News In Brief
Join us to thank the faith community and for fellowship at breakfast this Thursday / Saturday! And learn more about our upcoming projects. These breakfasts are open to the public; please invite your friends.
Thursday, March 21st Federated Church of Orleans 162 Main St, East Orleans 8:00am
Saturday, March 23rd Federated Church of Hyannis 320 Main St, Hyannis 8:00am
 Disaster Relief Trip Update
An informational meeting to plan our May 5-11th trip to New Jersey will be held at the Habitat office on April 24th at 7:00pm. This trip will help low-income residents of Atlantic City, NJ, who were affected by Superstorm Sandy in November. Volunteers and donations are needed to help repair homes in this area where more than 20,000 homes were flooded. The total projected cost for participants is $150 - please let us know if you will need to utilize scholarship funds. Contact Dawn Walnut or Fred Yarger to receive updated information about the trip.
 Team Habitat in Last Gasp Get more information about Team Habitat in The Last Gasp at an informational meeting at the Habitat office on Monday, April 15th at 5:30pm. Thanks to Kathy Herrick for planning this event and for agreeing to help train Team Habitat. Be sure to contact Dawn Walnut (508-362-3559 ex. 16 or dawn@habitatcapecod.org) with your name and contact information if you have registered with The Last Gasp. Information on how to register for the ride can be found here.
Seeking Quilters
As each Habitat home is dedicated, the Habitat Quilters make sure that there is a special welcome gift ready to be presented to the new family: a handmade quilt. With ten homes starting in 2013, we could use a few more quiltmakers! Contact Dawn Walnut (508-362-3559 ex. 16 or dawn@habitatcapecod.org) if you are interested in helping.
Quilts are also known as comforters for a good reason; many thanks to this year's talented quiltmakers who agreed to give hand-stitched, comforting quilts to new Habitat homeowners and their families:
Dot Hannon
Swift Memorial Church Youth Group
Jean Collins
Bev Parke
Kathi Hegner
Jan McDermott
ReStore News Updates
If you would like to be added to the brand-new ReStore Mailing List, to receive ReStore news, updates on new inventory, or to find out about special sale prices, let us know. Contact Dawn Walnut (dawn@habitatcapecod.org)
or Donna Baldwin (donna@habitatcapecod.org) and ask to be added to the mailing list.
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Calendar
Thursday, March 21st
Church Breakfast
Federated Church of Orleans
162 Main St, East Orleans
8:00am
Saturday, March 23rd
Church Breakfast
Federated Church of Hyannis
320 Main St, Hyannis
8:00am
Thursday, April 4th
Mashpee Dedication Ceremony
24 Russell Road, Mashpee
5:30pm
Monday, April 15th
Last Gasp Organizational Meeting
Habitat Office
411 Rt 6A, Yarmouthport
5:30-6:30pm
Wednesday, April 24th
Disaster Relief Organizational Meeting
Habitat Office
411 Rt 6A, Yarmouthport
7:00-8:00pm
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Construction Update
Eastham
The homes have been dedicated and we are completing punch list items. Move in days are coming!
Mashpee
Final finish work is being completed in preparation for a Dedication Ceremony on April 4th.
Truro
We thank the brave souls from Seamen's Bank who worked on the outside deck in the cold last Thursday. Painting starts soon.
Falmouth, Centerville, Mashpee, OrleansThings are moving forward! As building permits are garnered and site work continues, you can expect to see announcements for Kick-Off events, but not before May. We expect to hold Kick-Offs from May to July, with Wall Raisings not far behind.
Donate a car to Cars for Homes™ - Habitat's official car donation program now by calling (877) 277-HFHI (4344) toll free or donate vehicles online. Donate from Cape Cod or specify Cape Cod and funds go to our affiliate.
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Greetings!
Despite the snows of March, spring is in the air - Cape Cod is in between two seasons. Here at Habitat, we are also in between seasons. The homes begun in 2012 are winding down, and we are not yet ready to announce dates for our 2013 builds. That does not mean no work! We are still working in Truro, and there is finish work at our other homes. But  for our upcoming 2013 schedule, we've sown the seeds for ten new homes, and now they are taking root underground, so to speak. You'll soon see the sprouts when spring has fully arrived. |
Don't Miss the Mashpee Dedication!
We are ready to dedicate the home at 24 Russell Road, Mashpee, on April 4th at 5:30 pm. dedications are open to the public, so we hope you will tell your friends.
