Habitat Builder Newsletter - June 2015

San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity, Inc. 400 South Irwindale Avenue Azusa, CA 91702

2015 JUNE NEWSLETTER

A Publication of San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity | Issue 7.0

A world where everyone has a decent place to live.

June 2015

the challenging journey of

homeownership

A

Habitat Builder is published by San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity Inc. Periodicals Postage Paid at Pasadena, CA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: SGV Habitat for Humanity, 400 South Irwindale Avenue, Azusa, CA 91702

don’t miss this

INSIDE THIS ISSUE PAGE 1 The Challenging Journey of Homeownership

PAGE 2 Atwater Village Celebrates Grand Opening “Community Day”

PAGE 3 Bill Sjogren: Community Servant & Life Long Learner Ways to Support Affordable Housing

magical night of celebration San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity and the City of Pasadena invite you to attend the "Building Dreams Under the Stars" gala on June 20, 2015, from 5:00PM 9:30PM at the iconic Pasadena City Hall (100 Garfield Avenue, Pasadena CA). This event is a celebration of the new Desiderio community. There will be exciting entertainment, silent and live auction items and scrumptious food. Tickets are $150 per person or $1,200 per table (seating for ten).

Cocktails, dinner and dessert are included in the ticket price.

All proceeds go directly to help build the nine affordable homes for low-income families including families of veteran This gala event will be a great opportunity for the community to show support for the transformation of the former Desiderio Army Reserve Center site! Bring family and friends to learn more about Desiderio Park and SGV Habitat for Humanity's mission to bring people together to build homes, communities and hope. This event is sure to be a magical night. You won't want to miss it!

To pay by credit or debit card, please visit sgvhabitat.org/gala or call 626-387-6899 (x18). To pay by mail, please send a check made payable to San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity, along with a list of guest names to: 400 S. Irwindale Avenue, Azusa, CA 91702

top priority for parents is keeping their children safe and healthy. The Castañeda family is no exception. But limited income has forced the Castañeda’s to live in the very situation from which they wished to shield their family. The Castañeda family currently resides in a 2-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles, in an area plagued by drugs and violence. The family feels constantly at risk because strangers are able to walk into their building off of the streets because it lacks security. Drug users hide out in the building’s laundry room to use drugs.

And with their apartment centered between two rival gangs the family is exposed to constant gun fire and police activity. This family experienced three recent shootings with gunfire so close it awakened their children from their sleep. Distraught, they had to be comforted back to sleep.

With the community growing more and more violent and astronomical housing prices hindering them from relocating, the Castañeda’s were afraid for their children’s future.

With the help of volunteers, donors and ReStore shoppers, SGV Habitat has the

incredible opportunity to find deserving low-income partner families and to help lift them out of threatening living conditions. As with any build, our Family Selection Committee volunteers are given the tough job of searching through many applications and deciding which families would be a good choice for a specific build. When they met the Castañeda family, committee members knew they had found a qualified, deserving family.

The Chestnut Homes in Glendale, currently under construction, will ensure the family will have a safe place to call home. Each home has a separate enclosed yard area which will allow the Castañeda children a luxury most children take for granted, the ability to play outside and feel safe in their own yard. That’s why both parents have pursued this new journey. It’s not easy; both parents switch off putting “sweat equity” hours into building their home.

Laura (pictured to the left with two of her three children) says that it’s difficult to leave her beautiful baby at home to work on building her new home, but then she is reminded of “why” she does it. Her labor is all for her children. She wants to ensure that she has a safe place for her family to grow. Any sacrifice she makes today allows for better tomorrows. So she presses on for her family’s future. Every day spent building the new homes on Chestnut Street brings the Castañedas that much closer to their dream of safe and stable homeownership. Laura is grateful that her family was given this opportunity.

WANT TO HELP THE CASTAÑEDA FAMILY? Volunteer Today Email our Volunteer Manager at volunteernow@sgvhabitat.org or call 626-387-6899 x17

CONNECT With Us! Facebook: sgvhabitat Twitter: sgvhabitat Instagram: habitatsgv

a community servant and life long learner

HABITAT’S LEADERSHIP Board of Directors Elaine Wilkerson, President Greg Barsamian, Vice President Nicolas Alparaz, Treasurer Andrew Pittroff, Secretary Thomas S. Bunn III Scott Carpenter Glen Dawes Ann Dougherty George Hernandez Nimrod Johnson Joshua Kreinberg Bob Law John Mac Lean Otis Marston Jr. Herb Rim David Van Wyk

Staff Sonja L. Yates, Executive Director Damien Allen, Director of Construction Catalina Velez, Office Manager Sayaka Ota, Accountant Brenton Kelly, Marketing Manager Linda Page, Volunteer & Youth Programs Coordinator Audrey Booth-Edwards, Grants & Partnerships Coordinator Marty McBride, Family Services Coordinator

ReStores Merrick Drake, Atwater Village ReStore Manager Michael Springs, Atwater Village ReStore Assistant Manager Matt Vincent, Azusa ReStore Manager Cesar Baltazar, Azusa ReStore Assistant Manager

Friends of the Los Angeles River demonstrate the new watershed project Want to see more photos of the ReStore Community Day? Visit and follow our Facebook page! facebook.com/sgvhabitat

ATWATER VILLAGE RESTORE’S GRAND OPENING COMMUNITY DAY

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hen news came that our Pasadena ReStore location was set to be demolished for a new housing project, we were worried. How could we find another location with such a supportive community?

