In the News

On Friday, Director Eugene Young, Jr. joined Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County, New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer, Senator Darius Brown, and Rep. Franklin Cooke for a groundbreaking of a future home for the Newton family.

DSHA is proud to have supported this project through the Strong Neighborhoods Housing Fund (SNHF).

Since 2015, DSHA has received $14.2 million in SNHF funding to support community development and transform neighborhoods that are experiencing blight or other forms of stress, including high crime. The SNHF supports these communities by renovating abandoned, foreclosed, or blighted properties.

We look forward to seeing this project completed and welcoming the Newton family to their new home!

[for more information on the DHSA Strong Neighborhoods Housing Fund]

New Castle County officials joined state and local officials for Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County’s groundbreaking and wall raising for new properties in the Rosegate Community in New Castle on Thursday morning. The new homes will bring three new families to the community.

[watch the full video here]

Delaware Park Casino & Racing has continued its commitment to the community with a $7,500 donation to Boys & Girls Club of Delaware. Donation boxes are located throughout the casino to collect unused vouchers from guests with the total amount augmented by a cash donation from the casino. Last month, Meals on Wheels Delaware was presented with $10,000 and September’s collections and a donation from Delaware Park will benefit Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County.

“Community outreach is one of our cornerstone values,” said Ron Baumann, President and General Manager of Delaware Park Casino & Racing. “We are committed to monthly fundraising efforts, as well as coordinating opportunities for our Team Members to engage with these vital organizations.”

[read the full Thoroughbred Daily News article]

Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County announced the appointment of Jason Patton as vice president of its Board of Directors.  Patton is the new Head of Community and Business Development for the Northeast Division of Chase Bank. He brings with him leadership in the areas of strategic planning, financial health, experience design, and marketing.

Patton’s career at Chase spans over 15 years, and he has held positions as Head of Cross-Line of Business Partnerships and Customer Experience, as well as key roles in Channel Marketing, Product Management, Digital, and Operations Strategy. Prior to his career at Chase, Patton worked at Wells Fargo in Product Development and Experience Design. Patton has an MBA in Global Management from Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business.

[read the full Delaware Business Times article]

Century 21 Gold Key Realty helps their agents work toward their individual career goals with the support of a team atmosphere.

Co-owners and brokers Danielle and Jim Benson founded the business with longtime Realtor friend Ed Adams in 2007 with 15 Realtors, and now the company has grown to over 70 Realtors. The Bensons’ two daughters also work for the company which has its headquarters in Newark and a second office in Dover.

“Flexibility with my schedule and great pay,” “freedom to create my own business” and providing “endless support progressing my professional goals and accomplishments” are a few reasons agents gave in a survey that led to the business winning a Top Workplace award for the eighth straight year.

“We always work together,” said Danielle. “We believe in investing in our agents and their career. We strive to provide best-in-the-business training, technology, resources and support. We treat our agents like family, and we are honored to help each of them create a career they love.”

[read the full article]

Learn how you can make small changes that are eco-friendly and will have a lasting impact.

As the days start to grow shorter and summer camps draw to a close, it’s time to start thinking back-to-school. Happy parents and sad kids are now getting the school supply lists, digging into the closet to find last year’s backpack and trying to decide just how many new outfits are needed to return to the classroom. Back-to-school can also be a time that generates significant waste. The Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania & Delaware has released a list of five simple ways you can make the start of the school year more eco-friendly:

1.      Only Buy What You Need 

Before you go shopping, take inventory of what you already have. Consider re-using last year’s backpack and lunch box and see what school supplies you have around your home. Be conservative when you purchase supplies to reduce unnecessary consumption and waste.

2.      Purchase Used or Recycled Materials 

Focus on purchasing items made from recyclable materials such as recycled paper, notebooks and folders. If you are in college and shopping for your textbooks, look to rent or purchase used ones that tend to be cheaper and work just as well as new books. Textbooks are also available to rent online, which would save paper.

3.      Eco-friendly Clothing 

Clothes shopping is an important part of back-to-school shopping and kids grow so fast. Think about what clothes you can buy second-hand which is significantly more affordable and eco-friend. When you buy new clothes, consider buying fewer higher quality pieces that your kids can and avoid “fast fashion”—stylish, but low-quality, clothing that is not made to last and can fall apart easily.

[read the full article] 

Community investment funds are being distributed and affordable housing efforts are underway with the involvement of minority contractors

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki today issued a mid-year update on the City’s neighborhood revitalization plan, which is backed largely with federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The Mayor said progress is underway on the City’s East Side, where the Administration’s citywide neighborhood efforts are initially focused on the area from 4^th to 11^th streets and Walnut to Church streets. Mayor Purzycki said progress is also being made regarding the Administration’s goal of ensuring that minority contractors, developers, and workers have access to the ARPA-funded projects and jobs being created through the rebuilding of City neighborhoods.

The City today also provided a summary of the ARPA appropriations that have been made thus far to various community-based organizations to further the Administration’s ARPA neighborhood revitalization goals as well as other goals, including community investment and building safer communities by reducing gun violence.

[read full article]

On July 5, representatives from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County (HFHNCC), New Castle County and the community of Simonds Gardens gathered to celebrate the completion of a project that transformed a vacant lot into an oasis of green in the city. Highlighting the new rain garden were DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin, HFHNCC CEO Kevin Smith, New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer and Jaywann Saunders of the Simonds Gardens Civic Association.

A week and a half before, on June 25, Habitat hosted a “Rock the Block” event in which volunteers from DNREC and HFH joined community members on the New Castle County-owned 50’x80’ lot to plant a rain garden and install new park benches to invite residents to sit and enjoy the newly-created green space. The project was also supported by a community grant from DNREC and the lot was provided by New Castle County.

“DNREC has a strong commitment to ensuring that all Delawareans, especially those in underserved areas, have equal access to green spaces where residents of all ages can enjoy being outdoors,” said Secretary Garvin. “Rain gardens not only allow the growth of green spaces without the need for watering or regular maintenance, they absorb excess water and can reduce flash flooding, which is especially important in city communities like Simonds Gardens with predominately impervious surfaces.”

[read the full article here]

WILMINGTON, Del. —U.S. Senator Tom Carper and Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (both D-Del.) today announced a $1.5 million congressionally directed spending award to Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County to help its affordable housing program.

Carper, Blunt Rochester, and Habitat Executive Director Kevin Smith joined together at a Habitat for Humanity construction site in Wilmington to announce the funding, which will be used towards the construction costs associated with 15 homes, to serve about 45 individuals.

“For three decades, Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County has helped to give more than 280 families a safe place to call home. And at a time when too many Delaware families are struggling to find affordable housing, Habitat’s work couldn’t be more important,” said Carper. “I’m proud to announce more than a million dollars in funding today to help build more affordable homes for families in Delaware who need them. My thanks to Senator Coons and Congresswoman Blunt Rochester for joining with me to help secure this funding, and to Kevin Smith with Habitat for his dedicated service to the First State.”

[click below to read the full article]