Day 1
The 22 of us have all come together to build a home here in Cambodia. We come armed with different skills, strengths and expectations but a common desire to do good - to make a difference. That's what makes it easy to quickly make new friends and meld together as a team -- even in the heat!
As part of Habitat Wake’s global mission, we are excited to depart Wake County today to take our first ever Global Village volunteer team to build with our partners at Habitat for Humanity Cambodia. 22 team members make up this initial team led by Habitat Wake board member, Michelle Pavliv, and Kevin Campbell, President/CEO of Habitat Wake. Two additional Habitat Wake board members, two staff members, one AmeriCorps member and a broad range of community volunteers including a number of parishioners from Raleigh’s Holy Trinity Lutheran Church make up this diverse team.
Since 1987, Bob Kucab has led the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA) and through his life’s work has made an impact on thousands of North Carolina families. Bob announced his retirement last year and has been succeeded by Scott Farmer, himself a 17 year veteran of the agency.
Churches across Wake County honored the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. with special worship services and build days with Habitat for Humanity of Wake County on the weekend of January 13.
"The concept of the 'beloved community' was a key part of Dr. King's teaching," explains Rick Beech, Vice President of Faith Relations for Habitat Wake. "His vision was of an integrated, loving society that is the ideal expression of the Christian faith. We are delighted that so many churches are realizing this concept and including Habitat builds as part of their MLK observances."
Thanks to 2,000 volunteers investing more than 10,000 hours on the construction site, the Build-A-Block project to construct 11 Habitat Wake townhomes on Kirk Avenue is nearly halfway through construction. Build-A-Block is a collaboration of Habitat Wake and NC State to build safe, affordable homes in partnership with the local community.
In early January, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its American Housing Survey (AHS) results. The AHS is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and is the most comprehensive housing survey in the country. It provides information on housing types, characteristics, and costs for both owners and renters.
Lately, we’ve been getting a lot of questions about who buys Habitat homes. Simply put, we evaluate applications for homeownership on three criteria: 1) need for housing 2) ability to pay and 3) willingness to partner. This has been a good formula that has produced amazing results over Habitat’s 40 years.
Habitat homebuyers are people you see around you every day providing much needed services in the community—school bus drivers, sherrif’s deputies, CNAs, bank tellers, food service workers, taxi drivers.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) isn’t always considered one of the important federal agencies, but its programs and policies have a profound impact on the lives of millions of Americans.
As Christmas approaches, my thoughts turn to how blessed I have been over the years to work in the Habitat for Humanity ministry. Our work has direct and transforming impact on families lives and we see daily what families can do with just a little opportunity.
Recently, at a home dedication in our Crosstowne neighborhood in Raleigh, I was totally surprised when one of the homebuyers asked if he could sing a song while we shared a meal together. Take a look at these short videos and be blessed! Habitat homebuyers are amazing in so many ways!
Merry Christmas!
The finishing touches are complete to the retail showroom and donation facility for the newest ReStore operated by Habitat for Humanity of Wake County. The new Glenwood Avenue location in west Raleigh opened in December, making it the sixth ReStore location in Wake County, joining locations in Raleigh, Apex, Cary, Fuquay-Varina, and Wake Forest.