Features
Volunteer Spotlight- March 2010
Volunteer Spotlight: Bill Shad
Bill Shad began is journey with Habitat for Humanity while working as a manager for Publix. The 58-year-old attends 12 Stone, a church that regularly sponsors Habitat for Humanity homes, and between 12 Stone and Publix a routine of joining projects for Habitat for Humanity evolved.
Bill is now not only a volunteer, but also a member of our staff as a site project supervisor. What began as a way to help out when he could has become a passion he dedicates 24-30 hours a week to. He first joined us as a site supervisor on our 100th home. This was no small task and Bill easily rose to the challenge. Since completing the 100th home, Bill has begun work on another set of homes at Stokeswood.
“We are in overdrive right now,” he laughs. “We have 4 homes in progress right now and are expecting to finish them in mid-May.”
As site supervisor, Bill helps to set schedules, develop and follow processes for building each home and provide knowledge that many of our volunteers do not have. Safety is the biggest component of his job. He strives to provide a knowledge that the average layperson does not have and to ensure that when they perform the tasks it is done in a safe manner. He is naturally handy and possesses a certificate from the Georgia Association of Home Inspectors. Add in his on-the-job experience as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and you have a great site supervisor!
Currently, Bill is acting as the floating supervisor and working in conjunction with 4 other site supervisors on the Stokeswood project. He is excited to be gearing up to help out with the Women’s Build and is enjoying getting things done.
“The most rewarding part is the look on the homeowners’ faces when they are completed,” Bill explains. He recalls last August putting the finishing touches on a house 12 Stone sponsored. “It was the day before the dedication and the homeowner came by and didn’t notice the mailbox I had just stuck in the ground.” He pointed it out to her and said, “It doesn’t matter what is inside of the house, you’ve got a mailbox now so you have a home.” The homeowner had tears in her eyes as she surveyed her new home, complete with a mailbox that Bill had a hand in creating. After helping to complete this project, Bill was offered the opportunity to work as a site supervisor.
When asked to recall his favorite Habitat for Humanity project, Bill can’t be forced to choose just one. “They are all favorites, kind of like a ride at Six Flags. You get finished with it and you’re ready to go again!”
Bill for all that you have done and all you will continue to do for Habitat for Humanity, we thank you!
Volunteer Spotlight- December 2009
Volunteer Spotlight: George
Who are the volunteers of Habitat for Humanity? You may be surprised to see some familiar (and friendly!) faces at our sites. In the ensuing months, we will be focusing a spotlight on a few very special people both in our newsletter and on our website. This month we spoke with George, a member of our Thursday crew.
George is a 69-year-old retired truck driver who has been involved with Habitat for Humanity for 10 years. Not only has he worked with Gwinnett’s Habitat for Humanity but he has also contributed to projects in New Jersey!
George first got involved through his church. After relocating from New Jersey, he began working on Saturdays. He quickly moved to join a small group who worked on Thursdays. There are usually about 10 people in the group that is mostly made up of retirees who volunteer on a regular basis as well as some people fulfilling community service requirements. George finds it to be a very rewarding experience. “Habitat for Humanity does a good job of selecting families,” he said. “These are very responsible people who will care for the home.” He also enjoys the camaraderie of the group and having an opportunity to do some hard work.
He said his favorite experience to date was last summer while working on a home in Lawrenceville. The group had the opportunity to meet the new homeowner when she prepared lunch for them. He remembers the family well because the homeowner worked for Gwinnett County Schools and was raising two special needs children. She still found plenty of time to help out on site or stop for a small chat with the volunteers.
George has learned a great deal from this experience and really enjoys building homes from the ground up. “Sometimes it’s just nice to get out there and swing a hammer!” he laughed. He is currently enjoying working on townhomes but hopes to help build a new house soon.
Wine Tasting – October 23, 2009
Our annual wine tasting was one of the best we have had. There were 80 people who helped us meet our goal for the event. Sperata on the Square in Lawrenceville made their bar available to us as well as providing light appetizers and the wine to taste. Lynda Breault and Deb Terry were recognized for their effort in organizing the event. One of the highlights of the event was the raffle drawing valued at $400.00 – and the winner was Tommy Liotti of Gwinnett County. Take a look at some pictures of the event!
CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder.com, the largest online job site in the U.S., puts over 1 million jobs in front of poised job seekers wherever they are - at home or at work - in print and on the Internet.
They also are one of our partners... the staff of CareerBuilder took time out from construction one of the Stokeswood Townhomes to let us take a quick photo of the group. Lewis Chapman, second row on the left, is our Construction Manager.
’98 Worth Cobras lend a helping hand to Habitat for Humanity
What kind of person helps out Habitat for Humanity?
The answer is easy: Every kind of person!
In the ensuing months, we will focus on some of our volunteers through both our newsletter and our website. This month we spoke with the ’98 Worth Cobras about their experience lending a helping hand to Habitat for Humanity.
The ’98 Worth Cobras is a talented group of young ladies with compassionate hearts. Not only did they finish runner up at the ASA Girls Fastpitch 10 and under Nationals in Johnson, Tennessee but they also credit their experience with Habitat for Humanity as helping them accomplish this exciting feat! Working with Habitat was a great bonding experience and taught some excellent lessons to everyone involved. To find out more about their experience, check out their website which contains exciting details about their projects as well as pictures and video!
