Habitat Builder Newsletter - February 2011

A publication of the San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity

February 2011

Kenwood Women’s Build — A Big Success

The Women’s Build Team began as part of the ambitious Kenwood Campaign in 2006. Our goal was to raise $100,000 to build one of eleven homes. The idea came about during a meeting with a team of very creative and generous people at Walt Disney Imagineering: “You want to build eleven homes, why not have eleven teams?” Each team would have its own theme, publicity would foster gentle competition between teams and, ultimately, SGV Habitat for Humanity would have a sustainable program for future builds.

Charlotte Hogan and Dianne Moore discussed this idea a bit later and decided to form a Women’s Team and serve as co-chairs. A large, enthusiastic group of women was then brought together to

work with eight Team Captains/ Co-Captains (Sandra Goff, Kelly McCune, Diane McMaster, Janie Fain, Nina Perry, Kristen Gavoni/Christy Taylor, Anna Suda, Brenda Trainor) and a treasurer, Janelle Williams. More friends were added, as were many loyal Habitat volunteers. After initial meetings, brainstorming sessions and lots of planning and organization, the serious work began!

Wonderful, creative ideas emerged!

Camaraderie among the teams was phenomenal! We played bingo at Hamburger Mary’s; attended fund raisers in beautiful homes sponsored by generous owners; we received several donations honoring individual’s bar mitzvahs; we had a wonderful party thrown at Siren Studios; City of Glendale sponsored breakfast/lunch for us, passed buckets at events for us and supported us in numerous other ways; we received foundation money and matching grants; restaurants held events for us; we had a trunk show; churches donated money; team members literally “begged” for cash, when necessary. People did amazing things to ensure that we’d reach our goal.

It took longer than we expected, but we stayed with it, and two years after we began, we did it … we hit the $100,000 dollar mark! In fact, we were one of the only Kenwood teams who did! And just this past summer we installed a plaque at our Women’s Build home site to commemorate

this extraordinary journey.

This would not have happened without the super stars and all of the team members who stayed focused on the goal. We thank the team leads along with Yasmine Khalil, Colleen McEvoy, Regina Schlehner, Laura Norris, Carol Martin, Darlene Hubanks, Donna Baker, Susan MacLean, Sue Koury, Gloria Lilly, Alice Hamrajbaian, Elisa Schement, Dawn Fanning, Leslie Hinton, Yvonne Green and all the others who participated in this success! It happened because of you!

Charlotte Hogan, Guest Writer

US BankCorps Grant

US BankCorps donated $5,000 to SGV Habitat for Humanity’s Geneva Build. We are extremely grateful for this generous gift which will be used to build homes for families in need and appreciate the support of Homa Malganji, VP & Branch Manager at US Bank, who presented the check.

1

Board of Directors Donald W. Goodman, Claus Agger-Nielsen, Michael T. Davitt, Ann Dougherty, Tom Doud, George Garfield, Jay Harvill, Cynthia Heydt, John Mac Lean, Deborah A. Loveland, Paul McAnnallyLinz, Judd Reas, Tom Bunn, Nick Alparaz

Staff Sonja L. Yates Executive Director Damien Allen Construction

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

CARPENTER’S CLUB— WHAT’S THAT?

Sayaka Ota Accountant Catalina Velez Office Manager Amy Borton Volunteer Coordinator Mike McGowan Coordinator of Support Services & Marketing James Burke Coordinator of Youth Programs & Fund Development Support

ReStore Bill Anderson Manager Michael Krecker Assistant Manager Eric Bridges Assistant Manager Sara Timberlake ReStore Services Development AmeriCorps VISTA Ricky Brownlee Driver Aaron Henrichs Driver Erik Kristiansen Sales Associate Craig Chew Sales Associate David Hill Sales Associate Sean Leavelle Sales Associate Matt Vincent Sales Associate Phillip Pasos Sales Associate Charlotte Hogan Guest Reporter

San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity 400 South Irwindale, Azusa CA 91702 Tel: 626-387-6899 Fax: 626-387-6890

San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity offers a variety of ways to be involved in the joy and the work of providing decent, affordable housing throughout communities in Southern California.

You can be part of the “Habitat Community” by

volunteering on our builds, by being part of the Brush With Kindness program, by contributing to our annual appeal that comes to your home in December each year, or by joining the Carpenter’s Club.

To join this special part of the Habitat community, simply call Sayaka Ota at 626-387-6899 or send her an e-mail at accounting@ sgvhabitat.org. She will be happy to answer any questions you might have and to enroll you. Or you Carpenter’s Club is a solid can enroll by going online core of Habitat donors who (www.sgvhabitat.org), provide ongoing support to clicking on “Donors”, then the organization by using click on “Individuals” and their credit cards. When then on “Carpenter’s Club.” you register as a member There is a downloadable of the Carpenter’s Club, form available for you to you grant SGV Habitat complete and mail to the permission to charge your SGV Habitat office. credit card account with a regular monthly amount. Come! Join us! Become a At the end of the year, you regular supporter of Habitat have a complete record of through our Carpenter’s your giving, and you can Club today! adjust your giving any time during the year.

