On this Martin Luther King holiday, I recalled that, recently, at my church our pastor shared the thought that proximity destroys prejudice.  Think about it—if you spend time next to someone getting to really know them—you can’t help but respond in a more open and loving way.  Habitat build sites are great places for proximity.  We pride ourselves on our mission of “bringing people together” to build homes, communities, and hope.

“After hearing the enthusiastic description of youth mission trips this last Sunday, I’ve convinced myself I’ve been on a mission trip, without the youth part. On Saturday I drove over to the Habitat project on Martin Street at 8 in the morning and volunteered. Eventually there were around 25 people gathered to work together on the project house.

Listen to this:

Thanks to the News & Observer for a great op-ed, by Chapel Hill attorney James Bartow, on the limited range of options that municipalities in North Carolina have to promote affordable housing.  The op-ed appeared on November 20.

Habitat for Humanity has long held a belief that all of God’s children (meaning absolutely everyone) have a right to simple, decent, affordable places to live.  In heated up markets, affordability falls prey to the market and many are left out.

What a troubling report in this morning’s News & Observer, citing a 23% increase in the number of homeless students in Wake County public schools.  2,376 students!  That’s enough to fill an entire high school!  Please do all you can to help Habitat Wake provide affordable housing and let’s not wait until these kids finish school or drop out—the need is urgent!

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article47067030.html

It is exciting that the local partnership we’ve enjoyed at Habitat Wake for years has now become a national partnership to benefit Habitat affiliates across the country!  PlyGem, a Cary-based manufacturer of exterior building products announced yesterday that they would supply their products (windows, siding, stone, etc.) to 300 Habitat for Humanity homes across the country in the 2016 Home Builders Blitz.  They also announced a marketing campaign with country music star, Alan Jackson.

Recently, I had the blessing of travelling with NC State student, Habitat campus leader, and Habitat Wake board member Sarah Paluskiewicz and Raleigh ReStore manager, Eric Moe, to attend a conversation on leadership between Habitat for Humanity International CEO, Jonathan Reckford and Wake Forest University President Nathan Hatch.

For Amy and Joel Huenaman, volunteering with Habitat Wake is entirely different from their first time, two decades ago.

“Our first time volunteering we were in Cary and we spent most of our time in ‘stand around mode’ trying to figure out what to do, says Joel. “Now that we are more experienced we need less direction; we are able to take more initiative”

The industrious couple first learned about Habitat for Humanity through their church, Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian. Now Amy and Joel have regularly worked as volunteers for 2 years.