Editor: Beth Rand
Layout: Ruth Hannum
Office Staff: Beth Rand, Betty Dyess
One of the misperceptions about Habitat for Humanity is that we are a housing program for families that are in the lowest income levels in the County. HUD defines this group as extremely low with family income 30% and below the Median Family Income (MFI). There are more than 3,800 renter households that fall into this category. These families are under tremendous pressure. Unfortunately, our home ownership program is not a viable alternative for improving their housing situation.
So who are the families that, with your support, become Habitat homeowners? They are working families with incomes from about 25% to 80% of MFI.
A typical example is a single mother with two children and an annual income of $30,000. Rent for a decent two-bedroom apartment now approaches $1,000 a month. That means housing costs are 40% of her gross income. It doesn'st leave much money for all the other family needs. What does she do? Out of necessity she probably lives in sub-standard housing or lives in over crowded conditions with other family members. There are few options and little hope that things can change unless programs like Habitat for Humanity are available.
This is why your involvement and support for Habitat for Humanity of Burlington County is so important. You really do make a difference.
Bill Santamore
Team Habitat has become a popular company sponsored event at a Habitat for Humanity of Burlington County construction site for the purpose of building employee enthusiasm and teamwork. It can be a half-day or full day event. Team Habitat provides an opportunity to build employee morale, demonstrate good corporate citizenship, build company visibility and enhance personal interaction outside the company work environment while building affordable housing for HFHBC approved families.
Business groups accomplish two types of 'sbuilding's when they volunteer for a day of service. Building for a better community and building better teams within their own workplace. Everyone gains from the volunteering experience!
-Bob Juillet
Prudential Fox & Roach Realty, Medford
Contact the Habitat for Humanity of Burlington County office to obtain additional information.
Habitat for Humanity of Burlington County (HFHBC) is an independent, non-profit New Jersey corporation that depends on tax deductible donations of money, materials and services to maintain our program. HFHBC tithes 10% of non-designated contributions to Habitat International to support International's overseas building program. Our Board has directed International that our tithe be used to build homes in the Dominican Republic.
As you can see from the chart, our income grew significantly in Fiscal 2003. Our goal is to achieve an annual income of at least $750,000 and build more than ten homes per year in Burlington County. We need your help to get there. If you know anyone that might like to support our mission, please let them know of our need. Thank you.
Habitat ReStores recycle overstocked, discontinued, new and used building materials and products used in the home that are donated by manufacturers, stores, contractors and individuals. These donated items are sold to the public or used in the construction of Habitat homes. All revenue from sales is used to support the local affiliate's building program. In addition, ReStores function as a recycling center saving usable materials from the landfill.
A ReStore Project Team has been assembled to develop and implement a business plan for a Habitat for Humanity of Burlington County ReStore. Start-up is targeted for the first quarter of 2005.
The critical issue is finding a suitable property between Burlington and Palmyra to locate the ReStore. The Team concluded that purchase rather than rent is the preferred approach since it will allow us to control future costs. The ReStore will require 1-1/2 to 2 acres with at least an existing building of 2,000 or more square feet. A property with an existing building like a warehouse or grocery store with 20,000-sq. ft. would be ideal. We welcome any suggestions regarding a possible property.
ReStore Project Team
HFHBC is a great vehicle to introduce the building trades to young people. I began volunteering each Saturday in the summer of 2003 to strengthen my knowledge of home construction and to help prepare myself for owning a home construction business. Shortly after, I was offered a part-time job with HFHBC. While volunteering, I did learn some useful things; although, it was not until my part-time experience, that I truly began to familiarize myself with home construction. I have the opportunity to involve myself not only with construction, but also office operations. As long as I want to learn, Don (Director of Construction), Pete (Executive Director), and Beth (Office Manager) are willing to teach me. An intern would have the opportunity to receive hands on experience at a supervisor level, and learn every phase of home construction, both new and rehab. Companies can sponsor students or recent graduates that are interested in the construction field by donating the part-time pay that the interns would earn. If you feel that your business or organization would be willing to partner with HFHBC in this respect, please contact our office.
Joe Rand
Construction Supervisor
Area businesses and organizations continue to play a critical role in our growing success as a Habitat Affiliate. Their financial support provides the necessary resources to purchase properties, building materials, tools, and services, and to compensate staff. We are proud and grateful that so many are willing to make contributions. The following have made contributions of at least $500 in calendar year 2003.
Platinum Plus Level
Platinum Level
Gold Level
Silver Level
Bronze Level
Cornerstone Level
We are also partnering with businesses that are providing on-going, pro bono services that are essential to our program. Legal services have been provided for many years by our board member Lisa Edge of Farr, Burke, Gambacorta &Wright (Lisa has been a terrific board member, a great resource and a true friend to Habitat. She is retiring but we are sure she will find a way to stay involved with our affiliate). Tony Gerike at Mohawk Abstract Title Company also has been a long-term partner. The law firm of Ballard, Spahr, Andrews &Ingersoll has agreed to continue to contribute their services, which are greatly needed as we expand. J. Randolph Parry Architects continue to provide architectural services and the firm of Taylor Wiseman & Taylor is providing needed survey and engineering services.
