Rose Rock Habitat for Humanity

BY: CHELSEY KOPPARI

“Getting our clients into the home is only one stage,” Gardner explained. “Keeping them at home is part two, and part three is allowing them to maintain that home.” - President and CEO Randy Gardner

After almost 10 years, Rose Rock Habitat for Humanity and their ReStore will soon move to a different location, and the nonprofit is kicking off a capital campaign to raise funds to build its new home.

With the lease running out on the current Main Street location and the organization having outgrown the space, President and CEO Randy Gardner said it was the perfect opportunity to consider options for the future. Next year, the ReStore will relocate to 901 Sonoma Park Dr in Norman.

The ReStore supports Rose Rock’s mission of building homes, community and hope by selling new and used items including building materials, appliances, furniture and other household items, by putting the money generated from sales back into the organization’s programs. In addition to accepting donations from the community, Rose Rock also partners with companies like Lowe’s, Ashley and other local businesses, who provide overstock items or ones with dents or dings for the ReStore.

“The new ReStore is going to certainly enhance the shopping experience for our customers because we’ll have a much better facility suited to our customers’ needs,” Gardner said.

Along with the ReStore, the facility will host a Client Solution Center. This center will focus on meeting the needs of Rose Rock’s clients by serving as a space to talk to potential homebuyers and people who need repairs to their homes, providing financial literacy counseling, and hosting homeownership classes.

“Getting our clients into the home is only one stage,” Gardner explained. “Keeping them at home is part two, and part three is allowing them to maintain that home. We’ll teach them how to do basic maintenance and take care of routine stuff that allows them to do it more economically.”

More information about the capital campaign can be found at roserockhabitat.org/newrestore or by emailing questions to development@rrhabitat.org. The website includes links where people can donate, let Rose Rock know if they would like to be an ambassador for the project, and sign up for updates.

“We’ve already purchased the land for the new building, and we also have to apply for grants,” shared Elle Shroyer, vice president of donor and community engagement. “For the larger grants we’ve looked at, we have to have a certain amount raised before we can apply, so we’re looking for those people who can help at the ground level.

“That can be as small as funding a square foot of the ReStore, which is $200, to funding a larger area for naming rights of different parts of the ReStore and the Client Solution Center.”

In addition to monetary donations, people can support the mission of Rose Rock Habitat for Humanity in a variety of ways, including volunteering at the ReStore, at events or with the construction team, helping to plan fundraisers, or by making material donations to the ReStore.

Rose Rock Habitat for Humanity, previously named Cleveland County Habitat for Humanity, serves all of Cleveland and Pottawatomie Counties. The move to Pottawattamie County was recent, with the opening of a ReStore in Shawnee in February.

According to Shroyer, a common misconception about Rose Rock is that by being part of Habitat for Humanity International, the local nonprofit receives funding from them. However, that is not the case as the international organization is there to provide resources to find grants and connect them with companies, not provide funding.

“All of our funding is local,” Shroyer explained. “We have grants, and we partner with local and national businesses. We are the local Habitat for our community, so it’s really important we have local support.” BSM