U.S. Housing Facts   10.9 million individuals live in housing with severe physical deficiencies such as having no hot water, no electricity, no toilet or neither a bathtub nor shower. Habitat Quick Facts * More than 200,000 houses built! * One million people now live in safe, decent Habitat houses. * Houses are sold at no profit with an interest-free mortgage. * Homeowners and volunteers build the houses under trained supervision.

• Homeowner profile: The Camacho family  
• Director's notes: A message from Sarah Brachle 
• New board president: Eric Patton 
• New Habitat employee: Brian Harris, construction manager 
• Spotlight: Volunteer relations committee
• Highlight: Recent DuPage Habitat press coverage
• A Look Ahead: What's happening in January and February 

HOMEOWNER PROFILE: THE CAMACHOS

 

In this month's edition of E-Builder, DuPage Habitat for Humanity continues to profile its latest partner families by focusing on Patricia Camacho, a single mother whose hard work with Habitat promises to pay dividends for her as well as others. Patricia first heard about a DuPage Habitat application session from a co-worker, and thought the session might be worth her time. Just a few months later, Patricia found herself on a conference call with DuPage Habitat's selection committee, which had one question for her: Would she like to be the organization's next partner family?

 

Needless to say, the answer was yes, and Patricia soon was working side-by-side with Habitat volunteers on her new home. Patricia loves the work, finding it challenging and rewarding. "It's a great feeling to work on your own home," she said. She intends to keep that great feeling by continuing to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity long after her own house is finished. Plus, with all of the new skills she's learned, Patricia hopes one day to even finish her own basement!

 

Patricia isn't the only one excited about the family's new home; her daughter already has thoughts of getting a dog and has started to pick out colors for her new room. "I feel blessed to have the opportunity to have a stable home for my kids," Patricia said. "It's always been one of my goals to own a home." Thanks to the efforts of DuPage Habitat for Humanity and her own hard work, Patricia's goal is being realized.

 

-- Dave Bristol

Friends,

A few days before Christmas, I was working in my office when I received a call from Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. DuPage Habitat is one of 1,700 Habitat affiliates in the United States, which is one of 90 countries engaged in Habitat's mission. With all this on his plate, Jonathan called DuPage Habitat to wish us a Merry Christmas and to congratulate us on "reinventing" DuPage Habitat this past year. It was quite a phone call.

 

Jonathan's phrasing struck me as an apt description of what has occurred at DuPage Habitat this past year. We have reenergized and refocused an organization with a successful record of serving 34 families in 11 years. This past year, we have completed a substantial rehabilitation on one home and have three more projects in the works. We saw one partner family move into a home and selected three new partners. We received city approval on the Pioneer Prairie project, completed the site engineering, developed a funding plan and submitted several critical funding applications. We funded our 2007 efforts and a portion of our 2008 plans. We engaged new volunteers, built new partnerships and garnered new public attention, all while continuing our everyday activities and support of our partner families. 2007 was quite a year.

 

Looking forward, DuPage Habitat is positioned for continued growth and expansion. We have in place a talented and committed team of 12 board members and 13 committee chairs to work with staff to outline and implement a plan for the next three to five years. We have hired a construction manager to ensure we have the internal capacity to complete the three homes in the pipeline and purchase at least one more home for rehabilitation. We have engaged corporate partners with the expertise to help us prepare for Pioneer Prairie's 2009 groundbreaking. We have secured a fundraising partner to work with us to raise the millions of dollars needed to implement our vision. 2008 will be quite exciting.

 

I am thrilled to be part of a team and an organization with the vision and the capacity to fundamentally change lives. I offer my thanks for a wonderful 2007 to all involved in this work, and I look forward to continued success in 2008. 

 

In partnership,

 

Sarah Brachle

Executive Director

 

 

NEW BOARD PRESIDENT: ERIC PATTON

 

 

As the incoming DuPage Habitat board president, I wanted to take this opportunity to share some thoughts about the past year and the upcoming year. 2007 was a fantastic year for DuPage Habitat. We reinvigorated the ministry, moved one family into a home, and brought three other families into the program. We completed two homes and have plans for four others in 2008. We also received all of the necessary approvals for the West Chicago Pioneer Prairie project, which will be our largest undertaking to date. Most importantly, we have seen an unbelievable increase in energy and enthusiasm from our volunteer base, which is the key to making this organization successful.

 

2008 promises to be a very exciting time for DuPage Habitat. We have plans to begin a very important fundraising campaign to help fund the Pioneer Prairie development and have selected a professional fundraising firm to help us in this effort. We plan on completing at least three rehabs this year and moving families into those homes. We plan to continue to develop partnerships that will assist us in our mission, similar to the partnership that we have recently begun with Thrivent Financial. If we can continue the momentum we started in 2007, then I think 2008 will be a very successful year for our affiliate.

 

I want to acknowledge our executive director, Sarah Brachle, who has done an incredible job in her first year in helping to set direction and move the affiliate forward. I also wanted to thank our outgoing board president Char O'Connell and outgoing board members Muneer Bachh, Vicki Broberg, Russell Horn and Mike Long. Their contributions and dedication have been a large part of the success that we have achieved.

 

I look forward to working with all of you this year and look forward to fulfilling our mission. If you have any questions for me or would like to talk about our affiliate, contact me at 630.215.3934 or wericpatton@sbcglobal.net.

-- Eric Patton