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A New Program From Habitat for Humanity of Ontario County!
11.26.2012
Hello! I hope everyone is enjoying the afterglow of a beautiful Thanksgiving Day in Ontario County, NY!
HFHOC is proud to announce a new program: A Brush With Kindness. This program is an exterior home preservation service that provides painting, landscaping, weather stripping and minor repair services for homeowners in need. ABWK aids low-income homeowners impacted by age, disability and other family circumstances that are struggling to maintain the exterior of their homes reclaim their homes with pride and dignity.
For more information on what types of projects apply, as well as how to apply, check out the A Brush With Kindness page on our website http://hfhoc.org/own-a-home/a-brush-with-kindness/ There, you can download a form that you can fill out on your computer to email back to HFHOC, or you may mail it directly to us.
This program is a great opportunity for residents in our community to not only make much needed improvements to the exterior of their homes, but also to have a more beautiful place to call Home.
Thanksgiving: being thankful for what you have goes right along with giving back to our community. With the launch of a new program, we are also putting out the call for volunteers who are interested in exterior improvements on homes in our community. This includes work such as house painting, building and installing entrance ramps for accessibility, leaf removal, fence repair and painting, entryway steps and lighting repair, as well as exterior roof repair. If interested, please go to http://hfhoc.org/help-out/volunteer-form/ and send us your information. We at HFHOC look forward to working with you, and our communities look forward to your kindness and aid.
Until next time—
Best,
Jessica
October 7, 2012
I thought you might be interested in this- Jessica
Broadway Builds For Those In Need
Celebrities
Charities
Causes
September 28, 2012
Broadway stars, writers, musicians and producers donned hard hats and dedicated a day to making a difference by building affordable homes for deserving families with Habitat For Humanity – New York City as part of Broadway Builds on Monday, September 24, 2012.
Broadway volunteers spent a day helping revitalize eight homes in a multi-family building in Bedford- Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Together, they painted and landscaped the Jefferson Avenue Residences and helped promote Habitat for Humanity – New York City’s work creating affordable homeownership opportunities for low-income families. The event’s co-chairs included Jordan Roth, Daryl Roth, Michael Cerveris, Stephen Belber, Emily Bergl and Broadway Serves.
Among those who took part were Laura Linney, Patrick Stewart, Jordan Roth, Daryl Roth, Michael Cerveris, Stephen Belber, Emily Bergl, Carrie Preston, Billy Crudup, Tom McCarthy, Stew, Dominic Fumusa, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Harriet Harris, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Arian Moayed, and Jennifer Mudge.
Event organizer Emily Bergl, a longtime Habitat for Humanity volunteer, explains, “We in the Broadway community have a real understanding of the need for affordable housing in New York City. By coming together on this day, we bring Habitat for Humanity – New York City one step closer to realizing its goal of helping 100 Brooklyn families.”
“We’re thrilled to have so many members of the Broadway community spend their day helping Habitat- NYC build homes for deserving families in Brooklyn,” said Rachel Hyman, Acting Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity – New York City. “We’re appreciative of their hard work and commitment to service and volunteerism.”
Habitat for Humanity – New York City is the largest builder of Habitat homes in the Northeast, and thousands of volunteers build with Habitat-NYC each year. Each homebuyer contributes at least 200 volunteer hours as part of their partnership.
To volunteer, donate or learn more, visit Habitatnyc.org or call (212) 991-4000.
Source: HabitatNYC.org
Read more: http://www.looktothestars.org/news/9013-broadway-builds-for-those-in-need#ixzz28fMboal89.4.2012
Community Connections!
It’s Jessica, again! How was your Labor Day weekend?
Sean (is SUNY Geneseo student that is our Social Media Director. Facebook , Twitter, etc.) and I met up with the lead members of the Hobart and William Smith Colleges’ chapter of Habitat for Humanity. They work directly with our Ontario County affiliate by fundraising for us in an effort to improve the lives of others in our county.
Sean and I sat down with Pamela, Taylor and Emily in the Scandling Center on the HWS campus on Sunday for brunch to discuss future collaborations and how we can help them help us.
Annually, HWS Habitat for Humanity has done their Mr. Hobart fundraiser in December. Each year, the competition is open to male students enrolled at the Colleges. The event includes a group dance featuring all of the contestants, and is usually choreographed by a dance student at HWS. There are also several other categories including a sportswear portion, a Q & A session, and the contestant’s favorite—the talent portion. Faculty from HWS, as well as a few members from Habitat for Humanity of Ontario County judge each portion. For the past two years, the HWS chapter has had the pleasure of including Roger Chapin (former Vice President of Habitat for Humanity of Ontario County) and his wife Elaine in their judging panel. For the past three years, Darnell Pierce, an area coordinator for some of the HWS Residence Halls has served as the Master of Ceremonies. The colleges’ acapella groups Three Miles Lost, Perfect Third, and The Hobartones have also helped to provide entertainment while the judges make their tallies.
