Habitat East Bay Thrivent Builds Blog

September update

2011-10-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-06T17:07:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-15T19:22:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-06-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

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

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

2011-03-06T14:24:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-01T11:29:00.000-08:00

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.

changing faces

2010-12-20T19:01:00.000-08:00

Eliza and me

I'm both happy and sad to report on some changing faces at Habitat. Happy because I'm happy for them and what lies ahead, but sad because I and others will miss them dearly.

Eliza, who some of you may know from the office or seeing her running about at build-a-thons, got married in the fall. She and her husband will spend time with family for Christmas, then do some traveling and mountain climbing(!). I'll miss her especially, because she made my job as Chapter Specialist easy.

Maggie, who you probably know as the assistant site supervisor at Kinsell Commons (and Edes before that, and as an Americorps member before that) is moving to Portland. She's a familiar face to volunteers, and if you've worked with her at a build-a-thon, you may have met her husband, too. I'm hoping to see them both at future build-a-thons.

They'll be missed, but join me in wishing them well and sending prayers for their futures.

December update

2010-12-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

The Thrivent Builds house at Kinsell Commons is almost done! Kitchen cabinets and flooring are in, and yesterday we worked in various houses to install baseboard. We were particularly focused on installing it in the bathrooms, so the plumber could install the toilets. There was a light drizzle much of the morning, so people working outside were getting pretty muddy, but they installed fences between the various houses, built planters for the common areas, and got a lot done despite the muddy conditions.

September update

2010-09-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

We're already half way into September, and the houses at Kinsell Commons are coming along nicely. Today some of the houses were being painted, while others (including the Thrivent Builds house) were being prepped for painting -- last pieces of trim, caulking, etc.

You may notice plastic over the insides of the windows. That's because the drywall has been hung, and the texture sprayed on the walls. So interior trim and painting will be able to begin as soon as the remaining exterior work is finished.

We're currently on target for volunteer hours by Lutherans and Thrivent members, and for donations. Thank you for your support!

July Update - changes and a partner family!

2010-07-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

If you've been out to the Kinsell Commons site recently, you may have noticed a big change. Namely, the Thrivent Builds sign is on a different house! That's because house #13 is one of the few 2 bedroom houses in the development, and #3 is a 3 bedroom house. That makes it easier to find a family to fit in house #3, so guess which is the Thrivent Builds house now?

So our new Thrivent Builds partner family is the Lei/Yu family. Currently, Xue Ying Yu, her husband Zhen An Lei, her son Ting Jun Lei, and her elderly mother Cong La Wu, live in a cramped two-bedroom apartment in downtown Oakland. Their son sleeps on the living room couch and often has trouble concentrating on his school work because he has no place to study. Additionally, at 76-years-old, Cong La Wu has mobility issues that preclude her from climbing the stairs in their current building, keeping her trapped in the small apartment most of the time.

The other big change is that it's approaching the end of the 11 month stint for the current AmeriCorps members. Those helpful, energetic young crew leaders you've grown to know and love will be leaving soon. So say hi and thank you to them when you see them. I know I'll miss them.

Lutheran Power!

2010-06-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

Representing northern and southern California, and the North Alameda and South Alameda Thrivent Chapters, we've got Lutheran power! Remember, you don't need a big group from your church to come out and volunteer (though that's always welcome). You can come out on your own or with a friend or two.

May/June Update

2010-06-05T09:08:00.001-07:00

May and its surprising amount of rain is gone and we're into June. Progress on the Thrivent Builds house has continued apace. It has its front porch, roof sheathing, and is getting the careful nailing required for shear strength in event of an earthquake. The numbers spray-painted on the OSB indicate the nailing pattern, e.g., 6 inches on the edges of sheets and 12 inches in the middle, all the way down to 2 and 12 above the door. That's a lot of nails!

2010 Build-a-thon Day 4

2010-04-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

A lot of us weren't sure how much work would get done on day 4 of the build-a-thon. When I woke up after 6AM, the rain was coming down in sheets and the wind was gusting -- not great weather for working on roof trusses and not much fun for working out of doors in general. After some pauses, the rain started coming down even harder during the morning introduction and safety talk, with water pooling on the roof of the tent over the seating area. And miraculously, as the safety talk ended, the rain pretty much stopped.