The search for a new location began, and after four years of searching, we saw potential in Atwater Village. Although the buildings were in rough shape, we looked for the positives . . . a larger parking lot with two entrances, a much larger retail area and room to store construction materials and tools for our low-income housing projects. The renovation period took over a year, but in 2015, the store was finally ready to introduce to the public.

How could we keep our existing Pasadena ReStore shoppers while also attracting new customers in the Glendale and Atwater Village communities? How about a community day, which would focus not only on the new ReStore, but also on the potential to partner with surrounding businesses while we introduced ourselves to the surrounding communities? On May 2nd, Habitat for Humanity staff, local businesses, and shoppers all came together for the Grand Opening “Community Day” event.

The event featured a 20% off storewide sale, a beer garden sponsored by Golden Road Brewery, local food trucks, Friends of the LA River mobile museum, special DIY activities and exciting raffle

packages. These activities brought in new customers and our existing customer base, all contributing to one of the best sale days we’ve ever had at our ReStore locations! SGV Habitat was thrilled to be able to introduce the new Atwater Village ReStore to the community in such a powerful way.

Greg Barsamian, Board of Directors’ ReStore Liaison, attended the Grand Opening and celebrated along with hundreds of customers that the new Atwater Village ReStore is a resource where the community can donate and shop to directly support SGV Habitat’s local affordable housing projects.

What better way to support local low-income families than by finding home improvement items, tools, appliances, electronics and hardware at deeply discounted rates? ReStore customers agree. The “Community Day” event was a huge success thanks to immense staff support and long lines of our incredible customers! The goal for both SGV Habitat ReStore locations is to continue to create a welcoming store environment and to build on partnerships with local businesses to expand our impact in the community.

Bill Sjogren loves to learn. The son of two Swedish immigrants, Bill learned how to speak English in a two-room schoolhouse in New York. After obtaining a master’s degree in applied math from Northwestern University, Bill moved to Southern California and began work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). As a an employee for 37 years at JPL, his discoveries of the inverted gravity signal on the Moon as well as Mars were so significant that he was presented an American flag that had been flown to the moon by the crew members of Apollo, a $10,000 prize from NASA, and was awarded the Magellan gold medal from the American Philosophical Society.

By nature, Bill has always wanted to give back to his community and asks for no repayment or recognition in return. His volunteering days began in the 1970s at the Verdugo Hills Hospital, back when they would allow

After 14 years of service, Bill recently retired from volunteering on SGV Habitat’s construction sites. He says that the feeling he got while volunteering at Habitat was great. “You’re building a house for someone who normally wouldn’t be able to have one . . . now they are able to get a new home!” His favorite duties as a Habitat volunteer were the opportunities he was given to help with electrical, plumbing, and anything that required a technical skill.

SGV Habitat presented Bill with the “Bent Nail” award in 2009 in recognition of his countless hours of service.

Bill now spends most of his week at the La Cañada Flintridge Library, diligently sorting books for annual book sales. He was recently awarded the prestigious Les Tupper Community Service Award in La Cañada Flintridge. Bill doesn’t like standing out through recognition.

Nevertheless, we take this opportunity to honor and thank Bill for his service in creating affordable housing and for the impact legacy he passes on to fellow construction volunteers and Habitat’s partner families.

If you want to experience top-flight customer service first hand, feel free to come by either of our ReStore locations!

You might just find that special item you’ve been searching for!

Find the nearest ReStore location to you at sgvhabitat.org/restores

volunteers to perform duties now only assigned to nurses. He remembers many times when he was given the responsibility of handing surgical tools to doctors during surgery. In addition to volunteering at multiple organizations, Bill and his wife fostered over 130 children (each for about a month or two) after they were removed from dangerous home situations.

DIY activities for children and families were a hit!

ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO SUPPORT SGV HABITAT Do you want to support affordable housing in your local community?

Check out three ideas below for great ways anyone, at any age, can give back.

1. volunteer your

free time

Don’t feel comfortable working on the construction site? Other options include serving in a committee (homeowner relations, marketing, volunteer recruitment, events). If you have a love affair with our ReStores, help by stocking shelves, pricing items, and greeting customers.

How? Call (626) 387-6899 x17 or visit sgvhabitat.org/volunteer There’s something for everyone!

2. donate a used

car, boat, or rv

If you have an older car, truck, van, trailer, RV or boat taking up valuable space in your yard, consider donating it to support affordable housing in the San Gabriel Valley. Car donations to Habitat for Humanity Cars for Homes™ support our local mission of eliminating poverty housing and save you the time and energy of finding a buyer for your older vehicles.

How? Call (877) 277-4344 for free pick up!

3. advocate for low-income housing Use your voice for change. Share your passion for Habitat’s mission and help advance access to decent housing for all!

How? Visit habitat.org/advocate for ideas.