Ten churches from the Tri-boro Ministerium have committed to funding and building Unity House II. The Ministerium is made up of houses of worship in the Palmyra, Riverton and Cinnaminson area. They will take responsibility for all aspects of the project from identifying property acquisition candidates to scheduling and supervising work crews. This will all be done in consultation with Habitat staff and with staff oversight of the project.
This is a wonderful and exciting development. It will serve as a model for other groups of houses of worship or even individual churches to fund and build affordable housing with families in need.
SMALL STEPS
SMALL STEPS is a new program that asks individuals and groups to help Habitat for Humanity of Burlington County offset some of the supply costs of its day to day operations. The idea is that everyone can make a contribution to the success of our program not only with his or her time but also with SMALL STEPS donations.
Every workday a volunteer comes out to the site, we ask that they bring with them something from the SMALL STEPS list for that month's needs. These items range from paper napkins to pens and pencils. The list is updated periodically so it helps to check with the office for a current list. SMALL STEPS contributions increase the amount of donated money than can be used for home construction.
For the month of June:
Donations of Land and/or Houses
Liberty House I is located one block down from Unity House on historic York Street. It, too, will be a four-bedroom home.
The Liberty House building program is funded by defense industry related companies led by Lockheed Martin Systems & Sensors. The homes will be built with volunteers from these companies and with current and former military personnel, among others.
One goal with the Liberty House program is to have enough building activity on a continuing basis to satisfy the large number of McGuire AFB personnel that want to help. Currently we schedule the first Saturday of every month for them but it's not enough!!! So we plan to start Liberty House II perhaps as early as September of this year.
Wouldn't it be terrific if volunteers drove house production? That is, the more volunteers the more homes we could build. In reality, funding is a limiting resource for building more homes, not the number of volunteers. That is why the (financial) commitment by Lockheed Martin and other companies to the Liberty House program is so crucial. We are very grateful for their support.
I lived in Michigan twice and experienced more severe winters there then I care to remember. This past New Jersey winter was very reminiscent of those long, cold days. So it is with great relief that spring has arrived and we can begin to build in earnest.
We did begin a "gut-rehab" in Burlington City during the winter (McGuire AFB personnel were removing old roofing on that 5 degree Saturday!). It's located on York Street in the historic district. We have also started two new homes further down York Street. We also continue to work with the City to explore the possibility of obtaining additional abandoned properties to rehab.
Our ultimate goal is to establish a working "partnership" with Burlington City that describes a role for our affiliate in helping the City's redevelopment effort. Mayor Darlene Scocca is taking a master plan approach to redevelopment, which can provide a roadmap for various organizations that might want to participate.
At the same time we are discussing similar approaches with officials in Beverly, Mt. Holly and Willingboro. As I mentioned in the last newsletter, a partnership would be based on a mutual commitment to a common goal defined by each city's needs.
You may have noticed that the word "partner" occurs frequently in many of our articles. Coming together, i.e. partnering, in common cause is a critical element in the success of our affiliate. The concept is best captured in one of the Christian principles that guide Habitat's work. Habitat has given the name "the theology of the hammer" to this principle. Millard Fuller, the Founder of Habitat explains it this way:
"This theology is about bringing a wide diversity of people, churches and other organizations together to build houses and establish viable and dynamic communities. It is acknowledging that differences of opinion exist on numerous subjects - political, philosophical and theological - but that we can find common ground in using a hammer as an instrument to manifest God's love. Even though there may be strong differences on all sort of things - baptism, communion, what night to have prayer meeting, and how the preacher should dress, for example - we can agree on the imperative of the gospel to serve others in the name of the Lord."
It's a wonderful, practical concept that works.
Peter A. Cerra
Helping to build a home is a terrific experience and a lot of fun, which is why we have more than 2,000 construction volunteers a year. In fact, as we grow that number will keep pace so that when we double the number of homes built, the number of volunteers will probably almost double, as well. And we will have the people to meet this need because so many want to make a difference by giving back to the community.
But a growing Habitat affiliate needs more than construction volunteers. We need people to volunteer for each of our standing committees. Successful affiliates are committee driven with these groups leveraging staff time by taking on many of the activities required to manage a complex, non-profit corporation like ours.
If you would like to learn more about how you can contribute to the growing success of our affiliate by volunteering your time, please call our office. We will send you a listing of our current, most immediate needs.
Habitat for Humanity Burlington County's approach to construction is changing. As we increase home production it is important that we also keep pace with industry innovations and new standards. In some cases we may even set the standard. That means change.
We have started by first looking at ways to reduce costs. For example, we have partially eliminated Dumpster fees by taking trash directly to the landfill. We are putting material requirements out for bid and we are introducing new technology like Polysteel ICF's. These changes have saved us hundreds of dollars that can be used to further increase our production.
