you want to use your skills to build homes, communities and hope? Habitat LA is currently looking for outgoing individuals with construction or special trade backgrounds to train as crew leaders and skilled volunteers. Our construction crew leaders and skilled volunteers have many more opportunities to volunteer on our construction sites and must be available a few times a month. If you are interested, contact Caitlin Rose, Habitat LA Volunteer Manager, at 424-246-3184 or crose@habitatla.org.

COSENTINO TO DONATE KITCHEN SURFACES FOR NEW HABITAT LA HOMES

Cosentino Group, a manufacturer and distributor of high value surfaces for architecture and design, will donate its Silestone Natural Quartz surfaces to be used in the kitchens of all newly constructed Habitat LA homes this year. These surfaces will also be sold in Habitat LA ReStores on a first come-first served basis. Donations of materials, like these countertops, help to make homeownership attainable for low-income families and individuals by keeping our construction costs low. If you are interested in making a gift-in-kind donation, contact Patrick Sunpanich, Habitat LA Gift-In-Kind Manager, at psunpanich@habitatla.org or 424-246-3633. To read the full press release, click HERE.

LENT BUILD

Our 6th Annual Lent Build kicked off on Ash Wednesday, when volunteers from Faith United Methodist Church came out to swing a hammer on our build site in Inglewood. Congregations from across greater Los Angeles are volunteering on Habitat LA builds and in our ReStores through Easter. There are still opportunities to join us for 40 Days of Building on Faith. For more information, contact Chris Untiet, Habitat LA Associate Director of Faith Relations, at chrisu@habitatla.org.

THE BENEFITS OF CHARITABLE LEAD TRUSTS

Charitable lead trusts have become more attractive as an estate and income tax planning tool because of the historically low Section 7520 rates (Applicable Federal Rates or AFRs). In recent years, the AFR has hovered between 1.0% and 2.4% and hasn't been above 3.0% since June 2010. With lead trusts, the lower the AFR, the higher the deduction. As a result, shorter term or lower payout lead trusts can produce a benefit far greater today than was possible in the past. Therefore, high net worth individuals will find the lead trust to be an attractive component of their estate, income and charitable planning. Click HERE to read more.

Interested in setting up a Planned Giving program with Habitat LA? Contact JC Bass, Manager of Individual Giving at jbass@habitatla.org or 424-246-3170

SUPPORT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY CALIFORNIA

Help build a better California by supporting Habitat for Humanity California with your California State Tax Return. There are more than 100,000 non-profits in California and Habitat for Humanity is one of 20 that you can donate to by designating a contribution in box number 428 next to "Habitat for Humanity Fund." A voluntary contribution is an election made by the taxpayer to designate a portion or all of their tax return to charitable funds.

Click HERE to find out how to donate on your tax return!

2016 HOLLYWOOD BUILD - SAVE THE DATE!

For more information on sponsorship opportunities please contact Helen Dosta, Associate Director of Development, at hdosta@habitatla.org or 424-246-3653.

Board of Directors

Chairman:

Daniel Burgner

Burgner Experiential

Past Chairman:

Gerry Bross

Hollywood Sierra Kitchens

Vice-Chair:

Bill Blake

Zurich North America

Secretary:

John Manganiello

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Treasurer:

Alan Wright

California Bank & Trust

Tom Clarke

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Scott Farer

PepsiCo

Greg Ferree

Southern California Edison

Ranjan Goswami

Delta Air Lines, Inc

Terri Haack

Terranea Resort

Carl Jordan

US Bank

Eva Kalawski

Platinum Equity, LLC

Mike Lang

Lang Media Group

Kim McManus

Mosaic LA

Michelle Meghrouni

Southern California Gas Company

Matt Petersen

City of Los Angeles

Lori Raya

Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions

Eric Remensperger

Proskauer

Linda Russell

Wells Fargo

Raul Salinas

AlvaradoSmith

Heidi Snyder

Union Bank

Troy Thrower

The Woodward Group

Ken Walker

Thank you to our donors!

January 2016 Gifts

Gold Hammer ($50,000+)

Eleanor Eck

Silver Hammer ($25,000+)

Faithful Central Bible Church
The Channel Company, LLC
Cotton Incorporated*

Bronze Hammer ($15,000+)

Warner Brothers Entertainment, Inc.
Hilti Corporation*

Architects Circle ($10,000+)

Thomas and Ellie Clarke
Preferred Bank

Silver Nail ($5,000+)

City National Bank
William Rehrig
Mark Leddy

Bronze Nail ($1,000+)

Beach Cities RE, Inc.
Brentwood Presbyterian Church
Rolling Hills United Methodist Church
Steve and Aeran Koch
Level 3 Design Group, Inc.
St. Monica Catholic Church
Stacy Mabrie
Manhattan Beach Community Church
Faith United Methodist Church
James and Stacy McDaniel
Jerri and Marshal Safron
Robert and Diana Walker
Tod Beebe
Kent and Lauren Burton
The Capital Group Companies, Inc.
Christopher and Annette Crump
Alan and Nancy Gittelson
Grace First Presbyterian Church
Lisa Meier
Brent K. Storey
Donald and Virginia Whinfrey

* Denotes GIK donor

Thank you to our major donors!

Bank of America

Beach Cities Friends

California Community Foundation

California Department of Housing and Community Development

City of Downey

City of Los Angeles

City of Long Beach

City of Lynwood

City of Montebello

Cotton, Inc.*