Blues & BBQ for Better Housing this Weekend

This weekend, experience some of the best BBQ in Colorado and support Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver at the same time! Head out to Olde Town Arvada to experience great BBQ, shop for arts and crafts and hear blues and rock acts while helping to provide low-income families with a brighter future. On Sunday, July 17th starting at noon, the 14^th Annual Blues and BBQ Festival will feature 16 of Colorado’s best blues and rock acts on two stages and over 70 food, jewelry, arts and crafts vendors.

Proceeds from the festival will benefit Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver. As our longest running fundraiser, the event has helped raise over $50,000 for our organization. Help us make this year our best yet and come out to enjoy food, music and arts and crafts in the summer sun. Purchase tickets online or at the entrance for only $20.

New Faces at Habitat

Meet Corey Biechele

You may have seen Corey's friendly face around the Denver Outlet or construction sites during his time spent with AmeriCorps, but we are ecstatic to reintroduce him as Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver's new Deconstruction Supervisor!

Habitat History: Originally from Massachusetts, Corey studied Sports Management at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst.  Corey volunteered in New Orleans about six months after Hurricane Katrina.  After observing the hope and perseverance amidst everything else in New Orleans, he knew he wanted to be a part of the rebuilding effort.  This led to him becoming involved with Habitat through AmeriCorps after graduating college in 2008.

  

Favorite part about working with Habitat: "I have met some of the most interesting, generous, smart, and engaging people through my work with Habitat for Humanity. I enjoy working with my co-workers, the volunteers, donors, and partner families to address the need for affordable housing in our community. Habitat provides me the opportunity to use my skills to directly impact deserving families and my community as a whole."

The Deconstruction Program (Q&A with Corey):

What are the size and scope of deconstruction projects you are involved with?

Our deconstruction projects range from small to large. We deconstruct kitchens and baths all the way to entire houses that are scheduled for demolition. We have projects that range from quick and simple to elaborate and extensive.

How many volunteers do you have currently?  Do you need more?

We have about 40-50 regular volunteers and we are always looking for more. The deconstruction program is rapidly expanding. To meet the growing demand we are consistently looking for volunteers who are interested in assisting Habitat in a unique way. However, we do ask that our volunteers do have some experience using power tools such as drills and saws.

How does the deconstruction program benefit HFHMD and the Outlets?

The deconstruction program not only benefits HFHMD and the Outlets but it also benefits the community and the environment. Our deconstruction program brings quality building materials to the stores that will be sold at a reduced price. The items in our stores allow individuals and families to make repairs, upgrades or remodels to their homes at an affordable price. The proceeds from the Outlet stores offset the overhead and fundraising costs of HFHMD so that all donations go directly to the building of homes. The Outlet stores are vital to being able to build wonderful new homes for families in our community.

In addition, the deconstruction program gives a second life to building materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Rather than throwing away perfectly good building materials, donors have the opportunity to donate to HFHMD in return for a tax donation receipt.

What opportunities do you see in the future for the deconstruction program?

The sky is the limit for this program. There is large opportunity to partner with individual donors, remodeling companies and other organizations to prevent quality building materials from going to the landfill and to provide the public with an affordable option for repairs, remodels or upgrades.

If you are interested in becoming a deconstruction volunteer, please contact Volunteer Coordinator, Alice Goble, for more information – (303) 996-5468.

Meet a Partner Family

Heather and her Two Children

Born and raised in Denver, Heather works a full-time job, is pursuing her Bachelor's degree part-time and cares for her two children. After stretching every paycheck as far as it could go, she and her children are very excited to be moving into their new Habitat home.

Their current apartment is badly in disrepair. The family is worried that the bathroom ceiling will collapse from water damage and the kitchen cabinets fall apart when they are opened. Heather's daughter suffers from asthma and is affected when neighbors smoke cigarettes outside their apartment.

Heather and her children know all of this will change when they move into their new Habitat home. Her children are looking forward to playing sports outside and starting school in a new district. Heather is grateful that she has been given the opportunity to learn about construction and repairs during her sweat equity hours and is thankful for the opportunity to meet other Habitat families.

Heather would like to show that through hard work and determination, homeownership is possible. She's excited to be able to ride bikes and do yard work with her children in the future.

