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!

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

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

changing faces

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.

September update

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

Home Dedication

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

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.