You Go Ahead On Wisconsin!

"Empty lot"

"Framing up"

"Plywood and TYVEC"

University of Wisconsin Helps Habitat!(Click above to see pictures of the group at work)
Last week here at Bay Area-Houston Habitat for Humanity, we had a group of 11 students from the University of Wisconsin out on the worksite helping us build our first house of 2011.

The group drove 20 hours straight through in 3 cars, leaving their school Saturday morning and arriving in Dickinson sometime early Sunday afternoon. Dickinson United Methodist Church was so kind to offer them a place to stay and hot meals for the entire week. The "badgers" (University of Wisconsin's mascot) came ready to work!

Full of energy and excited to do something good for someone else, they worked full 9 hour work days Monday-Thursday in the blustering cold (40-50 degree weather...that's "blustering" to Texas folk, people!). On the first day, they endured a two-hour long safety briefing and tour of the site, cleaned up the slab that was full of random pieces of wood, siding and other building materials and started framing the house. By the end of the second day, the whole house was framed! Wednesday and Thursday, the group "blocked" and secured the structure, attached hurricane clips and ceiling joists, and had the entire outside covered in plywood and tyvec! Even the framework for the family's shed was finished. Impressive!

A shout out to Cici's Pizza and Richard Ainsworth's Famous Chili for supplying the group with lunch for their last two work days. Thanks so much!

This group is going to be a hard act to follow, as we have more Collegiate Challengs groups signed up to help us during their school breaks, continuing this week with the University of Maryland, College Park. Our regular volunteers had a blast working with this energetic, fun, quick-learning group! Tommy G, our Construction Supervisor, was completely impressed. They worked him hard all week, but he never complained. As he would say, "You go ahead on, Wisconsin!"

You go ahead on, Wisconsin...Thanks for stopping here in Dickinson. We hope you had as amazing a time working and visiting with us as we did with you!

On another note:

Today is the 25th Anniversary of MLK Day. We hope everyone is out volunteering their time today to someone or some organization that might need it. In honor of MLK Day, we had a special day on site with our current Collegiate Challenge group. Tune in tomorrow to see what we did...

Thanks blogger fans! We appreciate your eyeballs :)

New Year, New Beginnings!

It is officially the year 2011, and a lot is happening at Bay Area Houston Habitat for Humanity. We finished off 2010 by moving 3 amazing families into brand new homes right before the Christmas holiday. This year, we are excited to work with 8 new families toward making their homeownership dreams come true.

Today, we have a group of college students out on the worksite, coming all the way from Wisconsin, to help us start the new year off right! They will be working alongside our regular construction crew this week to establish all of the framework for our next house. We are so excited to have them here! Next week, a group from Maryland will be here to continue where this group leaves off. Follow our blog this week and next as we travel through the journey with them!

Thank you to all of our followers for all you have done with us throughout this last year. May God bless you and keep you safe, healthy and prosperous throughout this next year, as you continue to bless and support us and our families!!

Dear Santa, I Want A House With My Own Room For Christmas...

Ho Ho Ho! The Bay Area Habitat for Humanity Santa delivers: three new houses for three amazing families this Christmas!

Last Friday, after months of hard work from thousands of volunteers, and donations from fabulous and caring members of the community, the Ordonez, Viera, and Burns Families each received the keys to their new homes on Florida Street! It certainly was a time to celebrate, and celebrate we did. Volunteers, donors, friends and family were "dancing in the street" (which up until that night had no sign, and now is equipped with a street name and a stop sign!). The Habitat staff spoke words of gratitude and appreciation and shared stories of the time it took to fund and build the three homes, the homeowners received the customary gifts of bread, wine, salt, and a Bible, the homes were blessed, and the families got the gift of a lifetime: their own home. While the families took their first looks inside their houses, the rest of the crowd enjoyed hot chocolate, chili, hot smokies, and homemade tamales, while the choir from Whitcomb Elementary School sung carols. In front of the now 5 homes on the street, which were decorated with Christmas lights and handmade wood cutouts (Thanks to Tommy's girls!), the site turned into a magical Winter Wonderland (minus the snow, of course)! We couldn't have asked for a better night.

It has been an amazing few months, working alongside our newest homeowners and getting to know them and their families. The end result is not just a house constructed with wood and nails. It's a home for someone who has worked so hard to have what they have and who cares so much for their family that they are willing to do what it takes to give them the best future they possibly can. We are so lucky to be able to be a part of helping them do that. And this year, we got to do it 3 more times! I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present than to see these families cry tears of joy as they opened their doors for the first time.

We love you Amber, Salvador, Sarah, Jacob, Pedro, Cassandra, Pedro Jr., Jonathan, Sariah, Jackie, Ta-Shea, and Delvin. Thank you for making this a Christmas we'll never forget.

God Bless.

Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at Freebirds = Success!

