Habitat EKC Special Construction Projects

Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative – Began January 2011

The Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI) is a nationwide project meant to more holistically serve the communities in which we work. At the beginning of 2011 Habitat EKC began its first NRI in the area around our La Fortuna site in Renton’s Cascade Neighborhood.

The purpose of our NRI is twofold. It is first meant to offer a variety of housing products to the community in which we work. These products include A Brush with Kindness, Weatherization, and Critical Repairs. The second half of our NRI is partnering with community members to prioritize and address problems the neighborhood faces. The important part here is that Habitat EKC will not take the lead role in these partnerships, but assume a support role that allows the community to decide for itself what is needed.

To succeed in these turbulent times we must form strong relationships and diversify what we offer. Our NRI does both.

Volunteering for this project has special requirements. If interested, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@habitatekc.org.

A Brush with Kindness - Began July 2010

Habitat for Humanity’s A Brush with Kindness is a locally-operated program serving low-income homeowners who struggle to maintain the exterior of their homes. The program is a holistic approach to providing affordable housing and assisting communities as well as families. A Brush with Kindness ensures that families live in safe and well-maintained homes. The program is designed to revitalize the appearance of the neighborhood, encourage connections within the community, and most importantly, help preserve affordable housing stock.

• Groups of volunteers help homeowners with exterior maintenance. This typically includes painting, minor exterior repairs, landscaping, weatherization and exterior clean-up.
• The initial phase of this project in East King County will assist current Habitat homeowners.
• In the future, Habitat EKC may select new families to be a part of this program. Families will be selected based on income, need and willingness to partner.
• In addition to volunteers, Habitat uses donated materials and takes no profit for their services.
• Payments made by the homeowners are placed in a revolving fund to help A Brush with Kindness serve others in need.

Volunteering for this project has special requirements. If interested, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@habitatekc.org.

Thrivent Builds Accelerated House Builds, July - August 2008

In 2008, Thrivent Builds again joined with Habitat EKC to build two new homes on Snoqualmie Ridge.  These were the fourth and fifth homes built through the national partnership between Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Habitat for Humanity International.  A unique feature of this sponsorship is that these homes were built predominantly by Lutheran Congregations.  From 2006 through 2008, we were blessed to have members from 18 Lutheran congregations participate in building the Thrivent Builds homes. Working side by side with the new homeowners, the Lutheran congregations build their faith, build relationships, and build simple, decent, affordable homes for low-income families.

Plans are underway for an accelerated build of two single family homes in our Habitat neighborhood on Snoqualmie Ridge during July and August 2008.  We plan to construct these new houses within an 8 week time frame with Lutheran congregations taking the lead in proving the volunteers for building.  If you are a professional builder or tradesperson who could donate a weekend or two to this build or be a Team Leader and supervise non-skilled volunteers, please let us know.  We are creating our build schedule and need both skilled and un-skilled volunteers to make this accelerated build happen!

The majority of the funds to build these two houses were received through a grant from Thrivent Builds.  The remaining funds are raised at the annual Thrivent Builds Golf Tournament & Auction benefiting Habitat EKC. The tournament was held on Monday May 19, 2008 at Bear Creek Country Club. Thank you for joining us for this event!

If you or your church can participate in the accelerated build this summer, please contact us at habitat@habitatekc.org.

University of Washington House Build, November 2007

University of Washington students received a firsthand lesson in the importance of affordable homeownership in November 2007, as they watched a family begin building their own home on the UW campus with the help of Husky sports team coaches, UW athletes, students, and volunteers from Bank of America. Habitat for Humanity EKC and the AmeriCorps team led the build along side future Habitat homeowner, Heidi Gerber and her daughter, Jessica, who will donate 500 hours of labor to help build their first home.

The Habitat build reflects a longstanding commitment by Bank of America and UW to create housing opportunities for local families. The Gerber's home will be part of the new Koinonia Ridge community of 4,000 new homes being built 25 miles east of Seattle in Snoqualmie. Habitat for Humanity EKC is building 50 homes in this community for low-income families.

In addition, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation also provided a $100,000 grant to help build a Habitat home for a second family, Cathy Miller and her grandson, Karim, who were also on hand at UW to help build the Gerber home. Bank of America volunteers have been helping the Millers build their home at Patterson Park in Redmond since the summer. The Millers purchased their townhome and moved into their new home at Patterson Park in February 2008.

"We are so pleased to have Bank of America and the University of Washington as partners in our mission to eliminate substandard housing from our community," said Tom Granger, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of East King County. "This wall raising and house sponsorship takes the involvement of Bank of America and the University of Washington to a new level here in this area. This high visibility event shines a spotlight on the serious problem of affordable housing in our community."

Once the exterior and interior walls of the house were completed, the volunteers then dismantled the house in panels and loaded the panels onto a flatbed truck. The panels were transported to the Habitat community in Snoqualmie Ridge where the house is permanently located. The foundation for the house had been prepared in advance and the panels were re-erected on site. Over the next several months, the house will be completed by volunteers, many of whom originally worked on the house at the University of Washington. The Gerber family will purchase the house and move into their new home in Spring 2008.

Photos of this event are available for viewing at our online gallery.

Fremont Fair House Build, June 2007

Over Fathers Day Weekend in June 2007, Habitat EKC joined with United Way of King County and Solid Ground for the Unite to End Homelessness event at the Fremont Fair. The focal point of the Fair this year was the Habitat House Build where a 3-bedroom single family house was constructed on the fairgrounds in just two days; both a literal home and a powerful symbol of working together to end homelessness.

The commitment of the entire community to this project to provide a safe decent home for a hard-working family demonstrates the reality of the effort to end homelessness in our community, said Tom Granger, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity EKC.

This Habitat house is sponsored by Google and the Master Builders Association. Habitat for Humanity EKC and the AmeriCorps team led the build along side volunteers from Google and other organizations across the Seattle and Eastside areas.

Once the exterior and interior walls of the house were completed, the volunteers then dismantled the house in panels and loaded the panels onto a flatbed truck.  The panels were transported to the Habitat community Koinonia Ridge in Snoqualmie, where the house is permanently located.  The foundation for the house had been prepared in advance and the panels were re-erected on site. Over the next several months, the house was completed by volunteers, many of whom originally worked on the house at the Fremont Fair.  The Chapman family purchased the house and moved into their new home in February 2008.

While organizations like United Way and Solid Ground are working with families in a homeless situation living on the street, Habitat is working to prevent homelessness for families teetering on the cusp, providing the most affordable housing in our community.

Photos of this event are available for viewing at our online gallery.