A publication of San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity
February 2009
It Takes a Community to Build a Home
New homes are beginning to take shape on Sherman Avenue in Monrovia. So who is building these homes? The fast and easy answer is “SGV Habitat for Humanity,” but the hands behind that easy answer are many. It takes an entire community to build a Habitat home. Habitat homes are made possible by donations from people like you. Currently, SGV Habitat has raised over 80% of what is needed to build these homes. You can help reach the 100% goal by placing your gift in the enclosed envelope and mailing it to SGV Habitat today. Habitat homes are built by volunteers—lots of them. At the top of the list are the Habitat families themselves. Habitat families must contribute 500 hours of “sweat equity” as one of the requirements to qualify to purchase their home. Future homeowner Ray Quiroz is on the site in Monrovia on a regular basis. He was excited to share with his fellow volunteers that his employer has given him one
day off—with pay—each week to complete his hours. Recently a group of future civil engineers from California State University-Los Angeles donated their time to work on the site. They like getting “hands on” opportunities that give them some practical experience to help bring their classroom learning to life. Church, business and service club groups are the organizations that provide the bulk of the volunteers, but individuals are welcome. Construction experience is not required, but volunteers are required to attend an orientation session before coming onto the site. If you would like to help build a home and meet some really great people, please call San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity at 626-792-3838 x17 and ask for Brittany, Volunteer Coordinator.
Photo by Chris Bertrand of the Mountain Views-Observer