The event in Tucker was not the team’s first interaction with Habitat for Humanity. The girls presented the Opoku family with gift baskets at the dedication of their new home in September 2008. Rather than just purchasing generic gift baskets at the store, the team personalized a basket for each family member and filled it with bath products. The opportunity to meet and impact a family in need was a great one that the girls will remember for a long time but still they wanted to do more.
Five months after meeting the family in Dacula, the girls remembered a fun event but still didn’t quite grasp the magnitude of their generosity. In May, they spent an afternoon serving lunch to the volunteers building our Tucker townhouses . The lessons the girls learned over the course of this afternoon are credited with adding a cohesiveness to the team—the process of learning how to give back to the community and getting involved in activities outside the team helped to make the girls better teammates as well as individuals. The time and effort of this moment cannot be summed up into words.
But we had to wonder... how did these amazing girls choose Habitat for Humanity to gain this learning experience?
Softball moms (and former players themselves) Kelly Moreno and Kim Dowell envisioned a team that trusted each other not only on the field, but off the field as well. For them, this would be the key to success. They have made it their mission to continue to reinforce the importance of community service and, through that, their vision for the team. They can’t take all the credit for the girl’s open hearts. Courtney Floor was a fifth grader last year who was a member of a club teaching community service. She would ask for updates and then relay the information back to her fellow club members. Her excitement for Habitat for Humanity solidified the impact for the other girls and helped drive their enthusiasm for their Habitat project.
Habitat would like to extend the biggest thank you to the entire team for their time and efforts on behalf of our organization. We would not do our jobs without your continued support!
And Congratulations on your big win!
Stokeswood Townhouses Begun
Building townhouses is a new adventure for Gwinnett Habitat for Humanity. In late September, 2008 our volunteers began work on three new units at Stokeswood Townhouses in Tucker, Georgia. Building townhouses allows us to place waiting families into homes faster than when we only built single family homes. The community spirit is strong in this neighborhood as more families join other Habitat for Humanity neighbors already living in this community. These homes were completed and dedicated in December, 2008. We are ever grateful to our wonderful sponsors that made the building of these three townhouses possible: Careerbuilder.com; Bank of America; Citi; TranSouth Logistics, LLC; Niclas Havelid and the Atlanta Thrashers; World Financial Group; BB&T; GuideOne Insurance; United Stationers; and the Grayson High School National Honor Society.
2009 Builds
We start 2009 with the excitement of building another four units at Stokeswood in Tucker. Volunteers started working on two of the units in late February and the additional two units in early March.
The Women Build Program is an important part of Habitat International’s program to train women in construction skills and the building of confidence in these new skills. One of the Stokeswood Townhouses was the site of the 8th Annual Gwinnett Habitat Women Build. We express our gratitude to Sharon Jarrell who has led all 8 of the Women Build projects for Gwinnett Habitat for Humanity. Sharon was instrumental in getting this program started for our affiliate. Sharon’s amazing dedication, knowledge, and patience has allowed us to continue to grow this program while bringing a great sense of fun to all who work in this program and the actual event. A huge thank you goes out to all the women who participated in this year’s build. We also want to thank JGA Beacon, Inc. for their continued support for this build through fundraising and volunteers and to the Women’s Realty Council for their support this year. We anticipate our 9th Women Build in the Spring of 2010.
12Stone Church and Cisco sponsored another townhouse started in the Spring of 2009. The volume of volunteers and enthusiasm has been amazing for this project. Cisco (formerly Scientific Atlanta) completed its 9th build with us and 12Stone Church (formerly Crossroads Community Church) completed its 5th build with our affiliate when this townhouse was dedicated. We greatly appreciate their continued support for so many years!
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and eight Gwinnett County Lutheran Churches: All Saints Lutheran Church, Christ the King Lutheran Church, Christ the Lord Lutheran Church, Community of Grace Lutheran Church, Epiphany Lutheran Church of Suwanee, Oak Road Lutheran Church, St. James Lutheran Church, and Trinity Lutheran Church sponsored their 5th home with our affiliate this Spring by completing one of the four townhouses built in Stokeswood.
It has been an honor to be selected from Habitat affiliates throughout the U.S. to be the recipient of this program for the past several years, and we greatly appreciate the continued support from Thrivent and the local Lutheran Churches.
We are happy to welcome SunTrust Bank back as a sponsor for 2009. In 2000, SunTrust helped build a home in our first subdivision in Loganville. It is wonderful to have SunTrust to join us in the building of a home in Stokeswood, as our first townhouse building project. Our thanks are conveyed to SunTrust for continuing to work with us to provide decent, affordable housing for working families in Gwinnett County.
Our affiliate is launching our first rehab project in Lawrenceville. With the help of Gwinnett Community Development and 12Stone Church, this home will be refurbished and ready for a Habitat family to occupy by the fall. This home for the selected family of five will meet the handicapped needs of two of the children. The ranch style home will incorporate two handicapped ramps to make it perfect for the family’s new home. This is an important program, and we hope it will be the first of many rehab projects in Gwinnett County in the years to come.
In the fall of 2009 we will continue with another four new townhouses to be built at Stokeswood in Tucker. Providing homes for working families is at the heart of what we do, and we are looking forward to a great 2009 for our affiliate.