Despite the unappealing weather and the fact it was a workday, we had a great turn out. So many people who were assigned to the Thrivent Builds house showed up in fact, that we shared some out with other houses that had more no-shows. While some people worked on finishing the layout for the roof trusses and sheathing the end truss, another group worked on some interior blocking, and a group of us worked on disassembling braces and moving unused lumber from behind the house to a new location out of the mud. Even though the rain had mostly stopped, enough rain had fallen that it was muddy. But folks worked on despite the messy conditions and pounds of mud clinging to our shoes. After some more sprinkles, the clouds parted and we had sun for much of the day. Hallelujah!

After lunch we stood the trusses and nailed them in place. It was more difficult than on last year's house, because the trusses run the long way on the house and so are bigger and beams above the large front and rear windows meant some of the trusses had to be lifted and set into hangers. A group of us spent the afternoon aligning the trusses and bracing them into their final position.

Everyone stopped a little earlier than the first three days to take the final group photo. In part so we could clean up the work site; it didn't take long on the Thrivent Builds house since we'd spent time in the morning on clean up.

A huge thank you to everyone who volunteered and donated to make the 2010 Build-a-thon a huge success.

More build-a-thon pictures here and on the Habitat website.

2010 Build-a-thon Day 3

2010-04-19T18:13:00.000-07:00

Another great work day, with some Lutherans from Zion Lutheran in Oakland/Piedmont and Christ the King in Fremont along with a bunch of other great volunteers. The weather was a little cooler today which was nice.

We put up the interior walls on the second floor, put fire-resistant wallboard on the end truss and hoisted it into to place, nailed off the exterior sheathing, did a ton of blocking for various things, put up temporary scaffolding on the second floor, and put up beams above the front and rear windows to support the roof trusses. By the end of the day, the trusses had been delivered to the top of the house, so weather permitting, we can put them up tomorrow.

2010 Build-a-thon Day 2

2010-04-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

Another great day at the work site. We got lots done, including getting the second floor joists up, the subfloor laid, the walls moved up to the second floor, the front and read walls raised on the second floor, and the side wall built and raised. Plus the stair crew installed our stairs, so we could walk up to the second floor for much of the day. Another great group of volunteers -- thank you!

2010 Build-a-thon Day 1

2010-04-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

The first day of the 2010 Build-a-thon started things off well. We had Lutherans from Resurrection Lutheran, Dublin and Zion Lutheran, Oakland/Piedmont as well as hundreds of other volunteers. Once again honorary Lutheran John Lee was house co-leader for the Thrivent Builds house along with assistant site supervisor Maggie McGann. We got the first floor walls built and stood, rim joists and joist hangers for the second floor up, second floor walls built, temporary scaffolding built, and started putting up sheathing on the outside. All in all, a good day. I'd write more, but I'm tired! A huge thank you to all the volunteers today.

Kinsell Commons

2010-03-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

Work is progressing at the Kinsell Commons site to prepare for the build-a-thon in April. There will be 14 homes total in the development; 10 will be framed during the four days of the build-a-thon. The slabs are poured and the party walls built and stood.

One interesting thing about Kinsell Commons is that it's in the middle of an affordable apartment complex, Tassafaronga Village, which is still under construction. So the need for a hard hat starts at the gate at 85th Avenue, before you even get to the Habitat site. The apartments are scheduled to be done soon, so that requirement shouldn't be around too much longer, but until then, remember it's an active construction site before you get to Habitat!

2010 Build-A-Thon in April

2010-03-09T09:36:00.000-08:00

Another year, and we've got another Thrivent Builds-sponsored house! While the family hasn't been selected yet, preparations are already underway at Kinsell Commons in Oakland. The big kickoff will be at this year's Build-A-Thon, Saturday, April 17th through Tuesday, April 20th.

If you'd like to participate, check the Build-A-Thon web page for more information. Remember that this is a fundraising event as well as a blitz build, so there are fund-raising requirements for each day you participate.

And of course you can volunteer before or after the build-a-thon, and help raise funds to build the house.

Home Dedication

2009-12-14T10:33:00.000-08:00

The rainy day didn't dampen spirits as the Luo/Lin family and other families received the keys to their new homes. Assistant Site Supervisor Maggie Schouten presented the family with the traditional hammer, symbolizing all the hard work that the family and volunteers put into building the home.

Pastor Dave Sauer of Prince of Peace (Fremont) presented the keys to the family.

Karen Mueller and Laurel King of Christ the King (Fremont) presented the family with a book of faith.

