HABITAT BUILDER
Winter 2022 - Issue 19
What’s
Inside
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Welcome New Legacy Society Members
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Builders’ Club Winter Membership Drive
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Faith and Community Partner Appreciation
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ReStore Coupon
YOU Helped Fulfill 27 Families’ Dreams During First Year of Expanding the American Dream Campaign Since the official launching of the Expanding the American Dream Campaign in January of 2021, YOU have helped 27 low-income families by completing critical repairs and providing homeownership opportunities. As the whole world has been “housebound” at some point this last year it has given people a new perspective on what it means to have a place to call home. Families in need of affordable housing live everywhere: small towns and villages, sprawling cities, and our community. Currently, many Americans believe that it is challenging to find affordable quality housing in their
communities, and more than half of The campaign is a $28 million all adults say they have made at least investment in the community, driven one tradeoff in order to cover their by the commitment to help more rent or mortgage. families achieve financial security and stability. It will provide critical “There is no comparison home repair and homeownership to between where we were and 100 families across the San Gabriel where we are now. We are no longer worried that our Valley and abroad. This number rent will be raised, which adds to the nearly 290 families SGV we would not be able to Habitat for Humanity has served afford. It is a feeling of since 1990. peace…We want to say
thank you to everyone for making our dreams come true.”
73 MORE TO GO
– Tamer and Mariese, New SGV Habitat Homeowners pictured above with their children Heaven and David
learn more: sgvhabitat.org/ead
Share your support by using #ExpandingtheAmericanDream on social media.
Our Newest Legacy Society Members Are Changing Lives Welcome Mona, Margaret and Grace! By including San Gabriel Valley Habitat in your estate planning you are leaving a legacy of helping families to achieve their dream of owning a safe and affordable place to call home. Because of you, more families like Tamer and Mariese, and their children David and Heaven, who recently became homeowners in our Desiderio community of 9 homes in Pasadena, will see their dreams come true. This was made possible through a generous donation from the estate of a Legacy Society member. Margaret and her partner Grace attended our last home dedication ceremony where Margaret presented the keys to Mariese! (photo right) Now retired, Margaret served the Glendale community through her long career in education. Grace, who spent her career in the transportation department with the City of Los Angeles, shared with us her understanding of the complexity of homebuilding, as she had drawn the architectural plans for her mother’s home. “SGV Habitat for Humanity’s Legacy Society provides us with an opportunity to share our resources for the greater good. To continue helping families at the end of our lives by means of our will is our last gesture of solidarity with those in need of decent housing.” - Grace and Margaret, SGV Habitat Legacy Society Members. Mona also attended a recent home dedication. She has impacted our community in so many ways. In addition to a career in education as a teacher and lecturer, she served on the governing board of LACCD (where she helped start one of the first AmeriCorps funded volunteer service learning centers in the country). Mona is also a Past Board President of the League of Women Voters of Greater Los Angeles. “SGV Habitat for Humanity creates homeownership opportunities which build generational wealth and create community. I like that Habitat provides a hand up, not a handout, requiring homeowners to complete sweat equity in the construction of their home. As a member of the Legacy Society, I am glad to include SGV Habitat in my estate planning to support this wonderful work.” - Mona-SGV Legacy Society Member (pictured right) We are so grateful for Mona, Grace and Margaret and their support for families in need of safe and affordable housing! If you have included SGV Habitat in your will or trust or designated a future gift of insurance or retirement assets, but have not yet informed us, please contact us. You will be invited to special events and receive recognition as a member. Should you desire to remain anonymous, we will respect your wishes. You are invited to join SGV Habitat’s Legacy Society by including SGV Habitat in your estate planning. Contact Paul Van Ast, Donor Care Manager at PaulV@sgvhabitat.org for more information! 2
THANK YOU to Our Generous Faith, Youth & Community Partners! Thanks to our Faith, Youth and Community Partners, brighter futures lie ahead for many families. Your support means stability, safety and self-reliance for many new homeowners throughout the San Gabriel Valley and beyond. Thank you!
