September update

September has passed, and the Thrivent Builds home and the Trudy Heinecke home are getting closer to finished. The building exteriors are basically done, as is much of the interior work. There's still more painting, installing hardware, and some landscaping to do. Friday I worked with other volunteers installing door casing (trim), assembling the planters at each downspout that will catch and slowly release rainwater, and doing a variety of other tasks.

We're doing well with fundraising the Lutheran portion of the costs, but we need you and your church to come volunteer at the Kinsell Commons 81st Avenue site, as we're behind on the Lutheran and Thrivent members portion of the volunteer hours. The site is open for volunteers Wednesday through Saturday. To come out individually or with a small group, just sign up on the website. To bring a larger group, contact Habitat, either via the website or at 510-251-6304. Be sure to let them know you're a Lutheran and/or a Thrivent member -- they can probably get you in even if the site is "full".

August update

Friday most people including Cia, the future homeowner, worked on painting. I was expecting to, but instead I was helping get ready for Grid Alternatives. Grid and their volunteers will be out next week to install the solar panels on the houses at Kinsell! And in the end, I did some painting, too. I painted the vent stacks on the roof to protect them from the elements.

meet the homeowner

Today at the work site I got a chance to meet and work with the future homeowner of the 2011 Thrivent Builds house. Her name is Cia, and when she completes her hours and gets her home, she'll be living with her mother, Delfina, and her granddaughter Bailey. If you run into her out the work site, introduce yourself and say hello!

rain, rain, go away!

The Thrivent Builds and Trudy Heinecke houses are pretty much weather-tight at this point. Which is a good thing, because there's lots of rain forecast for the next couple of days. (If you're not from California, it's unusual but not unheard of to have rain at this time of year.) Today they got some last bits of flashing tape installed, and a few folks got started on the siding. The other houses were getting their roofs finished, and some last windows and flashing tape.

May update

Hard to believe it's only been a month since the build-a-thon. With the great progress during the build-a-thon, and churches like RLC bringing lots of folks, the Thrivent Builds and Trudy Heinecke houses are looking good. In the picture you can see they're getting roofing and windows installed. They've already had some of the plumbing roughed-in.

You may notice the safety rail on the edge of the upper roof. That's allowing volunteers to more safely install the roofing. You may also notice the silver-colored bumps on the roof. Those are for the solar panels that will be installed, meaning the Habitat homeowner will have very low electric bills and their home will have a lighter impact.

Come out and volunteer at the Kinsell worksite. Or bring a group from your church.

Resurrection Lutheran build day

Big shout out to Resurrection Lutheran Church of Dublin, which sent out 15 people to work at the Kinsell worksite today. It was a big enough group that we were split up into different teams.

Some people did some painting, some put house wrap (aka Tyvek) on the houses, and some worked on the roof, putting finish plywood over the eaves, adding drip edge, rolling out tar paper, and installing brackets for safety railings. For me, I was volunteering on a different day of the week than my usual Friday, so not only did I get to spend time with the good folks of RLC, I got to see some of the regular volunteers I normally only see during the build-a-thon and other special events.

In any event, a lot got done today. Thank you, RLC!

Check out more pictures from the day here:

RLC work day

2011 Build-a-thon

From 2011 Build-a-thon

The 2011 Build-a-thon was a huge success. We had a great turnout all four days, and although a bit of rain on Monday dampened the construction site, it didn't dampen enthusiasm. Hundreds of volunteers, Lutheran and non-Lutheran alike, worked together to frame 7 houses for deserving families. All of the houses got their roof sheathing on, and most got additional blocking and nailing that's normally done after the build-a-thon. In short, we got the furthest along during any build-a-thon at Habitat East Bay.

This year, in addition to a house sponsored by Thrivent Builds, there's another special Lutheran house, sponsored by the Trudy Heinecke Trust. As the sign on the front of the house says:

In her lifetime, Trudy Heinecke was a leader and friend to Habitat East Bay. Her greatest dream was to leave the opportunity of homeownership to a deserving family. Find out how you can make a lasting legacy at www.HabitatEB.org/PlannedGiving

Both houses are part of an 8 home project in Tassafaronga Village in the Woodland neighborhood of Oakland, and are about 2 blocks from the 14 homes done in phase 1. It's due east of the Oakland Coliseum, and across the street from two schools and the new East Oakland public library.

A huge thank you to everyone who volunteered and donated to make the 2011 Build-a-thon a huge success. And a special shout-out to our Lutheran volunteers during the build-a-thon, from Zion Lutheran (Oakland/Piedmont), St. Paul Lutheran (Oakland), Resurrection Lutheran (Dublin) and Christ the King (Fremont).

From 2011 Build-a-thon

From 2011 Build-a-thon

For more photos, check out my 2011 Build-a-thon album, and the Habitat East Bay albums from day 1, day 2, day 3, and day 4.

Home Dedication

We had great weather for the dedication of 6 of the new homes at Kinsell Commons. Lots of family, friends, volunteers and community representatives were out to see 6 families getting the keys to their new homes.

Oakland mayor Jean Quan, state senator Loni Hancock, and others spoke about the improvements in the area, not just the new Habitat homes, but the surrounding affordable apartments, nearby schools and the brand-new East Oakland library. The public housing project that used to be where the Tassafaronga development now stands was in terrible shape, and a magnet for crime. Now there are clean, comfortable apartments and homes.

After the speeches, we separated to the individual homes for the dedication ceremonies. For each Habitat dedication, the new homeowners receive a hammer, symbolizing the hard work the family and volunteers have put into the new home, keys to the new home, and a book of faith.

After that, the homes were open for tours, including one that highlighted the various green features of the new homes. They're GreenPoint-rated, Energy Star certified, and in the process of being LEED-rated. Not only do green homes use less energy to build and live in, but they're healthier for the occupants, too. (Read more about Habitat East Bay's green building.)

Thanks to all who turned out to see the Lei/Yu family and others receive the keys to their new homes, and congratulations to all the proud new homeowners! And of course thank you to Thrivent Builds for sponsoring the house, and to all the volunteers who helped build it.

For more pictures, click below:

Habitat 2011 Kinsell dedication

save the date: Home Dedication

The Thrivent Builds house at Kinsell Commons has been done since December, but there's been some last work being finished up on some of the other houses and on the driveways and other common areas. But that got wrapped up on Friday.

That means it's time for the home dedication! Come see the Lei/Yu family and others receive the keys to their new homes. The dedication is Saturday, March 5th, and 10AM. Please RSVP on the Habitat site here if you plan to attend.