The board of the South Alameda County Chapter of Thrivent was on hand and gave the family a gift basket and a poem:

A sponge that the house may always be clean;
A loaf of bread that there may always be food upon the table;
Sugar that there may be sweetness abounding;
And salt that there may be some spice in living.

Thanks to all who braved the storms and helped make the day a big success, and thanks to all the volunteers who contributed time and money to help make the Luo/Lin family's dream a reality. A special shout-out to honorary Lutheran John Lee, who was the house leader for the Thrivent Builds house during this year's build-a-thon.

Inside one of the homes that was staged for the event.

You can see more pictures of the dedication here.

save the date: Home Dedication

2009-11-12T18:04:00.000-08:00

On December 12th at 11AM, please join us to dedicate the Luo/Lin family's new home at the Edes. Whether you've been out swinging a hammer or supported the Thrivent Builds house financially or just want to see a family fulfilling a dream, it's a ceremony not to be missed. Please RSVP on the Habitat site here if you plan to attend.

The family is finishing up their 500 'sweat equity' hours as volunteers work to finish their home for the dedication. Here's a bit about the family from Habitat:

Xi Yong and Yu Ling moved to the United States from China in 2001 to seek better opportunities and their two children, Yan Jun and Hong Ji, have taken advantage of that goal. Yan Jun has studied English and other subjects at the Peralta community colleges and recently transferred to Cal State Hayward, where she is in an accounting program. Her younger brother, Hong Ji, is a junior at Alameda High School, and volunteers to help the less fortunate over summer breaks with the Salvation Army.

The Luo family is invested in a stable and happy future for their whole family, and see education as the best way to achieve this. They moved to Alameda so that their children could benefit from the excellent schools there. Although they live in a nice neighborhood, their landlord forced them to move from an upstairs unit to a downstairs unit that is almost always dark and cold. There is no heat and the windows don’t properly close, so they are constantly catching colds and other illnesses. Although they pay a lot for their apartment, it is in a garage with poor air quality, and the low ceilings leak. Furthermore, because they don’t have a legal contract with their landlord, they worry they could be forced to leave at any time.
The family is thrilled to move into a Habitat development where they’ll have the security of owning their own home. "Edes Avenue is a nice, environmentally-friendly and peaceful neighborhood, where we can finally stop worrying about being forced to leave our home," Xi Yong says. Yan Jun hopes to become a certified public accountant so that she can help make the mortgage payments and her parents won’t have to work so hard. The Luo family is looking forward to building relationships with their neighbors through sweat equity. "We appreciate our neighbors’ work on our house and we will work our best on 'sweat equity' in order to help." They are also excited to put down roots in their new community. "Our dream for the future is to have a group of neighbors that are friends, who support one another," Yan Jun says.

We Need Your Help!

2009-09-28T17:22:00.000-07:00

September is almost over, and I realize I haven't given any updates in a while. Progress on the Thrivent Builds house is going nicely. I forgot to take a picture of it on Friday, but got this shot of volunteers painting one of the nearby houses. The Thrivent Builds house is at about the same stage, with the exterior mostly done.

But we still need your help! There's lots more work to do on the Thrivent Builds house, including painting, flooring, cabinets, trim and more. Your congregation can also help by raising funds for the portion that we local Lutherans are required to raise as part of the Thrivent Builds project. Email or call Eliza Schissel at (510) 251-6304, ext. 360 and find out more about how you can get involved. When you sign up to volunteer, be sure to note that you're a Lutheran (and Thrivent member, if applicable.)

GRID Alternatives 2009 Solar-a-thon

2009-09-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday GRID Alternatives held their 2009 solar-a-thon. More than 250 volunteers and staff installed solar panels on 16 houses in Habitat for Humanity East Bay's Edes development. The unusual weather may have dampened things a little, but it didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the volunteers, and the cloudy skies made it cooler for the crews working on the roofs. I've uploaded more pictures of the solar-a-thon here. A big thanks to all the solar-a-thon volunteers and sponsors. Thanks to you, the Thrivent Builds house and other Habitat houses now have solar photovoltaic systems!

Habitat works!

2009-08-28T19:16:00.001-07:00

The progress continues on the Thrivent Builds house, despite the intense heat today. As you can see in the picture, it's got some of the siding on, and contractors were working on the electrical for it and several of the neighboring houses. There were groups from PG&E and Wells Fargo out volunteering today.

