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!

2010 Build-A-Thon in April

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

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.