Habitat Happenings April 2022
Supporting national partners – At Home, Carrier Global Corporation, Rocket Mortgage, and U.S. Bank Foundation – join to help raise awareness and support
ATLANTA, April 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — In March 2020, home took on a new and powerful meaning. It became the first line of defense against disease, our refuge and haven, and the place where people found hope during times of uncertainty. As the world contends with year three of the pandemic, rising inflation, and economic volatility, access to safe, stable, and affordable housing continues to play a critical role in the lives of millions of families around the world.
Today, Habitat for Humanity kicks off its sixth annual Home is the Key campaign to increase awareness around the need for affordable housing and raise funds to help families achieve stability through shelter. Four partners – At Home: The Home Décor Superstore, Carrier Global Corporation, Rocket Mortgage, and U.S. Bank Foundation – are joining the campaign to support Habitat’s mission of building homes, community and hope in the U.S. and around the world.
MacKenzie Scott donated $436 million to Habitat for Humanity International and 84 of its U.S. affiliates – the largest publicly disclosed donation from the billionaire philanthropist since she pledged to give away the majority of her wealth in 2019.
MacKenzie Scott has donated $436 million to Habitat for Humanity International and 84 of its U.S. affiliates — the largest publicly disclosed donation from the billionaire philanthropist since she pledged in 2019 to give away the majority of her wealth.
“We could not be more excited to get the gift at a time when, in some ways, the state of housing affordability is the worst that it has been in modern times,” Jonathan Reckford, Habitat for Humanity International’s CEO, told The Associated Press. His group received $25 million from Scott and her husband, Dan Jewett, with the remaining $411 million to be distributed among Habitat’s local affiliates.
WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) — A Delaware nonprofit, sponsored in part by Exelon, is giving $800,000 to support building climate smart homes. Eyewitness News was in Wilmington Thursday morning.
Money from Energize Delaware is going to the nonprofit New Ecology Inc. It will collaborate with developers on all-electric homes.
Habitat for Humanity volunteers will meet to work on a special community build project later this month. The First Baptist Panel Build will be on Saturday, March 12 in the Habitat parking lot.
Over 100 volunteers are expected to show up and help build the panels of a new home. The volunteers are from First Baptist Castle Street and First Baptist Main Street of Murfreesboro.
The walls that are being constructed on March 12th are for “Amber’s” house, a future Habitat for Humanity homeowner in Rutherford County. Volunteers plan to build “ALL” the walls of the home in just 5-hours.
Amber, the future homeowner, has been attending Habitat’s Financial Literacy and Homeowner Education program and will complete 300 hours of sweat equity, working on the construction of her house as well as other Habitat houses and the Habitat ReStore.
The young mother works at Nissan in Smyrna, but is currently living in Columbia, Tennessee. She’s excited to soon be living be closer to work!
Amber’s son is 14-years-old and is very excited to have his own bedroom and a neighborhood to that will feel like a real home.
Meanwhile, Amber’s 3-year-old daughter was born with Coffin Siris Syndrome. The young child faces health issues daily. Her mother, a future homeowner, is looking forward to having more healthcare and a variety of services for her daughter in Murfreesboro.
*MEDIA ADVISORY*
Sen. Coons joins AmeriCorps CEO Michael Smith for AmeriCorps Swearing-in Ceremony, Habitat for Humanity site visit
WILMINGTON, Del. – Today at 1:30pm, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) along with Michael Smith, CEO of AmeriCorps will host a swearing-in ceremony for participating AmeriCorps programs in Delaware at Wilmington Public Library. Participating AmeriCorps programs may include Economic Mobility Corps, National Health Corps–Delaware, Public Allies Delaware, Reading Assist, and Teach for America–Delaware. Events will conclude following a site visit from Senator Coons and Michael Smith at New Castle County Habitat for Humanity welcoming a new homeowner.
Sen. Coons, a long time AmeriCorps champion and inductee into the National Service Hall of Fame in 2021, helped to secure $1 billion for AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors in the American Rescue Plan. As the lead author of the CORPS Act, Sen. Coons has led the charge to grow AmeriCorps to 250,000 members annually and advocated for an increased federal investment to make that goal a reality.
WHO: U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), Michael Smith, AmeriCorps CEO
WHEN: AmeriCorps ceremony, 1:30pm-2:50pm; Habitat for Humanity site visit, 3:00pm-4:00pm
WHERE:
Sunlight shone through the glass door of a building Charly “Evol” Bass knew well, the light kindling the warm hues of oranges and yellows that enveloped the walls of her restaurant, Jerry Deen’s.
A patchwork of wooden planks, multicolored signatures and yellow neighborhood street signs covered a pillar in the middle of the establishment, complemented by the various black-and-white pictures of Bass’ parents that adorned the walls. The frigid winter air often seeped into the restaurant as patrons came inside to pick up their food, stopping often to greet Bass on their way to the counter.
Behind Bass, on a sunny windowsill slightly obstructed by the drapes, sat a collage of photos showing her and a group of children she had mentored through Game Changers, a community organization focused on addressing issues within Wilmington’s neighborhoods.
The canvas, which was gifted to Bass by one of the children, included a small inscription typed in orange cursive font next to the photos.
“Ms. Evol, they say it takes a village to raise a child. Thank you for being part of my village,” the message read.
Work to redevelop The Flats neighborhood on Wilmington’s West Side is moving to a new phase, and as it does, the group behind that work is also preparing to extend its efforts to the city’s East Side.
Contributor Larry Nagengast offers an update on The Flats project and where it fits into Wilmington’s larger housing plans.
With 221 new housing units in its signature redevelopment project on Wilmington’s West Side now complete, the Woodlawn Trustees are pushing ahead with the next phase of construction in The Flats and getting started on participating in Mayor Mike Purzycki’s plan to revitalize housing on the city’s East Side.
Reconstruction of The Flats, the working-class community built more than a century ago under the guidance of Quaker philanthropist and cotton-mill owner William Poole Bancroft, began in 2015 and recently reached its halfway mark with the completion of the third of its seven phases. The fourth phase has just begun, with demolition under way of existing rowhouses extending south and east from the corner of Bayard Avenue and West Seventh Street.