But the real story today is that I didn't work with Juan, the site carpenter, like I have for the past several Fridays. That's because Juan, who is a Habitat homeowner, was with his family taking his son to college to get settled in the dorms. Lots of people are doing that this time of year, but the cool part is that Juan's son is the first in the family to go to college. Some cool news for this hot day!

watch the Raiders, help Habitat

2009-08-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

Planning to watch the Oakland Raiders take on the Philadelphia Eagles on October 18th? Buy your tickets through Habitat for Humanity East Bay and they'll get $14 for each ticket purchased to help support their mission of eliminating poverty housing, one house at a time. More details on the website (PDF file).

August Update

2009-08-08T10:36:00.001-07:00

Progress continues on the Thrivent Builds house and others. As you can see in a picture from yesterday, it now has a roof, house wrap and some windows. It'll be getting insulation and siding soon. As part of the Habitat East Bay's green building practices, the insulation is sprayed-in cellulose, made mostly from recycled newspapers. Before that goes in, the cracks around windows, doors and vents are sealed up with spray foam insulation.

Thrivent House Update

2009-07-17T18:48:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give an update on the Thrivent Builds House. It's coming along nicely as you can see in the picture. Today it was getting ducting for HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system.

I also wanted to give a special thanks to Americorps member Tori Hiller, who's a not only spent the year working with Habitat through the Americorps program, but is a Lutheran, too. The current crop of Americorps members are coming up to the end of their term with East Bay. Some will be working through the summer, and a few will be coming back for another year. If you've volunteered at the Edes site, you've probably been led by one of the Americorps members, so give them a big thanks next time you see one!

2009 Build-a-thon, Day 4 -- ending with a bang

2009-04-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

It was hot again for the final day of the build-a-thon, but not quite as bad as Monday was. We had another good turn out, and while the heat slowed down overall progress, a lot got done on all 20 houses. On house 13, we worked with future homeowner Sergio Navarro. We had a number of first time volunteers who did great. We got the exterior walls on the 2nd floor sheathed, raised and plumbed, and several of the interior walls raised, too.

Check out the TV coverage from CBS 5, and of course, coverage on Habitat East Bay's website.

After some group photos, many of the volunteers and staff headed off to a post build-a-thon party, where we compared our experiences (and scrapes and bruises) and relaxed after a tiring four days. But the build-a-thon was a big success. Over $200,000 was raised to help fund the building of the houses, and a lot of progress was made. Thanks to all who gave of their time and money, and I hope to see you out at the work site sometime soon!

2009 Build-a-thon, Day 3 -- heat

2009-04-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

Today at the build-a-thon was a scorcher. Temperatures were in the 90s, and with just the framing of the houses up, there isn't much shade to cool off in. We also had a lot fewer volunteers since it's a work day. So we worked a lot slower, but we still made good progress. The Habitat staff did lots to try to help people keep cool. Besides frequent water breaks, there was a popsicle break, and they set up a mister system under a canopy for us to go cool off in. The lunchtime events involved getting people wet. Tomorrow should be little cooler, but it'll still be hot.

2009 Build-a-thon, Day 2 -- a wedding!

2009-04-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

Today was another great day at the Habitat worksite, but it was hot, and tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter. All the houses made good progress, but today we had something special -- a wedding celebration! Kim and Jim met at a Habitat build in New Orleans, and were married yesterday. As part of their wedding celebration, the wedding party came out to the build-a-thon to work. Besides being Habitat supporters, Kim is also a Thrivent member, so Habitat East Bay presented the newlyweds with matching Thrivent Builds hardhats. Kim's sported a veil which she cheerfully wore all afternoon.

2009 Build-a-thon, Day 1

2009-04-18T18:59:00.000-07:00

Today was day 1 of the build-a-thon. We had hundreds of volunteers working on 20 houses, and from what I saw, good progress was made on all of them. The Thrivent Builds sponsored house had at least 4 Lutherans volunteering on it from Resurrection Lutheran in Dublin.

I wish I had more to blog, but I'm tired! There are three more days of this to go.

2009 Build-a-thon

2009-02-28T14:52:00.000-08:00

A great way to get involved with Thrivent Builds is to work at the 2009 Earth Day build-a-thon that Habitat for Humanity East Bay puts on each year. It's a fund-raising event like a walk-a-thon or bike-a-thon, where you collect donations for each day you volunteer. Not only do your volunteer hours count towards the total we need as part of the Thrivent Builds-sponsored house, but your fund-raising does, too. It's also a lot of fun, where a lot of progress is made in a short time. In just 4 days, 20 houses will be framed, going from foundation to roof trusses. You can read more about the build-a-thon and register for it here. The specific house and family for the Thrivent Builds house haven't been selected yet, but they'll be one of the 20, which will be the last of 54 homes in the Edes development in Oakland.

