| | | | | | | | | What Home Means To Me
Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity works everyday toward a world where everyone has a decent place to live. This year to celebrate World Habitat Day affiliate staff member Wendy Flores, pioneered a partnership with Horace Mann Elementary 4th graders in an advocacy project to raise awareness about how we can work together to end poverty housing.
The students created collages reflecting “What Home Means To Me”. The posters were posted on the Habitat Facebook page where followers voted for their favorite poster. The top six winners were awarded gift certificates to Pottery 2 Paint and coupons for free frozen yogurt.
Scott Engmann, Executive Director shared, “Kids bring out the best insights! The work the children revealed through this creative challenge was touching as it revealed the hope children have associated with home." One poster shared a quote that reads “ A house is built with boards and beams, a home is built with love and dreams”.
When students were asked what they thought it might be like to be homeless,their answers included, “I would have no place to sleep”, “I would be cold and hungry”, and “There would be no light”. We commend the students for taking on the challenge and becoming advocates for the serious problem of poverty housing. Together we can make a difference.
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| | | | | Thanks to your support and prayers two families officially have a new place to call home in the Black Hills. Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity is proud to recognize the Mitchell & Hunter families for their hard work and dedication by completing 250 hours of sweat equity each for the home ownership program. |
| Hunter’s New Home
Jessica’s home was the first Apostles Build initiative, which included seven different church denominations, all agreeing to demonstrate Christ’s love through hands-on home building, and fundraising.
Spirit of Christ at Work
Randy Creasman, affiliate Faith and Family Relations Associate notes: “The Apostle’s Build program proves that many hands make light work, and that a large goal can be achieved when we work together in unity”. Apostles Build 2015 church recruitment is underway now email randy@blackhillshabitat.org for more information.
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| | Mitchell Family Earns Home 85
The Mitchell family received the 85th Habitat for Humanity home, the second built in Spearfish. Their home is the first Habitat home built on land provided by the Dakota Land Trust, constructed in part by Sturgis Brown High School students through their Geometry in Construction class.
The home was completed on site with Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity Northern Hills Committee co-chairs Rick Ellerton and Donnie Hambek, Wells Fargo Spearfish team members, and a variety of other volunteers.
The home was dedicated to the Mitchell family on October 6th in recognition of World Habitat Day. |
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| | | It Takes a VillageWhile sweat equity constructs a house, funding for all the materials needs to come first. The Orthodontists at Meyer & Dana Orthodontics, who daily change lives through their work transforming oral health, wanted to extend their impact for the whole person by including a gift to support affordable housing. Meyer & Dana designated funds over a four month period, based on new orthodontic patient starts, which resulted in a very generous $6500.00 in four short months.
Meyer & Dana mission imperative: Transforming lives. Working together as a community. Putting faith into action, clearly compliment that of Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity. Organizations like Meyer & Dana, who take a step to commit and pledge to give, help to create extraordinary impact in the Habitat ministry. |
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| | | Indian Country Initiative (ICI)
Steady progress is being made in Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity’s first ever Pine Ridge Indian Reservation feasibility study supported by Enterprise Community Partners. The purpose of the study is to discover how the affiliate can best serve our brothers and sisters on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation within the variety of opportunities in Neighborhood Revitalization. Nine districts on Pine Ridge have supported the study by co-hosting public information meetings, where listening and important data gathering can take place. A bottom-up, community development approach is being implemented with focus groups, interviews and surveys to evaluate relevant opportunities, while continuing to mold our vision of building homes, communities and hope. Your prayers for wisdom, discernment and sustainable priorities are encouraged. For more information, please contact james@blackhillshabitat.org. |
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| | | | | MidWest Enlists the Best
On Thursday, September 11, MidWest Roofing, a company traditionally contracting roofing services on Ellsworth AFB, enlisted some of their employees to volunteer and build at the new affiliate Volunteer Training Facility, co-hosted at the ReStore facility at 610 E. Omaha, Rapid City. They volunteered a total of 43 hours, which were applied towards Donna’s sweat equity commitment. The MidWest Roofing volunteers were also generously paid their standard wage by Midwest Roofing, to provide the volunteer hours.
Doing the Right Thing
Midwest Roofing principal owner, David explains, “I had some employees who needed something to do, and we had another employee, Donna Reeves, who needed help with her sweat equity hours. I thought that was perfect and the right thing to do.“. The roofers volunteer service fits into Habitat’s “friends and family” sweat equity policy, where partner families can have up to 75 of their 250 hours completed by those that are pulling for them to complete the program. |
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| Sweat Equity
Donna Reeves has been an employee at MidWest Roofing for just over a year. In July, despite disappointment and setbacks in her life, she entered the Habitat Home Ownership program, with the hope of owning her own home in Rapid City. Since then, she has eagerly completed all of her 250 sweat equity hours including Life Inc, Consumer Credit Counseling, and 100 hours of construction, which qualifies her for her new Habitat home. She will purchase the new home on Lindbergh St. with a 30 year, 0% interest affordable mortgage. Donna is set to close on her home before Christmas 2014 and will begin giving back to our community as she becomes a property tax payer and generous neighbor. |
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| | | CUSTER
Construction is ongoing with House #87 at 1051 Homestead Drive. Build days are every Thursday with teams leaving Rapid City in the morning.
SUMMERSET
House #92 is making quick progress with the roof shingled and buttoned up for winter. Build crews are welcome every Tuesdayand Saturday. The Friend family cannot wait to move in upon completion.
STURGIS
Sturgis Brown High School’s Geometry in Construction class is working hard on their next Habitat for Humanity house. This will mark the fifth year of partnership between Black Hills Habitat and Sturgis Brown High School.
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| | | Staff News Black Hills Habitat adds three new staff members to support building homes, communities and hope. |
| Debbie Pack - Resource Development Manager
Debbie has lived in Rapid City for many years and is a compassionate community leader. Her desire is to promote decent, affordable housing for all. She and her husband love music and play with the worship team at church. She has two beautiful daughters and three dogs. Debbie loves the Lord, and her favorite bible verse is “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. Philippians 4:13.
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| | Todd Ackerman ReStore Site Manager Our new Spearfish ReStore Site Manager joins us after 23 years with the United States Air Force. He’s a South Dakota native and currently lives near Whitewood with his wife and five children. |
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| | Nick Wellenbrock Volunteer Engagement Associate Nick hails from Washington where his family still resides. He now calls South Dakota home after being stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base. Outside of work he stays busy volunteering with his church family. |
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