Five years later

Slideshow: Five years after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
In the years following the catastrophic Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004, Habitat for Humanity has built, repaired and renovated more than 22,500 permanent houses in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and Thailand.

Give a day. Get a Disney day.

In one of Disney’s most unique “celebrate” promotions, “Give a Day. Get a Disney Day.” guests will be recognized for giving their time and energy to participating volunteer organizations. Starting January 1, 2010 when you sign up on Disney’s website to volunteer a day of service with one of the many organizations listed, Skagit Habitat for Humanity being a choice we hope you consider, Disney will give you a voucher for a free 1-day, 1-park ticket to either Disneyland or Walt Disney World as a way of thanking you for your volunteerism. The goal is to get one million people to participate.As with most promotions there are a number of specifics that must be met. According to Disney’s website (http://disneyparks.disney.go.com) you must be 18 years of age to sign up (pre-registration is required) and eight members from the same household can participate. The minimum age for volunteers is 6 years old and everyone 6 to 17 years of age must be accompanied by an adult while performing their volunteer service.

Ticket vouchers can be redeemed at any one of the following parks: Disneyland Park or Disney’s California Adventure Park (Anaheim); or at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park, Epcot, Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, or Disney’s Hollywood theme park. Vouchers will not be accepted any other Disney location. Black out dates do apply to the free ticket voucher so check the website for those specific dates. One added feature is that you can upgrade your ticket to a ticket of a greater value.

What if you have an annual pass to one of Disney’s theme parks? There are several things you can do instead of receiving a free voucher. These options include: receive one of Disney’s Special FASTPASSS® cards that can be used by you and 5 additional guests; receive a collectible Ear Hat figurine; or you have the opportunity to donate your ticket voucher to a designated charity.

Mount Vernon, WA (December 23, 2009) – A nationwide alliance between Habitat for Humanity International and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans continues to build hope for low-income families amidst economic difficulties. Since 2005, it has given more than 2,000 families an opportunity to live in a simple, decent, affordable home. In 2010, this nationwide alliance entitled Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity will contribute more than $13 million to help build another 181 affordable homes in 37 states and the District of Columbia.

Locally, Skagit Habitat for Humanity has been awarded $94,200, or 65 percent of the funds necessary, to build a home in 2010 through this alliance. This home will be built by area volunteers, many of whom will be Lutheran. The Habitat partner family will also invest 500 hours of “sweat equity” helping to build their home. Construction will begin in April and is expected to continue for eight months.

“We are so pleased to be selected to be a Thrivent Build site in 2010. In these challenging economic times, support such as this is a godsend,” said Wayne Wegner, Executive Director of Skagit Habitat. “We are extremely grateful to Thrivent Financial for Lutherans for their Thrivent Builds program.”

Building 181 homes across the country is a huge undertaking. Based on actual numbers from the four previous years of the alliance, Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity expects:

• more than 100,000 volunteers and the home-buying partner families to work side-by-side to complete these 181 decent, affordable homes
• a total investment of more than 600,000 volunteer hours on the construction sites

“Area Lutherans are committed to supporting the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grant to Skagit Habitat with their volunteer labor and donations to help build affordable housing,” said Al Peraino, 2010 Thrivent Builds Specialist.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans supports Habitat home-building in the United States and abroad through its Thrivent Builds Homes and Thrivent Builds Worldwide programs.
To learn more, visit www.thriventbuilds.com

About Skagit Habitat for Humanity
Skagit Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit Christian housing ministry dedicated to building decent, affordable housing in partnership with those in need in Skagit County. Since 1994, Skagit HFH has worked with 20 families to build homes. For more information, visit www.skagithabitat.com.

About Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built more than 300,000 houses worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1.5 million people. For more information, visit www.habitat.org.

About Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a not-for-profit financial services membership organization helping nearly 3 million members thrive in life. Thrivent Financial and its subsidiaries offer a broad range of financial products and services including life insurance, annuities, mutual funds, disability income insurance, bank products and more. As a not-for-profit organization, Thrivent Financial brings its members together for social, educational and volunteer activities that support congregations, schools, charitable organizations and individuals in need. For more information, visit www.thrivent.com.

Some other things you might want to know about Habitat for Humanity in Skagit County:

• founded in 1994
  
• Twenty homes built as of December 2009
  
• Habitat for Humanity homes are not free. Homeowners carry a no interest mortgage that they must pay back.
  
• Partner families must earn between 30 and 60% of the median family income in Skagit County.
  
• Partner families must contribute over 500 hours of “sweat equity” before they become an owner.
  
• Volunteers may help to build the home. 80% of our build hours are contributed by volunteers. 
  
• Skagit Habitat has a store which is open to the public. The store opened in August of 2009 and is located at 1022 Riverside Drive in Mount Vernon.
  
  • The store sells building materials and furniture at a great discount to shoppers.
    
  • Donations to the store are a tax deduction for donors
    
  • Donations to the store keep excess materials out of the landfill.
    
  • Proceeds from donations sold in the store provide Skagit Habitat for Humanity with dollars to build more houses.
    
  • The store operation creates jobs in Skagit County.
    
  • Operating the store creates work experience for job-seekers to include on their resumes. You can, by the way, volunteer to work in the store.
    

For more information about how to volunteer, donate, or apply for a home, please visit our main Web site, http://www.skagithabitat.com and we hope to see you in our store sometime in the not too distant future.

This has been a particularly gratifying project for us for a number of reasons. About two and a half years ago, an idea blossomed in a conversation. We decided to tap into a program that is widely used by other Habitat affiliates, a women’s build. This meant calling upon the women of our community to build the home. The women of Skagit County came together and made an idea into reality. Over 15 months they raised $130,000.00 and did not use any grants. Approximately sixty women, and as they like to say, a few good men, broke ground in March of 2009. Through hard work and dedication, the home is now ready to occupy. Congratulations to all those who participated and congratulations to the Martinez family!

Speaking of the Martinez family, we should not omit the fact that Belen Martinez, our newest homeowner, dedicated over 750 hours of sweat equity in the building of her home. We hope that she and her family have many happy years in the new home.

Of course, you are probably thinking right about now, “I want to get involved in a great project like this.” Never fear, we have another home under construction right next to this one. If you are interested in swinging a hammer or pushing a broom, check out the work schedule on our Web site. If construction isn’t your bailiwick, we can use your help in the new Skagit Habitat Store and if you haven’t been by the store yet, come on in and pay us a visit at 1022 Riverside Drive in Mount Vernon. In any event, if you want to volunteer, send us an e-mail at volunteer@skagithabitat.com or give us a call at (360)428-9402.