New Faces at Habitat

Meet Sarah Hatfield

We couldn’t be happier to introduce Sarah Hatfield as the new Human Resources/Risk Management Manager. Sarah has a lot on her plate in her new role, but she is looking forward to all the excitement of working with the Habitat team.

What is your history with Habitat? Sarah first got involved with Habitat when an organization she worked for in Kansas City volunteered on a home build there.

What does the Human Resources/Risk Management Manager do? On the human resources side of her job, Sarah does things like administer benefit programs, produce the payroll, create policies and procedures, oversee compliance with employment laws and help with training, development and recruiting. As the Risk Management Manager, she administers safety and insurance programs and makes sure the organization is in compliance with OSHA regulations.

What is your favorite part about working Habitat? “The people,” Sarah says. “It’s a great staff. Everybody seems to be here for the right reasons.”

What are you looking forward to? Sarah says she is looking forward to “being a good resource for employees” and “helping them develop their potential.”

Meet Sarah Mansell

We here at Habitat are also very excited to welcome Sarah Mansell, the newest Family Selection Specialist, to our staff. Her work here is helping to put deserving families in homes across Metro Denver. Read below to see what she likes most about her new job.

What is your history with Habitat? Sarah’s background is in human services and she says that she has always known about Habitat. “I really admired the mission,” she said.

What does the Family Selection Specialist do? Sarah is involved in everything from holding orientations and recruiting families to researching and marketing properties to selected families. Other parts of her job include writing proposal letters, working with the Selection Committee, talking to families and tracking the reasons they choose to accept or reject a property, doing home interviews and getting started on Habitat’s NRI project.

What is your favorite part about working at Habitat? Sarah is enjoying getting to meet new people and hearing their stories. She recently met with a family at the Globeville open house where she was able to explain Habitat’s homeownership process to them. “Watching it become real for them—like, ‘This is going to be our house’—was really cool,” Sarah said.

What are you looking forward to? Sarah can’t wait to see the family selection process run through a whole cycle, from orientation to dedication, so she can get a better picture of how it all works.

Habitat Staff in Haiti

Four Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver staff members left their cozy Denver homes earlier this week to travel thousands of miles to Léogâne, Haiti, where they are contributing their time and effort on the 2011 Carter Work Project. Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, established the Carter Work Project in 1984 in order to raise awareness for the crucial need of affordable housing around the world. Right now, the former president and his wife are working alongside Habitat volunteers from around the world, including the four from Metro Denver, to create clean, safe and affordable homes in this Haitian city.

Here is what one of our staff members, Katie McKenna, has to say about the experience so far:

Léogâne, Haiti—Day 3: Roof Day!

One of the most satisfying days on any Habitat build is roof day. Suddenly, a skeleton of a house becomes a structure that is warm and dry. Today was the third day of the Carter Work Project here in Haiti and it was roof day. Standing on the roof of the house I was working on I could look over a sea of 100 houses and watch them magically begin to look like homes. I could begin to imagine the children that would live there, backyard gardens that might be planted and the meals that would be shared. Down on the ground, there was nothing magical about it—it was the hard work of 400 sweaty Habitat volunteers who had come to Haiti to build homes for 100 families in great need of permanent housing.

Lots of love from Haiti,
Katie

Stay tuned to hear from more of our staff members as they continue on their journey of building homes for the people of Léogâne. If you would like to learn more about the 2011 Carter Work Project, click here.

Home for the Holidays

With the weather cooling off and the stores beginning their big sales, we can’t help but be reminded that the holidays are right around the corner. For many of us who are looking forward to gathering with our loved ones, the holiday season brings to mind the meaning of home. For some, a home is a place to get together with our friends and family; for others it means having a warm place to sleep at night. For everyone, though, a home should be a safe and comfortable place where one can live happily and healthily. Unfortunately, there are still many families in the metro Denver area who are missing out the true feeling of home.

Denise and her three children are one such family. They have moved every year for the past six years, always in search of a place they can call “home.” At their current apartment, they are constantly exposed to drug users and dealers and are far from any decent schools. Denise’s oldest son is visually impaired and has to walk 20 minutes across busy streets just to get to the bus stop every day. This holiday season, Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver has partnered with this special family to give them the gift of homeownership. The family’s new home will be closer to the children’s schools and will provide them with the safety and stability they have always dreamed of. “Being able to purchase a home of our own is the best gift we could've hoped for this Christmas,” Denise said.

Help us provide homeownership opportunities for more families like Denise’s this holiday season. Visit Home for the Holidays to read Denise’s full story, make a gift online, and learn about ways you can help.