With so many amazing, hard working and dedicated volunteers supporting our affiliate, we really wanted to do something special to let them know how much we truly appreciate them. One day, as we were brainstorming some ideas on how this could best be done, we got a call from Freebird World Burritos, letting us know they were opening a new restaurant and they wanted to partner with our team to do something nice for us and our supporters. How awesome is that?? A total God send. So, last night, Freebird World Burittos on 646 in League City opened their doors to us and lavished our volunteers with all the free wine, beer and burrito's they could fill their belly's with! The place was donned in true Freebird style with tin foil decorations, awesome painted murals on the walls and the Freebirds "Mystery Van" out in the parking lot. They also had a rockin' band (that might have been a little too spirited for some of our long-time regulars, but still wonderful) setting the mood throughout the night, and Guitar Hero set up on a big screen out front. Speeches were made, and gratitude and appreciation showered over everyone. Overall, it will go down in Habitat history as a great success, as people left fed, full and happy :)

A big thank you to Freebird's owners, managers and staff, for hosting the night, and another big thank you to all of our Volunteers! You are all so amazing, and we couldn't function without you!

You Rock N' Roll, Freebirds!

This past Wednesday, an awesome crew from Freebirds Burritos "rolled" onto the worksite in style, ready to get down and dirty with Habitat. The day was muddy and cold, but there were no complaints, as our trusty volunteers moved heavy building materials, hauled large debris to the dumpster, and helped us get our three houses ready to be moved into next Friday!

For lunch, they brought in the truck, and fed us burgers, hot dogs and veggie burgers, hot off the grill! The store owners stopped by with donuts for dessert and to take a look around, looking seemingly impressed with our operation.

After lunch, everyone spent a few more hours cleaning up and clearing out. We couldn't have asked for a better group of volunteers on a cold, blustery day in Dickinson.

Thanks Freebirds!! You Rock!

P.S. Help support the Habitat/Freebird partnership by eating at the Freebirds Burrito's Grand Opening on 646 (by the Lowes), on Tuesday, December 14th. A portion of the proceeds for the day will be donated to the Bay Area Habitat for Humanity Affiliate. Stop by and get your burrito on!

'Tis The Season To Get Your Gifts Wrapped!

Alright everyone! Our Gift Wrapping Fundraiser has officially begun. We are at a bit of a disadvantage this year, because we are not in the mall...

But we're close!

This holiday season, we accepted the very generous gift of a free store front on the outskirts of the Baybrook Mall parking lot (Thank you Davis Holdings!). Down near the Dillards/Forever 21 end of the mall, you'll find us just a few doors down from Catherine's Plus Size. One of our adorable life-size (if you're less than 4 feet tall) playhouses is sitting out front, donned with Christmas lights, mailboxes and a big banner.

So, if you're at the mall, or happen to drive past with gifts in the car, stop by our store and let us wrap them for you. By making a small donation this year, you will be giving the gift of a new home, a better life, and a brighter future for one family next Christmas.

Our visibility is limited, so please spread the word!

Bay Area Habitat for Humanity

Gift Wrapping Store

Baybrook Mall Strip

7 Days a Week

Sat. & Sun: 12pm-6pm

Mon.-Fri.: 10am-8pm

For inquiry or directions, call 281-337-3590.

A Brush With Kindness = SUCCESS

"A Brush With Kindness helps low-income homeowners who are affected by age, disability or family circumstances and struggle to maintain the exterior of their homes. Through ABWK, they are able to reclaim their homes with pride and dignity. ABWK works as a partner with the Habitat core building program, enabling us to serve more families, increase opportunities for volunteers, and expand our base of sponsors. Most importantly, ABWK is part of Habitat's broader community development strategy called the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative. The NRI is designed to pursue our strategic imperative of helping to transform and strengthen communities so that those who reside in them will be able to live and grow into all that God intends for them." (A Brush with Kindness Program Guide, Habitat for Humanity International)

On Saturday, November 20, Bay Area Habitat for Humantiy held a pilot project for A Brush With Kindness. To say the least, it was a total success!!

We selected Ms. Georgia Williams to be the guinea pig for this new program. She has been a homeowner partner with us since 1996, when her home was bulit. She has been a proud homeowner for almost 15 years, and her home was in need of a little love.

So, after spending two days prepping - replacing rotten trim and siding, cleaning, and caulking - we were ready to paint! Saturday morning, more than 30 volunteers came to lend a helping hand, and we went to work! Everyone worked from 8:00 am until 3:30 pm, making sure the job was done (breaking only for lunch from Chick-fil-A). Here are some progress pictures from throughout the day!

And, after one, hard day of work, Ms. Georgia had brand new curb appeal!!

Thanks again to all of the volunteers who came out on the 20th! This Kick-Off was a total success, and we look forward to doing more A Brush with Kindness projects in 2011!