2009

2009-01-23T12:41:00.000-08:00

2009 is upon us, and another year of helping build affordable homes is here. Thrivent Builds is sponsoring another home at the Edes Avenue development. We need your help in volunteering on the work site and in the office, and by donating and fundraising.

View the 2009 Visionary message from executive director Janice Jensen:

Home Dedication

2008-12-09T18:24:00.000-08:00

The latest group of homes including this year's Thrivent Builds sponsored home will be dedicated on Saturday, December 13th. If you haven't been to a home dedication (or even if you have), it's an event well worth attending. RSVP on the Habitat East Bay website here.

Carter Work Project

2008-05-23T23:59:00.000-07:00

A number of us who work for or volunteer with Habitat East Bay were fortunate enough to be a part of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project with Habitat for Humanity along the Gulf Coast. You can read more about it and see some pictures from our experience on the Habitat East Bay website. For my account of it and lots more pictures, check out my home improvement blog. If life ever gives you a chance to be involved with a Carter Work Project, go for it!

More Build-a-thon Pictures

2008-05-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

Habitat East Bay has more pictures of the build-a-thon posted, as well as a fun video of footage shot over the 4 days. Let me know if you have pictures of the event you'd like to share.

Build-a-thon

2008-04-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

The Habitat for Humanity build-a-thon was a big success. Not only did we frame 6 houses in 4 days, but we got roof sheeting on 5 of the 6 houses. That's the furthest we've ever gotten, even compared with years ago when we did 6 day build-a-thons. There was a great turn out, and as you can see from the pictures in the earlier posts, people had a lot of fun working. Check out the great piece that NBC 11 did as part of their Earth Day coverage, talking about the event and Habitat for Humanity East Bay's green building efforts.

Thanks to all the Habitat staff, all the volunteers and the donors that helped make this event happen. A special thanks to Gary (who was also the architect) and Juan, the house leaders for the Thrivent Builds house during the build-a-thon, and Katie and Jonas who were the Americorps crew leaders.

The family we're building for this year are the Woodleys. Flo is a secretary at Highland Hospital in Oakland, and has two children, ages 10 and 13. She was at the build-a-thon all 4 days, and spoke to volunteers about what it means to her to be able to work and purchase a Habitat house for her family.

Build-a-thon Day 4

2008-04-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

Build-a-thon Day 3

2008-04-21T20:45:00.000-07:00

20th Anniversary Celebration

2008-04-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

2008 marks the 20th anniversary of Habitat for Humanity East Bay. They also plan to construct their 200th home this year. To help celebrate those milestones as well as celebrate Earth Day, Habitat East Bay held a community celebration at the Edes Avenue worksite during today's build-a-thon. There were booths with information about different aspects of Habitat's work, info from solar sponsor PG&E, and Wells Fargo had an eBus out to help educate people about finances, computers and homeownership, as well as provide free internet access. There were snacks and games for kids, and one of the completed houses was open for people in the community to tour and see what one of Habitat East Bay's green-built houses looks like.

Build-a-thon Day 2

2008-04-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

Build-a-thon Day 1

2008-04-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

Build-A-Thon Coming Up

2008-04-02T17:16:00.000-07:00

The Habitat for Humanity East Bay build-a-thon is coming up quick. It's not too late to sign up and fundraise for it. The minimum fundraising required is $200 per day, but that's relatively easy to raise with the tools Habitat provides. Even if you don't want to volunteer at the build-a-thon, you can still help raise funds. Any funds raised by Lutherans apply towards our overall Thrivent Builds requirements.

Why We Build

2008-03-13T14:23:00.000-07:00

This month's featured volunteer at Habitat for Humanity East Bay is Amy Schleicher. She's a 17 year old junior at San Ramon High School, and she filmed a wonderful documentary about Habitat for Humanity called "Building a Better Future". It covers the great need for decent, affordable housing, has interviews with some staff and volunteers, and highlights Sonnie Dae's story. Not only did Amy create this great piece, but she won 2nd place at the First Annual Bay Area Social Issues Documentary Film Contest (SI DocFest) for it. Way to go, Amy! You can view the video on Habitat's website. If you want to show the video at your church to help publicize Thrivent Builds, contact Eliza at the Habitat office to get a copy of the DVD.

