July 2007

Hancock County
“Truly incredible progress is being made every day.”
Gretchen Hurlbert and Gwen Joseph of Habitat for Humanity, Oakland County Michigan

Habitat Bay-Waveland Area staff members, AmeriCorps staffers, and volunteers from Greenville, South Carolina Habitat for Humanity are building our 31st house. This home marks the 14th house built in Waveland, with an additional 14 completed in Bay St. Louis, and three underway in Diamondhead. This spring brought about months of great advancement as we worked with participants of Collegiate Challenge, AmeriCorps NCCC, Habitat affiliates from around the country, and other volunteer groups. In March, students from Sienna Heights University in Michigan, Minnesota State, Illinois Wesleyan, and the University of Southern Maine each spent a week building with us. These hard-working and enthusiastic teams of students made it possible for us to build four homes in the month of March alone! We are grateful for their interest in re-building the Coast, for their support, diligent work, and energy.

Our partnerships with other Habitat for Humanity affiliates have been invaluable. Affiliates from Seattle, Patterson, New Jersey, Oakland County, Michigan, Greenville, South Carolina, and Indianapolis have made trips to Bay St. Louis. These partnerships offer experiences that are equally rewarding for both our affiliate and theirs. Volunteers have the opportunity to share their skills with us, work in a different part of the country, and interact with homeowners who were affected by the hurricanes. We are happy to welcome their work ethic, skill level, and the opportunity to form lasting relationships with other Habitat affiliates. Many of these volunteers return home with great stories from their experience often resulting in return trips, which is exactly what we hope for!

The Greenville, South Carolina affiliate is making its second trip to the Gulf Coast. Their first trip in November 2006 included a “House in a Box.” This build was so successful they planned another “HIB,” which arrived last week and is being constructed with their help this week. We are also thankful for return trips by Oakland County, Indianapolis, and the planned return of Patterson, New Jersey.

Often volunteer groups become closely attached to the family they are building for. Bonds form quickly as the week progresses and homeowners and volunteers work side by side. Not only does this enrich the experience for the new homeowner, but also gives volunteers an opportunity to grasp the magnitude of the power and importance of homeownership and hurricane recovery in one family’s life.

One such bond became clear between the Carpenter family of Bay St. Louis and volunteers from SEI Investments of Oaks, Penn. 45 SEI employees traveled to Hancock County in November 2006 and volunteers worked between two houses in Bay St. Louis, one of which was being built for the Carpenter family, Hollie, Brian, Jesse, Joseph, and Joshua. The Carpenter family was planning their move into their new home in early May, just as the SEI team was making a return trip to volunteer. Weeks before their move-in date the Carpenter’s furniture in storage was stolen, leaving nothing for the family to put into their home. When team leaders from SEI heard of the Carpenter’s misfortune, they took it upon themselves to help this family during SEI’s May trip. Several members of their team took a day to go on a shopping spree for furniture. Using leftover funds from their first trip, these team members furnished three bedrooms, the living room, and dining area. Team members asked the Carpenters to leave the house for a day. SEI members spent that day moving in the new furniture, and in a scene straight from Extreme Home Makeover, the Carpenters returned hours later to a beautifully furnished house! With the whole family in tears, thank yous and hugs abounded as the family toured each room. We are humbled and amazed each day by the generosity of our volunteers. We, along with the Carpenter family, are beyond simple appreciation of such an act of kindness, and are fortunate to see human behavior like this every day. Thank you, SEI Investments.

Our partnership with the National Lumber and Building Materials Dealers Association (NLBMDA) resulted in a beautiful new home for the Allen family in Waveland. Employees from Plymart in Atlanta participated in a Blitz Build for Ms. Rose Allen and her son (See photo page 15). Bringing their skills and expertise, the Plymart team along with AmeriCorps and other volunteers spent the week working with Ms. Allen. The week included a house dedication, with lunch made and served by Rose and members of her family. We thank NLBMDA and Plymart for their continued support and hard work during the Blitz As we move into the summer months we look forward to partnering with Nissan to build a home. Nissan’s support of Habitat’s Gulf Coast recovery efforts has been tremendous. We are grateful for their active involvement, for their constant support, and commitment to help rebuild the Coast.

Habitat Bay-Waveland Area continues to grow in many ways. In early spring we were blessed with the addition of three new construction staff members: Chris Genin, Misty Clasen, and Dan Reynolds. All have proven to be an enormous asset to our project, bringing knowledge, patience, and strong leadership abilities to the construction site. As always we are also thankful for our AmeriCorps members. We are fortunate to have National Direct members as well as two AmeriCorps NCCC teams working with us. Their dedication and leadership are essential in making our builds successful!