American Polysteel, Inc. of Albuquerque, NM makes the ICF's (Insulated Concrete Forms) we use. They go together like legos and are very volunteer friendly. One ICF is the equivalent of 6 concrete blocks and can be carried by one person. Once all the ICF's are installed they are filled with concrete creating a very strong, energy efficient (R-26) foundation wall. Old World Builder from Ivyland, Pa. has been providing our material as well as technical support. Will Schoenleber, the owner, has been a great help to HFH for several years. We also receive a dollar rebate from the local distributor for each ICF we use.
Our houses will see further changes such as 2x6 walls, fiber cement siding, PEX tubing, Vanguard Manablock systems just to name a few. Most of these products are volunteer friendly, sustainable, and energy efficient, helping to lower the monthly energy cost to partner families. While some increased material costs will occur, overall savings will come to HFHBC with the use of volunteers during installation. You could be that volunteer, by simply calling our office and asking about volunteer opportunities for weekdays or Saturdays.
Even if you can't volunteer just take a drive by one day, have a look and say hello. Hope to see you there.
Don Cerra
Director of Construction
(Don joined Habitat for Humanity of Burlington County in February 2004. He brings almost 30 years of home construction experience to our Affiliate. Most recently Don was the Director of Construction Management for the Philadelphia Habitat Affiliate. He and his wife Pastor Debra Cerra live in Riverton, New Jersey.)
Since the printing of the last newsletter, we have dedicated two more homes, at 427 Laurel and 308 Broad Street in Beverly and three more Habitat for Humanity partner families have closed on their properties and moved in. These homes were built by so many of you generous volunteers and funded by so many of you generous donors to Habitat for Humanity Burlington County. We thank you all on their behalf. You will never fully know the difference you have made in the lives of these families.
One of these families, Juan and Marisol Rodriguez, faced more heartache than most of our partner families. Juan, an American citizen, born in this country, met and married Marisol, a citizen of the Dominican Republic in the winter of 1999. Juan petitioned for Marisol and her two children, Joel and Elizabeth, to come to the U.S. in 2001. Finally in May of 2002 Juan received word that his petition had been approved but he discovered only Marisol's name was on the approval. Due to paperwork errors in INS applications, Marisol's children had not been granted visas, and had to be left behind with their grandmother while Juan and Marisol submitted new forms to the INS and waited. And waited. They did not have the funds to visit the children but sent them money for clothing, food and their medical care. Last year Juan and Marisol expanded their beautiful family with the addition of twin daughters, Amy and Jamie. After much help from Derek Decosmo, an aide to Senator Robert Andrews, the family finally received the news they had been waiting for. On March 23, Joel and Elizabeth finally arrived on American soil. They have made the adjustments to life in the United States, new country, new language, new home, new sisters, etc. etc. with great grace. We have been blessed to be a part of this family's joy, we bless all you who have made it happen.
Beth Rand
Unity House I in Burlington City will be a four-bedroom house on York Street and will meet the Burlington City Historic Preservation Commission's building code requirements. There are two other homes under construction (Liberty House and a "gut-rehab" row home) on York Street and they, too, will meet these requirements.
Unity House is a building project created for the purpose of establishing a fully funded building program supported by an interfaith coalition of area Houses of Worship. Unity House is a wonderful way to build fellowship and strengthen congregations that participate. And the idea of it is catching on. There is an excitement building among all those that have learned about the program.
Unity House also represents a common theme for Habitat affiliates..building on faith. In this case, home construction costs are not fully funded. As volunteers from Houses of Worship throughout the County begin to see the results of their labor we expect the needed funds will become available. It will truly become a demonstration of faith in action.
We are grateful for the generous businesses, churches, civic and school organizations, and individuals who toiled at our work sites this past year to help make someone else's dream of owning their own home a reality. We are grateful for all who donated funds and materials to keep us building. Unfortunately, we still have along way to go to achieve our goal of eliminating poverty housing in Burlington County. We still need your help, and will be asking you to do more so we can do more. Come join us at our work sites, we are a feel-good place with loads of laughter. Write us a check, it will make you feel good at tax time. Attend our dedications for finished homes, the music will make your heart sing and the grateful families will bring you to tears.
___ I'd like to be part of a work crew.
___ I'd like to be a volunteer for a committee
___ I'd like to donate in-kind contributions, i.e., building materials, office supplies, warehouse space.
___ I'll be a prayer partner.
___ I'd like a speaker for my church, school, or organization.
___ My special gift is enclosed $____________.
___ I'd like information on your home ownership program.
___ I'd like to donate to Burlington County Habitat for Humanity online at www.habitatbcnj.org
Name:_____________________________________
Address:___________________________________
City:____________________ State:_____Zip:_____
Phone: ______________________
Habitat for Humanity
PO Box 67
Beverly, NJ 08010
Office: 609.239.5551
Fax: 609.239.0569
Email: habitatbcnj@snip.net
Website: www.habitatbcnj.org