To read more about Heather and her children, click here. Also, consider volunteering with us and help to build a brighter future for our partner families.

The AmeriCorps Build-a-Thon

During the week of May 8^th, a team of Habitat’s AmeriCorps members traveled to Milwaukee to participate in a Build-a-Thon to complete 10 homes. Joined by hundreds of other local volunteers and over 80 other AmeriCorps members who worked around the country, the Denver team framed, sheathed, roofed and sided the homes in just five days.

AmeriCorps is a network of national service programs created in 1993 that engages more than 50,000 Americans each year in service in our communities. Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver has 8 AmeriCorps members that help us build safe and affordable homes for low-income families each year.

For AmeriCorps member Leanna Powell, one highlight of her experience was working on the porch for a 21-year old single mother named Santana. Santana’s aunt, Licole, was talking about the house and how in one year they could be eating dinner on the porch with Santana’s daughter.

AmeriCorps members from 13 other states participated in the Build-a-Thon and helped build homes at 8 locations around the country, including Milwaukee. For more information on the AmeriCorps program, visit our website. To see a photo album of the Build-a-Thon in Milwaukee, click here.

Spring Cleaning with the Outlets

As the weather gets warmer, spring cleaning takes over. If you and your family plan to clear out basements, closets and cars, trash can pile up and crowd our landfills. However, this cleaning season, consider donating your materials to Habitat’s Home Improvement Outlets. The Outlets are a great community resource for accepting donations and reselling them back to the public at up to 80% off retail. Plus, all the net proceeds help fund Habitat’s homeownership program. Materials that the Outlets cannot sell will be recycled, saving tons of trash from going to landfills each week.

The Outlets also offer a deconstruction program to help you with your project. If you are planning to remodel or redecorate this spring, call the Outlets to schedule an appointment. A specialized team of volunteers will come out and help you organize and deconstruct materials that can be donated, load them on a truck and haul them away. The deconstruction program can reduce some of the demolition costs of your project and provide you with a tax donation receipt.

The Denver Habitat Home Improvement Outlets offer a wide variety of appliances, tools and other home improvement materials at both locations in Wheat Ridge and Denver. Find the materials to make your vision a reality and connect with the Outlets on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about sales and specials.

The 8th Annual Breakfast for Humanity

Last week, hundreds of Habitat friends and supporters got the opportunity to learn about the organization from table hosts and keynote speakers at our annual Breakfast for Humanity. The speakers included Habitat's Executive Director Heather Lafferty, Governor Hickenlooper's Chief of Staff Roxane White and the daughter of a Habitat homeowner Ann Padilla. Emcee Cheryl Preheim, an anchor with 9News, welcomed guests to the event.

During the one-hour breakfast, guests were introduced to Habitat's homeownership program and how it works to provide a sustainable solution to substandard housing. Each day, Habitat for Humanity builds 150 homes around the world. For Ann Padilla, the impact of Habitat and the hard work of her mother can be seen for generations. Click here to watch the video of her speech as she tells her family story.

A special thank you goes out to all of our table hosts, staff, sponsors and speakers who made the event such a success. For more information on the event, visit our website. Also, connect with us on Facebook to learn about more upcoming Habitat events.

Photos and videos by Chris Haugen. Click here to visit his website.

Celebrate Mother's Day with Habitat

A hard-working single mother, Stephanie, her two kids and her sister are looking forward to moving into their new Habitat home. Struggling to find adequate housing, she currently lives in a cramped house in Denver. She works for the Salvation Army to provide for her family and knows that her new home will bring stability to her families’ lives. She is so grateful for the opportunity to own her own home. This year, you can help mothers like Stephanie by celebrating your Mom and all that she’s done for you.

As our hard-working partner families struggle to find adequate housing, you can spend a day with your Mom helping to build a home. With affordable and safe homes, other moms and children will have a brighter future and a place to celebrate with their families. Also, consider making a donation to Habitat on behalf of your Mom this Mother’s Day. Your gift can provide nails, doors and even roofs for our homes that are under construction.

Celebrate all that Mom does for you by doing something unique for her and help Habitat build brighter futures for Moms all over the world.

For more information on volunteering and donations, visit our website.

Click here to connect with us on Facebook.