Winter 2010 From the President’s Desk Becky Brandborg Welcome to a new year and new opportunities to work together. One year ago we were celebrating the demolition of an unsightly mess on the corner of North 7th and Cherry Streets in Hamilton and now we are celebrating the completion of the Borgen’s home. So many came together to make this a possibility and had fun along the way. THANK YOU! We continue to have non-construction related volunteer opportunities. For this organization to grow and flourish we need to do so organically or naturally. In my mind it means that the people who have the time and energy to help grow the organization, raise the funds and support the volunteers will express an interest, grab a project and move the ball forward. Last year our Yard sale raised almost $5000.00. We are looking for a team who would like to help us generate this income again. The yard sale is a large part of our budget and provides us with great exposure as well as a partnering with Thrivent for Lutherans. We also have a leadership opportunity available on the PR and Fund Raising Committee. We are busy finishing construction on the Borgen house and Family Selection is in the process of going through applications for the next home. The Building Committee will now morph into the Design Committee and we continue plans for the next house that will be built on the adjacent lot. Finally, I want to personally thank two longtime members of the Board of Directors, Bob and Phyllis Curry. The Currys were some of the founding members of HfHRC and worked on the accounting for HFHRC for many years. They are currently enjoying their retirement for at least part of the year in sunny Arizona. Bob and Phyllis, thanks for your amazing dedication to this very important work! Church Relations: In November and December of 2009, donors from 15 area churches gave $16 each to purchase 29 new books which tell the story of Habitat for Humanity - its history and how it functions worldwide. The book "If I Had a Hammer: Building Homes and Hope with Habitat for Humanity" by David Rubel was published just last October. Full of color photos, and with a foreword by Jimmy Carter, volunteer extraordinaire, 14 books are now in school libraries, 11 in church libraries and 3 in public libraries in Ravalli County. This promises to help recruit new volunteers for a future generation of Habitat partner families. |
Building Committee: The building committee has been extremely busy these past months, The home for the Borgen’s will be completed by March 12, 2010. We have a great core of dedicated volunteers who have worked tirelessly since we started in October of 2009. The committee has also built shelving units for the new Habitat office and they were installed in February. We can always use more volunteers on the building committee. We still have a lot of work to do on the house but we will prevail and get it done. Public Relations and Fund Raising Committee: With so many wonderful happenings at Habitat, the PR and Fund Raising Committee has had much to celebrate. We have the privilege of spreading the good news and seeking support for this worthwhile and life-changing cause. Watching the change in the Borgens life brought by the hope of owning their own home and the spirit of community that has been built through this project has been truly amazing. The PR/FR group is anticipating an exciting 2010. We learned a lot from all the activities we participated in last year and are looking forward to some really amazing opportunities this year. If you would like to help spread the word about Habitat, work a booth at a community event, help with presentations, sell raffle tickets or participate in any other PR/FR activities, please contact us at RavalliHabitat@yahoo.com or 375-1926. We would love to have you. Family Selection: Family applications for the next home have been received and are currently being reviewed. |