Here we go again!

2008-02-10T13:54:00.000-08:00

We're gearing up for another year of building. Thrivent Builds is sponsoring another house at the Edes Avenue site in Oakland, and Habitat for Humanity East Bay is already gearing up for the build-a-thon in April. It's a fun event with a ton of activity happening in just four days. It's also a major fund-raising event, so unlike volunteering during the rest of the year, there's a fund-raising requirement to take part in it. Fortunately HfHEB makes fund-raising easy by providing custom web pages through FirstGiving, and sample letters to send to friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. You can read more about the build-a-thon here, and learn more about volunteering in general here.

This is a big year for Habitat for Humanity East Bay. They've been an affiliate for 20 years, and will complete their 200th home this year. Wow! Last year the East Bay and Mt. Diablo affiliates merged to form one affiliate covering the whole East Bay, and the pace of construction keeps growing.

Home Dedication

2007-12-09T09:17:00.000-08:00

Saturday was a beautiful day, and a joyous one. Twelve partner families received the keys to their new homes, along with a hammer and a Bible. Grocery Outlet gave a goody bag, and the South Alameda County Thrivent chapter gave Sonnie Dae and her family a small quilt they made to mark the occasion. Thanks to all who have volunteered to make these new homes a reality!

Thrivent Builds

2007-10-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

Greetings to visitors reaching the blog from the Thrivent Builds newsletter! The newsletter has progress reports from all over the country on Thrivent Builds homes, including the 500th Thrivent Builds home in Pontiac, Michigan. Read more about the family partnering with Habitat in Oakland County.

Progress and Dedication

2007-10-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

The East Bay Habitat Thrivent Builds house is getting close to being done. Fundraising for the congregation-raised portion is on target, but we need more volunteers. Contact Eliza at the Habitat office and sign up today! Come out by yourself, with some friends, or organize a group from your congregation.

The dedication is planned for Saturday, December 8th. Plan to come help celebrate the completion of the Thrivent Builds house. If you've never been to a home dedication before, it's not to be missed.

Lutheran Work Day

2007-10-02T10:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a lot of fun. We had dozens of volunteers from Prince of Peace (Fremont), Christ the King (Fremont), Resurrection Lutheran (Dublin), University Lutheran (Berkeley) and Epiphany Lutheran (San Leandro). We worked on a variety of tasks including electrical, trim and finish work, caulking and painting, flooring and even some hearty souls that dug trenches for water service.

The Thrivent Builds house is coming along nicely. The exterior is painted, the sheetrock hung, mudded and textured, and some people worked with homeowner Sonnie Dae and two of her daughters painting the upstairs bedrooms.

Thanks to all who came out and worked. If you've got pictures from the day, let me know and I'll post them on the blog.

Fundraising Gala

2007-09-07T16:26:00.000-07:00

Saturday, September 22nd

Building A Dream Gala

Blackhawk Auto Museum in Danville

Thrivent Financial is a gala honoree!

A night of entertainment, dancing and live auction to support Habitat for Humanity East Bay. The menu for the evening will begin with wine and hors d'oeuvres, followed by a delectable dinner served in the main dining room. The night will also include fabulous items for auction in our silent and live auctions.

Ways to Help:

Attend the gala! Proceeds will be used to help low-income families in Alameda and Contra Costa counties realize their dream of homeownership.
Volunteers are needed to help with support staff. Shifts are: 9am-1pm, 2-5pm, 3-8pm, 11pm-12am.

For more information, check the Habitat East Bay website.

RLC Work Day

2007-07-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

Resurrection Lutheran Church of Dublin sent out 2 volunteers on Friday and 15 volunteers on Saturday. Mostly they worked on installing siding the Thrivent Builds house, but a few worked on furnace ducts and other tasks.

Thanks!

2007-06-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

A big thank you to Epiphany Lutheran in San Leandro, which sent out nine different volunteers this month. And a huge thank you to Abiding Hope Lutheran. Their youth group came all the way from Littleton, Colorado and volunteered at the work site (as well as at the San Francisco Food Bank).

Progress

2007-05-30T20:07:00.000-07:00

Progress on all the Habitat houses is slower than during the build-a-thon, but it continues apace. The Thrivent Builds house is coming along nicely. It has fascia, roof sheathing, some rough plumbing, a front porch, and has scaffolding set up to prepare for installing windows and siding.

