Spring, Glorious Spring!

I saw my first Spring lily today! That is a sure sign that spring is officially on it’s way and it could not come soon enough. Kudos to the volunteers that came out in sub-zero temperatures and worked outside all day the past few months. They are some of the many heroes of Habitat!

Starting next weekend I have lined up 9 volunteer groups for Fridays and Saturdays in March and April in Charleston. Some volunteer groups such as Bowles & Rice law firm and Saturn of Hurricane commit to several workdays because they have so many employees that want to participate. Also, a new youth camp from Liberty, Indiana will be coming in April. In the summer months we have our usual youth camps such as Saint Michael’s and some new ones, too. As for Montgomery, I have volunteers on call for as soon as the site prep work and foundation are completed.

We can always use more volunteers! The more volunteers we have, the more houses we can build! The days are going to be beautiful and together we can work together in our own community to help eliminate substandard housing! If you are planning your Spring break, plan on volunteering one or more of those days on a Habitat for Humanity jobsite. We would love to have you. No skills or tools necessary, just a good attitude and a desire to make a difference! If you are interested in volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity job site, please give Donna DeHart a call at 304-720-0141.

FreeFoto.com

HFHKP vs. Winter

Just when I think it can’t possible snow anymore or be any colder, it does and it is. In spite of a very wintery week, the crews were able to get the back porch and the steps built on Cecelia’s house, as well as work on the siding and the soffit. Also, a very muddy Tuesday group, was able to get the foundation waterproofed and the drain system installed at the Hanna Drive house. We had been waiting for this window to open for a while!

On Saturday, volunteers from the Charleston Junior League and Wells Fargo, were able to complete the siding and soffit on Cecelia’s house. They cleaned the interior of the house so that it is “appliance and carpet ready”.

Again, I’d like to remind everyone of the St. Patrick’s Day event from 4:30 PM until 7:00 PM! I truly hope that you can join us in celebrating YOU!

This Week at HFHKP...

This week at HFHKP the plan is to finish installing the siding, build the back porch and install the appliances in House #124. On Saturday, a handful of volunteers worked at House #125 on Hanna Drive. They removed the leftover block and began to dig around the foundation.

This week we hope to finish digging around the foundation and also dig the sewer line. Weather willing, we can waterproof the foundation finally. Elsie, who is living patiently with friends, is thrilled that we are finally able to work on her house!

The lot in Montgomery is cleared! I have been working very hard to get volunteers in that area and the response has been good. Apparently the Davis’ are very well liked and respected in their community and lots of folks want to help! As soon as the foundation is in, we’ll be working there as well.

Just a reminder to all of the “Regular Crew Guys and Gals” about the event on March 17. I encourage all of you to attend. It will be very informative and fun and there will be lots of good food and friends. A good chance to hang out with the other crews!

New Domain for Habitat

Just a quick note to bring to everyone’s attention that Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha & Putnam County has a new internet domain: hfhkp.org

You will note that staff email addresses have changed to user@hfhkp.org instead of the old user@habitatwv.org and the website is now “hfhkp.org” instead of the old “habitatwv.org/Kanawha”

Vote for Habitat!

Today is election day, and Habitat encourages YOU to go out and vote! Our president will be in a position to make decisions that impact the availability of affordable housing in the U.S. Make sure your voice is heard! Be an advocate for affordable housing in the voting booth today.

And on this election day, you can also vote for Habitat! Go to http://www.wellsfargo.com/somedaycontest/hfh to select Habitat as your favorite cause. Wells Fargo will contribute $250,000 to the nonprofit with the most votes. The second place winner will get $150,000, and third place will get $50,000. If Habitat wins, we will distribute the funds among the three local Habitat affiliates whose communities generated the most votes, so be sure to include your zip code when you vote. The contest ends November 10—get your vote in today!

Shawn Means

Executive Director

Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha & Putnam County

815 Court Street

PO Box 70160

Charleston, WV 25301

304-720-0141

DOW Sponsors Kim Foster House

Our friends at DOW Chemical and Habitat for Humanity have partnered together to sponsor the home of Kim Foster and family. In May, they framed and raised the roof on the 4 bedroom house. Our regular crew members and Kim Foster and her friends and family have been working diligently to get Kim and her sons in their house at the earliest possible date. Thanks to everyone that is involved in this very special build!

The Shafi's are Home!

Thanks to the hard work and generosity of our regular crews and the Midland South District of United Methodist Churches, the Shafi family has moved into their new Habitat home!

There were many kind hearts and hard working hands that contributed to this 10 week build. Saturn of Hurricane, Bowles, Rice, McDavid, Graff & Love, Teays Valley Presbyterian and Enterprise Rent-a-Car also partnered with us to make this happen in a short amount of time. The weather was our most fierce opponent, causing rain outs and cancellations and therefore forcing us to fall behind schedule several times. But the extra hands were just a phone call away and we were able to rally and get back on schedule. Dedication was held on June 7^th and the Sahfi’s are “home sweet Habitat home”.