Arcadia Rotary Club Archdiocese of Los Angeles Calvary Presbyterian Church Church of the Transfiguration Eagle Rock Baptist Church First United Methodist Church of Glendale Foothill Credit Union Knox Presbyterian Church Oneonta Congregational Church Pasadena Methodist Foundation Pasadena Presbyterian Church Saint Francis High School San Gabriel Valley The Way St Louise De Marillac Church
YOU MATCHED IT
Your generosity met and exceeded the Giving Tuesday and Year End matches from our Corporate Partner at C.W. Driver and three big hearted donors!
In the Works Homeownership Projects Pasadena - Howard St., 2 New Homes, Coming Soon Baldwin Park - Torch St., 6-12 New Homes, Coming Soon Home Repair Projects Critical home repair projects are taking place throughout our service area. These projects keep homes affordable and liveable for decades to come!
Thank You!
Your support helps families all throughout the San Gabriel Valley achieve their own American Dream!
H bitat Happenings Feb
12
Home Dedication Watch with us as the next American Dreamer receives the keys to their new home. April and her family are homeowners thanks to you! Watch Live: https://bit.ly/33vJN08
May
67 &
Women Build
A community of strong, dedicated women, coming together as a force for good. Thank you to our event sponsor East West Bank! (more info in the next issue of Habitat Builder)
Learn more at www.sgvhabitat.org 3
Visit us today to find the best deals on home goods, appliances, furniture, lighting, decor and so much more! Valid only at: Atwater ReStore 5201 W San Fernando Rd. Los Angeles, CA 90039
show this ad for
15 %
off
your entire purchase Duarte ReStore 2215 Huntington Dr. Duarte, CA 91010
626.387.6900 / sgvrestore.org To VOLUNTEER at our ReStores email Leah@sgvhabitat.org
Make an Impact on Families All Year Long – Join Builders’ Club During Our Winter Membership Drive! You can make safe, decent and affordable housing possible for families all year long by joining the Builders’ Club during our 2022 Winter Builders’ Club Membership Drive this February. With every monthly donation, you will be bringing families increased health, doubling their chances of attending college, improving financial freedom and more! By joining during the month of February (pledging your monthly suppport) you can also receive exclusive branded items, such as a reusable shopping bag, coffee cup or t-shirt! Please visit our website to become a member or learn more: https://bit.ly/sgvbuildersclub
Childhood Memories Inspire Homes & Hope
John and Pam, long-time Builders’ Club members, are changing lives one month at a time Raised in families of limited means, Pam on a small farm in South Dakota, and John as an immigrant with 4 siblings in a one-income home, they both know the stability and financial advantage that homeownership provided while raising their own children. Born in the Netherlands, as a child John crossed the Atlantic, aboard a postWorld War II immigrant ship, on a ten-day trip to his new home. “It was an immigrant apartment in a converted chicken hatchery. It was our new home, new beds made of straw and potato bags, new paint, new linoleum, and an outside bathroom. Even though it was simple, only through the generosity of others were we able to afford it. It was our new home.”
Pictured Above: John and his wife Pam
John and Pam see that people still have the same need and how Habitat for Humanity helps people, just like the generosity of others helped John’s family. John has volunteered on several home builds and ReStores in different states, as well as participated on a team of Habitat volunteers building a house in Mexico. “These experiences have touched my life, my heart,” says John. “The thing that most touched me had been meeting and visiting with the new Habitat homeowners. It has touched their lives. It has changed their life. It has changed my life. Pam and I are proud supporters of SGV Habitat.” We are lucky to have John, Pam and many other Builders’ Club members like them whose loyal generosity changes families’ lives. If you’d like to learn more, or to join the club, visit our website: https://bit.ly/bclubf1 4 San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity | 724 E. Huntington Dr., Monrovia, CA 91016 | (626) 387-6899 | sgvhabitat.org