Brush With Kindness Temple City

2

To the right is the home of Roberta Armstrong, who broke both ankles in a fall off her front porch, before volunteers transformed her home with a Brush With Kindness (BWK).

In addition to new paint, the main improvement made to her home through BWK was the addition of railings on her front and back porches.

“They’re making the house livable again,” she said. “It’s really hard; I try to keep it up, but can’t do it myself.”

Mike Brander, a retired aerospace engineer from La Crescenta, worked on Armstrong’s house six days a week.

“I plan to keep doing this indefinitely, into next year,” said Brander, who also rebuilt homes in New Orleans for 11 months after Hurricane Katrina hit.

“I just do this because I enjoy it.

I’ve been real lucky all my life, and decided it’s time to give back—and just giving money is not enough.

My real reward is seeing the people’s faces when the house is done.”

BWK is a new exterior repair program launched in 2010 by SGV Habitat for Humanity. Area cities or private funders are invited to sponsor BWK projects ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 per selected site.

Low-income homeowners who have not been financially able to make needed exterior repairs are invited to inquire about this new program by calling Damien Allen, 626-230-8917.

Before

After

ReStores Support Habitat’s Mission

San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity’s ReStores have come a long way since their humble beginnings. The first store was opened in 2003 on North Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena. It had one worker and was largely staffed by volunteers. The first month the store was open, it saw dismal sales—only a few hundred dollars—and not many donations.

Now, there is a second store located in Azusa, a full staff working at both stores as well as an AmeriCorps VISTA, and three trucks to pick up donations. Sales are now more than 50 times what they were when the store opened, and San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity is thinking of opening a third ReStore. The ReStore journey is a work in progress with strategic goals to meet revenue targets and eventually

return funds sufficient to cover all operating expenses required to support our affordable housing mission. In FY 2010, the ReStores covered 74% of operating expenses for the affiliate.

In 2005, the decision was made to recruit a trained and skilled manager to work at the store, and Bill Anderson was selected. Soon after, he hired the first truck driver to pick up incoming donations for the store. When

asked about that time, Anderson says that it was hard, but after visiting other area ReStores he knew it was possible to increase the sales of the store. The second store opened in Azusa in January 2009.

Donations increased, sales increased, and the communities surrounding the stores continued to embrace them as an integral part of the area. For instance, if you happen to visit the City of Monrovia’s Public Works offices, you might notice that the workers there are eager to tell visitors about the ReStore. Sharon, an employee there, tries hard to match the needs of her customers to the resources that can be found in the community.

If those needs involve donating their used items or buying used items at affordable prices, she gives them a brochure and tells them about our ReStores. The ReStores have also been recognized by the cities of Los Angeles, Irwindale, Azusa, and Monrovia for their contributions in reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfills.

“The ReStore is a brilliant business model because it is a win for everybody involved,” said Anderson. Donors to the ReStore get a tax receipt for their donations, shoppers get great deals on items they need for their homes, and the money generated from the ReStores goes to support the work of Habitat for Humanity.

You can get involved in the growth of the ReStores in many ways: by making a tax-deductible donation of doors, windows, hardware, furniture, cars and more; by volunteering in our ReStores to help with cleaning, organizing and maintaining the store; and by shopping in

the ReStores.

Both ReStores are open to the public MondaySaturday from 9:00am5:00pm.

More information about donating or volunteering can be found on our website, www.sgvhabitat.org/restore.

Anderson said that his wish for the future of the Restores is to offset all operational costs of San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity so when donors make a financial donation to the affiliate, their entire donation is going to fund more building, which supports the affiliate’s mission to end poverty housing.

First United Methodist Church of Glendale

We are very grateful for First United Methodist Church’s donation to our future build in Glendale on Geneva Street. Nancy Person and Reverend Jim Anderson presented SGV Habitat for Humanity with a gift of $17,469.83.

Thank you for making homeownership a reality for so many deserving families!

Find SGV Habitat Online www.sgvhabitat.org Facebook—www.facebook.com/sgvhabitat Myspace—www.myspace.com/sgvhabitat Flickr—www.flickr.com/photos/sgvhabitat Blogspot—sangabrielvalleyhabitat.blogspot.com Twitter—twitter.com/sgvhabitat 3

You are joyfully invited to the Geneva Groundbreaking March 5th, 2011 11AM to 1PM

Come celebrate with the homebuyer families and join in the groundbreaking for the Geneva Homes!

Please arrive early to find street parking designated for the event. Place this invitation card on your dashboard.

Thank you for supporting this affordable housing development!

info@sgvhabitat.org 626.387.6899

624 Geneva Street Glendale, CA 91206 Location of the groundbreaking

Please e-mail us so we can update your e-mail for our mailing list: info@sgvhabitat.org San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity 400 South Irwindale Avenue Azusa, CA 91702

Inside Women’s Build Success

1

US BankCorps Grant 1 President’s Column

2

Brush With Kindness

2

Habitat Restores

3

First United Methodist Donation 3 Geneva Groundbreaking Invite

4

NONPROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID PASADENA, CA PERMIT NO. 224