New faces!

In the last month we've added four new faces to our Habitat team. Here is some information on each of them:

Michelle Redding- Development Director
Michelle Redding has nearly 20 years experience in communications and development, the last 14 in leadership positions at Catholic Charities in St. Cloud; the American Refugee Committee in Minneapolis; and the Benedictine Foundation of Oregon. Michelle earned her Bachelors Degree in Public Relations and Speech Communications from St. Cloud State University and is currently completing her Masters Degree in Leadership from Augsburg College in Minneapolis.

Dave Jacobs- Board Member
David Jacobs graduated from St. Cloud State University with a Business & Finance degree and started his career as a financial associate with Jacobs Financial in 2002. Jacobs Financial is an independently owned and operated tax and financial services business in St. Cloud, Minnesota. In 2007, David became a partner in Jacobs Financial, Inc.

Wilbur Wilkens- Board Member
Wilbur Wilkens is a military veteran who has been active with CMHFH for years. He is a member of Resurrection Lutheran Church in St. Joseph and is currently serving on Church Council as treasurer and on the Property and Finance committees. Has been volunteering with Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity for many years, was co-chair of the St. Joseph Habitat for Humanity building project and is on the CMHFH construction committee.

Tom D. St. Hilaire- Board Member
Tom St. Hilaire, CFA, CFP, CLU, is a Partner of the Mahowald Insurance Agency and President of Mahowald Financial Partners. He grew up in Monticello, and graduated as valedictorian from the Monticello High School in 1992. Tom went on to attend Yale University, to earn his bachelor’s degree in Ethics, Politics, and Economics. Tom and his family moved back to Minnesota, and in 2005 Tom joined his father at Employer Benefits, Inc. as a Financial Advisor. In 2009, after buying out his father, Tom merged his financial planning firm into the Mahowald Insurance Agency. Tom, Lexy, William, and the twins (Benjamin and Elizabeth) live in south St. Cloud.

For full biographies and photos of our new members, please visit our website at www.cmhfh.org

WHEW- the move is complete!

This past week reminded all of us how little we enjoy boxing, labeling, organizing, lifting, cleaning, unpacking, reorganizing...you get the picture.

We are officially in our new space- 777 Lincoln Ave. NE in St. Cloud. We are in between Midway Iron & ProMaxx Truck in a tan building with blue trim. We certainly have more room than before and we have all been able to re-arrange, re-organize and re-energize our offices.

We found some great "artifacts" as we packed up our old office, notes of past Board Meetings, news articles, trinkets from past build projects, photos and much more. I think a few of us even found things we had been searching for but could never locate! That is one of the great things about packing up and moving out- you find so much history and information about those who came before you. We thank those who came before us to start this great organization. Had it not been for their hard work, sacrifice and dedication we would not be in a new location getting ready to serve families to provide safe, decent, affordable housing.

THEY MADE IT!

Congratulations to Andrea & Sara, our VISTA's for making it through their 500 mile bike ride! You can take a peek at their photos by clicking HERE. It sounds as though their first Habitat 500 went well, despite getting lost, caught in a day-long thunderstorm, broken bike chain and hard sleeping surfaces...other than that they said it was a great experience.

We are happy to have the ladies back...if it is only for a few more weeks. On August 6th their year-long term with us will be done...boooo hoooo!! However, we will be welcoming 2 new VISTA's to our office on August 9, stay tuned for updates!

Twin Cities Women Build

Here is an article about Women Build in the Twin Cities- Women Rule!!! The Women Build project in St. Cloud will kick off on September 8th. If you would like to be involved, please contact Summer Hagy at the Habitat office.

Click HERE to read the article about the Twin Cities project.

*One note about our bikers- they have made it through the first 2 days of their 500 mile trek. They said they are sore, but nothing major at this point! Thursday is their build day, so they will have somewhat of a break from the ride.

Habitat 500

Well, the countdown has been on since about May but the time has finally come...starting this Sunday Andrea & Sarah will be biking roughly 500 miles to support Habitat!!! Yes, I said 500 miles. Yes, I said biking. Yes, they will be sore...

Now in its 18th year, the Habitat 500 is a bicycle ride (not a race) and fundraiser that covers 500 miles over the course of 7 days (an average of 71 miles per day). Each rider raises funds from family, friends, businesses, and church groups and designates the Habitat for Humanity affiliates they wish to support (both locally and around the world). Please check out http://www.habitat500.org/ to see that I stole this information straight from their website!!