Mashpee Home Dedication Thursday, April 4th, 5:30pm
24 Russell Road, Mashpee
Major Funding by:  Bank of America Foundation, Town of Mashpee Community Preservation Funds, and Charlesbank Homes With special thanks to: John and Cindy West This home was built with: A dedicated corps of community volunteers, the sweat equity of the owners, and many generous contributions from the community.
Please be considerate of the neighbors when parking, and consider carpooling. Directions available here.
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Peter's House | |
A group home in Bourne
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Seven Hills Foundations offers programming, support, and services to individuals with disabilities and life challenges at locations throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Their newest group home, Peter's House, will support five women currently living in a group home in Hyannis that lacks the handicapped accommodations they desperately need.
This project is the brainchild of longtime Habitat volunteer Ralph Specht and his wife, Ann. Ann and Ralph donated the land on which the home will be built and Habitat volunteers will be involved in two stages of the construction: shingling and landscaping. Ralph, Ann, and Habitat hope that we can help raise awareness about the need for homes like these. Ralph and Ann understand this need from personal experience. When their son Peter was born in 1983, he was diagnosed with Down Syndrome, which meant that he would be mentally and physically challenged for the rest of his life. Further diagnoses, including diabetes, led to a need for daily medical attention and medication. F or Peter's health and safety, he needed supervision 24x7. He was incapable of living on his own.
Peter Specht was invited to move to a group home for men with medical and cognitive disabilities. Peter now lives in a group home with four other men. Ralph writes, "He has friends. He does his own laundry and shares household tasks. He does volunteer activities and participates in social and recreational events. He takes dance lessons. He has appropriate supervision 24/7, no matter where he is or what he does. His diabetes and other conditions are monitored and treated. [This has] allowed us to retire with the confidence that our son had a bright future." Other families are not so lucky. State and federal funding for support services are terminated once a child reaches age 23. Families are then on their own, and for many, this means adult children with special needs can never leave home. Group homes can solve this dilemma for families. Licensed and funded by the state through private non-profit agencies, a group home funds the procurement of the house, hires qualified staff, and provides for the daily needs of their clients, including supervision and outside activities. The clients pay their portion of household expenses through their Social Security payments.
At Habitat for Humanity, our mission is to work in partnership with families in need to build homes, hope, lives and community. Thanks to Ann and Ralph Specht, we are realizing this mission is a new way: by helping families who have adult children with special needs to gain a new life and new hope. For Ralph, this is a way to help other families experience what he and Ann experienced when Peter was invited to move into a group home.
The first stage of Habitat's involvement will be sidewall shingling this spring. Mike Williams, in his role with Davenport Construction, will be the project manager. If you would like to participate, please contact Dawn Walnut at 508-362-3559.
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Volunteer Spotlight
 | | Ralph Specht presents Vicki Goldsmith a donation on behalf of the Corvette Club |
Ralph Specht is a member of the "Charlie's Angels" team, a crew leader at our construction sites, and helps organize Corvette Club TeamBuild days at some of our sites. Ralph has been working with Habitat since 2009 when he participated on the Gomes Way Build.
Ralph says that he enjoys learning the process of house construction, and feels a great sense of responsibility to the homeowners. He takes pride in the homes that we produce - a sentiment echoed by the many volunteers who tell us that they want to build a high quality home, using the best construction techniques possible. And Ralph appreciates the great social experience Habitat provides, especially the many friends he's made at the build sites. Ralph says he volunteers because he feels that it is very important to give back to the community and adds, "Habitat encourages giving back on a more personal basis by allowing the volunteers to work alongside the future homeowners."
Ralph especially enjoys teaching the skills he's picked up to other volunteers. "One of my memorable building experiences was at the build site in Orleans. Martha was a new volunteer and did not have a lot of expertise with power tools. Someone asked her to cut a floor board to 16 inches, and then she turned around and asked me to cut the board for her to 16 inches. I told her that I would not only cut the board for her, but show her how to cut the board herself. She was willing to learn this skill and by the end of the day, she was a 'floor cutting pro.' Not only was she proud of her new found skill but I was proud for her also."
Ralph says new volunteers should not be "afraid of the build process. Everyone brings skills and has an opportunity to learn new ones. Sometimes it is hard to break into a crew that has worked together for some time and has a certain rhythm. There is new terminology that you might be unfamiliar with. Be persistent, keep showing up, and ask for help.Your time and energy will be rewarded many times over."
To volunteer with Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod, contact Dawn Walnut at dawn@habitatcapecod.org or 508-362-3559 ex. 16.
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Crocus photo by George Hernandez
courtesy of ClickHandler
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