Welcome Montini Catholic High School

This year marks the third anniversary of the partnership between Habitat for Humanity and Montini Catholic HIgh School Youth Mission Group from Lombard, Illinois. For the past two years these students and their teachers, sacrifice their Spring Break to come to West Virginia and volunteer for Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha and Putnam County. Last year they were instrumental in rehabilitating Margie Dudley's house in Kanawha City. Due to the selflessness of volunteers like Montini Catholic High School, Margie was able to have her first Thanksgiving and Christmas in her new home!

Midland South District United Methodist Build

Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha and Putnam County is partnering with Midland South District of United Methodist Churches to build a home for the Shafi partner family in Jubilee Heights. The event starts on March 24th and will continue until May 24 and each Parish will work for one week. The Shafi family will be working side by side with these extraordinary volunteers from Methodist Churches throughout West Virginia to make their dream of being a homeowner come true!
For more information on this and other events please call our Volunteer Manager, Donna DeHart at 720-0141.

Jubilee Heights Celebration Monday, October 8

Even though there are a few more houses to build, the long and arduous work of building streets, sewers, utilities and all the things that makes Jubilee Heights a neighborhood is done. We think that is worthy of a celebration! So, everyone is invited to attend a dedication ceremony on Monday, October 8 at 11 AM. This event will allow everyone who played a part in the development of Jubilee Heights to come together to celebrate the completion of the infrastructure and hear a little about our future plans. We hope you will join us.

Look for parking signs near Rock Lake Presbyterian Church. We’ll have vans shuttling people to Jubilee Heights and back.

Feel free to call or email Jessica Hudson with questions about the event. jhudson@habitatwv.org or 720-0141

Jubilee Heights Streets Done

At long last, the streets in Jubilee Heights are finished!

Major Update on Streets at Jubilee Heights

As of this morning the wearing course of ashphalt is being applied to the streets inside the Jubilee Heights subdivision! Paving shoud be 100% complete today and the rest of the associated work should be done next week.

FINALLY!!

Update on Street Construction at Jubilee Heights

Not a lot to report since the last post, but the curbs are nearing completion and being backfilled. In areas where the curbs are finished and have passed inspection, the base stone has been installed and compacted. Asphalt paving should begin the week of August 13. Once paving begins we will work elsewhere until it's finished so we don't interfere with the paving or cause any vehicular damage to the fresh asphalt.

In other news - IT'S HOT! Please everyone, take it easy and drink lots of water out there.

Update on Jubilee Heights Street Construction

I know everybody would like to know exactly what's going on with streets at Jubilee Heights. So would we!

As of today here is where we stand:

The general contractor hired a sub contractor to install the curbs. They started this work two weeks ago and the work did not go well. When the South Charleston City Engineer came to inspect the curbs he was not satisfied with the work and rejected nearly all of them. This required the curbs to be torn out and rebuilt. As of this writing most of the rejected curbs have been torn out and are being rebuilt. They should be finished early next week.

If the curbs pass inspection then they can be backfilled and paving can begin. Once paving contractors move in the project is two weeks from completion.

We'll post more details as they become available.

First Avenue Update

Thankfully the Contractor Yard was very responsive and found a contractor to repair the damage done by the falling shingles. We are back to work there now, and in fact worked there Saturday. Some of you might have seen the article in Sunday's paper or the new story on Channel 3.

In case you didn't see it, here is a link to the newspaper story:

http://www.wvgazette.com/section/News/2007072116

Accident at First Avenue House

The good news is, thankfully, nobody was hurt. This is the first time anything like this has ever happened, but it just goes to show how quickly a significant accident can happen at the job site. A good reminder that we all have to be vigilant anytime we're on the job site.


What happened is that when the boom truck was lifting the pallet of shingles to the roof to be off loaded by volunteers, the pallet began to swing and the operator tried to move the boom to steady it when the entire pallet slipped off the forks. The full pallet of 33 bundles fell onto the roof, through the roof, through the floor and into the crawlspace.


Here are some pictures.

House 116

House 116 on First Avenue has trusses up but will stand waiting until further notice.

The curbs at Jubilee Heights are scheduled to be laid this week. Paving will commence shortly thereafter. It is possible that we will lose access to the site this week and have to work on the West Side. Check the volunteer hotline (720-4470) for up to date information.

Update on West Side Site

The cinderblock is finished on the new house at 1208 First Avenue. Next week the St. Michael work camp will waterproof, install the foundation drains and backfill the foundation.

New Job Site Starting Up Soon on Charleston's West Side

Last week footers were dug for House 116. This house is on First Avenue next door to the one we built last Summer and Fall and will be the home of Connie Andrews.

Block is being layed as of today and we will be waterproofing and backfilling next week when the second St. Michael's workcamp comes next week. We don't expect to be framing this house before mid-July.

New Habitat Volunteer Manager

Please welcome our newest Habitat staff member, Donna DeHart. Donna will be recruiting and coordinating volunteers so Tim can concentrate on his Office Manager duties.

Please let Donna know about anyone you know that would like to volunteer for Habitat, either by joining one of our regular crews, as a Friday or Saturday volunteer, or to help out with Family Selection, ReStore or anything else.

She can be reached at dehart@habitatwv.org or at the office (720-0141).