The ladies will begin peddling on July 11 and will finish on July 17. They will have at least 3 rest stops each day they ride with food, refreshments and tune-ups if needed. They do not ride all day and all night. In fact, they get to sleep on gym floors at night! Makes you want to participate doesn't it?! When you watch the videos on the Habitat 500 website...you will think about riding next year...trust me!

This year's route will take the VISTA's through Sandstone, Isle, McGregor, Grand Rapids, Hibbing, Cloquet and back to Sandstone. Day 5 of the ride is deemed "Bike, Build or Breather Day", Andrea and Sarah have made the choice to assist on a Habitat build site...those ladies are just fabulous!

You can follow along the 500 mile journey by checking this blog and also on our facebook page.

We wish them the best of luck and a safe ride!

A note from our Executive Director, Bruce Johnson

This week, we dedicated and closed homes for three partner families. The mix of joy, excitement and tears reminds me of how blessed we are to be working with people of faith and hope as we lift families out of the cycle of poverty. One family member tearfully told us, “I am the first person in our family ever to own a home.” Another noted, “The breakfast bar/island in my new kitchen is as big as my entire old kitchen. I can now open my oven all the way.”

Those three families mark the 7th, 8th and 9th we’ve served in fiscal year 2010 (July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010). That’s two more than our affiliate has ever served in any given year. Thanks to all of you for being a part of this ministry of love, hope and action in Jesus’ name. As we look ahead to our next year with four projects already underway, let us remember these images and give thanks to God for the opportunity and ability to serve these families and many more in the future.

We're in the news!

Check out two news articles in the St. Cloud Times about us today:

Our move: http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010106230048

Our new program- ABWK: http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010106230047

Enjoy!

Home Dedication Extravaganza!!

We hope you will find time on Monday, June 28th to join us as we celebrate 2 home dedications- one in St. Cloud and and one in Big Lake. This is an excellent chance to meet 2 of our Partner Families and check out homes that Habitat built. *Snacks are always provided!

Widstrom Family Dedication: 12noon @ 4984 Mitchell Drive, Big Lake

Bauer Family Dedication: 4:30pm @ 1281 9th Avenue N, St. Cloud (many of you have driven past this home- located near the hospital and our office!)

Bring a friend and join in the celebration!!!

NEW Program- A Brush With Kindness

A Brush With Kindness

This fall, Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity will begin repairing homes in the St. Cloud area in partnership with qualified, low-income homeowners. The new home repair program, called A Brush with Kindness, is aimed at providing painting, landscaping, and minor repair services to low-income homeowners in need.

The homeowner must meet the qualifications for selection including demonstrated need (by meeting certain income criteria) , willingness to partner (by providing sweat equity in completing the project) and ability to pay (in some cases for part of the project costs, and in all cases to continue paying insurance, taxes and any remaining mortgage payments).

"A Brush with Kindness is part of Habitat for Humanity's Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative-rolled out by the US Office to expand the programs and services available to people living in poverty. This initiative gives us a great opportunity to help more families in need, as well as have an impact on the entire neighborhood," said Bruce Johnson, Executive Director of CMHFH. "Helping people repair and maintain their homes fits in seamlessly with Habitat's core mission of partnering with the community to provide decent, affordable housing for families in need."

This fall, CMHFH hopes to assist four to six families in preserving the exterior quality of their homes. CMHFH is accepting applications from homeowners in the greater St. Cloud area only for the first round of projects. Homeowners in our four county service area can still apply, but will be put on hold until the program develops further.

The application deadline to be considered for this round of projects is June 30th, 2010. Applications are available on our website, or at our office. Each project is expected to take one - two days to complete, and will be undertaken with the help of businesses, faith communities, other organizations and community volunteers.

Time to freshen up!

We are getting ready to move our affiliate to another location, and with moving comes tossing! It is probably one of my favorite parts of moving and organizing, throwing things away and getting rid of the clutter!! We are going to be 'freshening up' our Blog and make it more active once again. I will try to write something "fresh" at least once a week to keep you all posted on what is new with us. We hope you will do the same, share with us what is going on with you!

We've gone through some changes here and added 2 new staff members- Summer Hagy and Leo Imholte. You can read more about them by downloading our Spring 2010 newsletter on our website (go to Resources & Downloads).

We are working on quite a few projects right now, many of you have commented that you have seen the location on 9th Avenue- not far from our current offices. This home will be sold to the Bauer family, they are THRILLED to be part of our family.

We will be dedicating 2 homes on June 28th, one in Big Lake and one in St. Cloud. Check our website for times and addresses so you can come celebrate with us!

Women Build is coming up in September, if you would like to get involved, please contact Summer Hagy for more information.