'Down' Days at SIHH

If you notice the date of this post, it's in the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. Yes, we're working. What does a non-profit need to be open for during this nationally 'slow' week? Well let me tell you!

1. Who would be here to take your year-end donations if we weren't here?! ...hint, hint ;)
2. In case you hang on every word I add to this blog, I'm allowing you to not have to idlly wait by your computer in vain.
3. Houses must be built! Though five families just moved in, there are 6 more waiting on the final stages of their homes.
4. As was mentioned in my first post, the MLK House is coming up on Jan. 15 - plans must be made! If you, or someone you know, might be interested in participating in the build or performing a song, speech or poem...contact me at 843-768-0998 or outreach@seaislandhabitat.org.

Don't worry, I fill my time doing many other tasks, they're just not very interesting to blog about. :) I hope you have a safe & happy New Year's Eve!

Merry, Merry Christmas!

Thanks for the interest in seeing just who the folks are that we're helping. (see comment on last post) Well, I happen to have pictures of two of the five families so I'm happy to share them with you. We serve a variety of home situations: nuclear families, single mothers and different ethnicities...all live together in Habitat Harmony! :) OK, so maybe I'm making it a bit more of utopia than is truely possible, but it's amazing the difference between a mixed Habitat neighborhood and any other mixed neighborhood. There is nearly zero crime in the neighborhoods we've built (the worst offence I've experienced while working here is a bit of graphitti). Why the difference? I really think that it's because our homeowners appreciate their situation more and because the love of Christ permeates everything we do. OK, OK, enough of my soap box, here are pictures of two of our newest families...enjoy! (NOTE: these pictures were taken before their new homes.) MERRY CHRISTMAS!
The Mack Family on the top & Jonet Blake & her children on the bottom.

Homes for the Holidays

I remember a song from when I was a kid about HOME as an acronym - it's borderline cheesy, so bare with me. But for this time of year, thinking of God's gift of Christ to us and of our mission at Habitat, it popped into my head & is really cool now:

H for the Holiness of God.
O for the One whose love abounds.
M for the Miracles I've seen.
E for Eternity.

For our Homeowners, I think of what their homes mean to them & am so glad to report that five new homeowners have just moved into their new houses in time for Christmas!

Elementary Insights

I recently met with a 6 year old girl that has lived in a Habitat home for one year now. I asked her to simply draw a picture of a house so I could use it as the cover of our office's Christmas cards this year. At first glance, it's a typical first grader's drawing: a house, flowers, the sun and clouds. But think if I'd asked her to draw that picture a year ago, what would that picture of her house look like? Would the sun have a smiley face?

Our mission is to provide a way for famlies that wouldn't otherwise be able to afford a safe & decent home, get one. It activates the general public & relies on God's blessing to be the two forces that makes the 'something' of houses happen from 'nothing.' What's more elementary than that?

Yay! Let me explain this by first describing the work areas of a few of our employees:

1. Richard, land acquisition - he sets up shop on an end of our conference room in a broken chair with his laptop.

2. Myself, outreach assistant - I have an actual desk, of which I am VERY grateful for! However, my desk is cornered in the nook of a hallway (which gives me great location to hear what's going on in everyone's departments!) :)

3. Dawn, volunteer coordinator - she has a desk carved out of our book cases & shares the reception area, so she is both volunteer coordinator and part time greeter for those that walk though our doors.

Well guess what?! All that is about to change. SIHH purchased the old Holy Spirit Catholic Church offices which will give each of us our own space! Even more important than that, our new office is located right off of Bohicket Rd., the major road on Johns Island. People will no longer get lost trying to find our office (which is currently tucked away inside one of our neighborhoods)!

Praise the Good Lord for His blessings - our sign is up announcing the move. Pray for renovations to go swiftly and smoothly so we can make the move!

Oh, and in the picture, that's Chuck, our fearless leader & executive director. :)

MLK House Banquet & Auction

When working with a committee, usually you find that your duties are lighter because they can be spread among everyone. Well, in the situation with the MLK committee - I'm as light as a feather! This committee is amazing and have inspired me to work even harder in all I do. These are people with their own FT jobs, lives and commutes, yet they just keep giving of their time & talent!

Let me name names: Jackie, CeCe & Radia Heyward, Margaret P. Blackmer and Luther Gibbs are my MLK heros!

The MLK Banquet & Auction is tomorrow at Schroder Middle School's cafeteria at 6pm in Hollywood - I will help throughout the night, but all praises and credit goes to this wonderful committee for their hard work.

THANK YOU!!