While I have never attended (but will this year!), Emily noted that the event is always a lot of fun and brings in a lot of donations. In past years, they have raised up to $3,000 for HFHOC! It is a wonderful way for the Ontario County Habitat to mesh with the student body and promotes awareness for Habitat for Humanity’s cause.
Our Public Relations/Marketing/Social Media Team plans to help them design and print their posters, as well as help get the word out about the event to the community. Look for more information on this public event in the months to come!
In the spring, their chapter is currently planning to organize its first annual William Smith Powderpuff Football Game on Bozwell Field. Participants will be divided into two teams (blondes vs. brunettes), and will be coached by members of the Hobart Varsity Football team. The Mr. Hobart contestants might even make a special guest appearance! All proceeds from this event will also go to Habitat for Humanity of Ontario County!
Sound like a good idea? We thought so!
There will hopefully be more opportunities for HWS students to volunteer for us with future homes for our Ontario County community! Check out HWS class of 2016 students helping out on our build on Hawkins in Geneva as part of the Pre-Orientation Adventure Program here (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151387703062575.579322.7549377574&type=1).
Thanks to Emily, Taylor and Pamela at HWS for being hospitable to Sean and I!
Make sure and “Like” our Facebook page if you haven’t already!
Until next time,
Jessica
8.28.2012
Welcome to the Habitat for Humanity of Ontario County Blog!
My name is Jessica, and I’m a new volunteer at HFHOC! I’m proud to be volunteering for an organization that is doing such great work for our neighbors here in Ontario County. It’s simple work—decent, affordable housing. It’s shelter. It’s a basic human need, and one that many of us take for granted.
But it’s not just a house—it’s a Home. A Home where a neighboring family can feel safe, comfortable, and secure. A Home to return to each day to spend time as a family, to host traditions, and to make memories. A home is a sacred place, and as a volunteer I am contributing to this idea for many more families to come. This is one reason why I volunteer for HFHOC.
Why else do I volunteer? Because I wanted to become more involved in my community. I am a fairly new resident to Ontario County, and have only lived in New York for two years. I fell in to volunteering due to an ad I saw in the Penny Saver looking for someone who might be interested in helping with HFHOC’s ventures into the world of social media. I emailed the organization, and got a call back within a few days from Mark Wenderlich, the Executive Director of HFHOC. He invited me to come speak with him at the HFHOC office in Canandaigua (off County Road 10). https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en
We had a great conversation concerning where I could help out, and he gave me my first assignment that you’re looking at—this blog post!
Everyone I met at the organization was very nice, welcoming, and inspiring. I took a few peeks while I was there at ReStore http://restore.hfhoc.org/, HFHOC’s retail outlet where they sell donated building materials and household goods. I happen to be quite thrifty, and have a feeling I’ll be making a few personal visits in the near future!
I also hope I have an opportunity soon to visit HFHOC’s current project in Geneva for the Santiago family at 18 Hawkins Street. I’ve been checking out pictures of the build each day on our Current Build http://hfhoc.org/about-habitat/current-project/ page and our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/hfhoc -seems to really be coming along!
I’m learning more and more about the organization every day, and look forward to becoming even more involved.
Are you interested in becoming more involved? I’m an advocate for community service and volunteering, but I know not everyone can make a commitment of time. For instance, when I was in college, there was no way I could give any time to volunteering with all of my schoolwork, my job, and the other responsibilities I had (plus, I had to sleep some time!). If you can’t give time, there’s another great opportunity to give by joining the Builders’ Circle http://hfhoc.org/help-out/builders-circle/ !
It’s a really simple and strategic mission—to find 1,000 people in Ontario County who are willing to donate just $35 every time HFHOC breaks ground on a new home. That means every time a family is chosen and the ground is broken on a new home, there’s $35,000 to kick-start it! This is a tremendous help to HFHOC, and makes a lasting impact on a new home, a family, and the community. Presently, HFHOC has only been breaking ground on one new home each year, but we’re shooting for two new homes in years to come.
We can’t build homes without the Builders’ Circle, and I want you to be a part of it. In fact, I’m joining today (right after this blog post, of course)! You can join me and other HFHOC supporters in the Builders’ Circle by filling out the pledge here http://hfhoc.org/help-out/builders-circle/ . There’s no monetary commitment when pledging—just the promise that when we break ground on the next home, you’ll be there to support us!
That’s all from me for now—look for most posts soon!
Best,
Jessica