Go in Peace, and Serve the Lord

2007-05-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

Habitat East Bay surpassed their fund-raising goal for the build-a-thon, with over $105,000 raised for the 4 day event. Lutheran participation was great, both for volunteer hours and donating.

But we need to keep at it. It takes a lot of work to build a house (over 500 volunteer days), and the requirement for Thrivent Builds is that at least half the work has to be from Lutherans. So go volunteer with a couple of friends, or organize a work day for your church. Go in peace, and serve the Lord!

Build-A-Thon Pictures 3

2007-05-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

The build-a-thon was a big success. Over $95,000 was raised (still counting) and 420 volunteer days amassed in just 4 days. Over 300 hours were volunteered by Lutherans -- more than 7% of the volunteered hours of the whole build-a-thon!

Habitat East Bay has more pictures of the build-a-thon on their website and photo gallery. I've included some of the pictures on the Thrivent Builds house here.

Homeowner Profile

2007-05-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's easy to lose track of why we donate our money and volunteer our time, and in so doing become discouraged. But it's important to remember that the house that Thrivent Builds is sponsoring is for real people. The future homeowner of the Thrivent Builds house is Sonnie Dae, who is raising 5 children (4 of her own and a niece). Read more about her and the children here.

More Build-A-Thon Pictures

2007-05-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

Some more Build-A-Thon pictures, courtesy of Pat Krohn-Pope (Thrivent board member and Build-A-Thon volunteer).

Build-a-Thon Pictures

2007-04-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

Sunday:

Build-a-Thon

2007-04-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

Habitat for Humanity East Bay's annual Earth Day Build-A-Thon finished yesterday, and was a huge success. Hundreds of people came together to frame 8 houses at the Edes Avenue building site in Oakland. Local Lutherans were there to represent Prince of Peace, Fremont; Resurrection Lutheran, Dublin; Trinity Lutheran, Pleasanton; Our Savior, Livermore; and even the Thrivent Financial office in Fremont. (If I didn't list your church and you were there, let me know by posting a comment. Also let me know if you have pictures to share.)

All 8 houses rose from the foundation slab up to the roof trusses in just 4 short days. There were a lot of little cuts and bruises (I got my share), but fortunately it was a safe event with no serious injuries. People worked hard and had a great time supporting a great cause and getting a lot of work done.

The Build-a-Thon is also a fund-raising event. They won't have the final numbers for a while as pledges continue to come in, but by all accounts it was successful in that regard, too.

A special thanks to the house leaders for the Thrivent Builds house, Gary and Juan, and the construction assistant, Laurie. The three of them made a great team and made sure the work got done right while keeping people busy with different tasks all over the house. Gary is also the architect for this project, and donated his design time to Habitat.

Thank You!

2007-03-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

A big thank you to John Roeber, a board member of the south Alameda County Thrivent chapter. John is president of Roebers Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning, and has donated the plumbing and heating for the Thrivent Builds house.

Not only is this a big help for Habitat, but a huge help with our goal for fund-raising by Lutherans. Thanks, John!

Big Red Success

2007-03-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

Sunday the Big Red Truck came to town. It's a rolling multi-media exhibit to inform people about Thrivent Builds and Habitat for Humanity, and to educate them about poverty housing and the need for decent, affordable housing for all.

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Fremont hosted the event, and provided many of the volunteers to help staff the truck. We had around 250 people go through the exhibits on the truck, take part in the nailing contest, get more information about Habitat, sign up to volunteer...we even got a donation on the spot.

Thanks to the good folks at Prince of Peace, and to the crew of the Big Red Truck. Be sure to check it out if it's in a town near you (they're headed towards Oregon and Washington next).

Welcome!

2007-01-01T18:05:00.000-08:00

Thrivent Builds is a partnership between Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Habitat for Humanity, and local Lutheran churches. Thrivent is sponsoring millions of dollars worth of homes built by Habitat around the country, with a special emphasis on the areas of the Gulf Coast that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Thrivent provides much of the money, Habitat the know-how and partnership with families, and local Lutherans provide money, volunteer labor, and prayer.

This blog is to report progress on the Thrivent Builds partnership with Habitat for Humanity East Bay. Thrivent Builds is sponsoring a home at Habitat's Edes Avenue site, and counting on donations and volunteering from Lutherans and Thrivent members all across Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Welcome, and please join with us to make this partnership a success!