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The
Newsletter
for
DuPage Habitat
for Humanity
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It's all about the
families we help!
DuPage Habitat for Humanity
213
S. Wheaton Ave.
Wheaton IL
60187
630.510.3737
www.dupagehabitat.org
Sarah
Brachle
Executive Director
Jon
Peterson
Business
Manager
Brian
Harris
Construction
Manager
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Volunteering |
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Call the Habitat office
at
630.510.3737 or e-mail dhfh@dupagehabitat.org
There
is more to Habitat for Humanity than just
building. DuPage Habitat for Humanity now
needs volunteers with fresh ideas for
"behind the scenes" work as
well! Come to the next general meeting on
the second Tuesday of the month and join a
committee like
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Construction
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Faith Relations
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Marketing and PR
and more!
Especially now, we need help on
our plans for our new
builds!
We have a new volunteer
orientation at each month's general
meeting at 6:30 p.m. right
before the general meeting at 7
p.m. the second Tuesday of each
month at BP
America Inc., Cantera II, 28301 Ferry Road,
Warrenville (just north of I-88 and
west of Winfield Road). All are welcome! Bring a
friend.
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Did you
know? |
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Illinois ranks fifth worst
in the nation in the Relative Share of
Foreclosures, Subprime Loans, and Mortgage
Defaults, as of Dec. 31,
2007.
According to a
report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors,
it is projected that in 2008, mortgage
foreclosures may displace 1.4 million households
from their homes, and could result in
$1.2 trillion in lost property
values. |
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top | |
| U.S.
Housing Facts |
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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 |
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More than 200,000 houses
built! |
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One million people now live in
safe, decent Habitat houses. |
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Houses are sold at no profit
with an interest-free mortgage. |
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Homeowners and volunteers
build the houses under trained
supervision. |
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IN THIS
ISSUE:
- Feature: Golf
Outing
- Feature: Pioneering Affordable
Homeownership Kick-off Event
- Get
Involved!: What's Happening in the Upcoming
Months
- Director's Notes: A Message
from Sarah Brachle
- Spotlight on: Sarah Muench, New
Youth Coordinator
 The first-ever DuPage Habitat
golf outing was held Monday, Aug. 11, at Klein Creek Golf
Club in Winfield,
Ill.
Laurie Lapas, who organized the event along with her
husband, Tom, said that the outing took place on "an
absolutely beautiful day" and saw a turnout of 110 golfers,
including Habitat volunteers, past and current board
members, and staff. Lapas also said, "We were happy to
welcome representatives from Unilever, a generous
contributor to DuPage Habitat!" Unilever representatives,
she noted, took home first-place trophies that
day.
The outing was full of fun and
surprises, including two special holes: on the
8th, a hole-in-one would win the lucky golfer a Chevy
Malibu, courtesy of Biggers Chevrolet, and on the
14th, golfers had a chance to "Beat the Pro"
by golfing against former White Sox outfielder Carlos May
(pictured above). The event raised nearly $20,000.
"I think everyone had a great
time," said Lapas. "It is very challenging to achieve
the perfect storm with a special event - raise money,
educate and celebrate - and this event did all of those
things
beautifully."
-- Dave
Bristol
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FEATURE: PIONEERING
AFFORDABLE HOMEOWNERSHIP KICK-OFF
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 In the coming month, DuPage
Habitat will officially announce its initiative to begin the
Pioneer Prairie project. This initiative,
called Pioneering Affordable Homeownership, is "a three-year
initiative to build quality homes in partnership with
working families of DuPage County." The initiative is being spearheaded
by the Pioneering Affordable Homeownership leadership team,
whose project director is Sheri Schmidt.
The Pioneer Prairie neighborhood will
be constructed in West
Chicago and will be made
up of 11 single-family homes. These homes will be built
in the hope of addressing concerns over housing costs in
DuPage County, which are among the highest in the
nation. In that
sense, says Schmidt, Pioneer Prairie is different than many
other Habitat projects. Rather than enlisting local
businesses and organizations on a "home-by-home" basis, the
Pioneering Affordable Homeownership initiative will attempt
to engage community leaders over the course of three years
to address a community challenge, namely affordable
homeownership. According to Schmidt, this allows DuPage
Habitat to function not only as a nonprofit organization,
helping individual families obtain affordable housing, but
also as "an affordable housing developer," transforming the
community at large by meeting the largely unmet needs of
DuPage County's working families.
The Pioneering Affordable Homeownership
Kick-off event is Tuesday, Sept. 23, 8-9:30 a.m., at the
West Chicago Park District, near the corner of Sherman and
Pomeroy in West Chicago. For more information, call
630.510.3737 or e-mail pioneer@dupagehabitat.org.
-- Dave
Bristol
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GET INVOLVED!: UPCOMING HABITAT
EVENTS |
Saturday,
Sept. 13, 9 a.m.: Sixth annual DuPage Habitat Family 5K
Walk
Doubletree Suites, 2111
Butterfield Road, Downers Grove, Ill. Sponsored by
Unilever.
September: Launch of New Web site!
Visit www.dupagehabitat.org.
Tuesday, Sept.
23, 8-9:30 a.m.:
Pioneering Affordable Homeownership
kick-off
West Chicago Park
District, West Chicago, Ill.
 Sunday, Sept. 28, 2-3 p.m.:
Landrum home dedication
930 Oakland Lane,
Aurora, Ill. Home sponsored by Thrivent Financial for
Lutherans.
Tuesday, Oct.
14: New volunteer
orientation meeting
6:30 p.m., BP Conference Center,
Cantera II, 28301 Ferry Road, Warrenville,
Ill.
Tuesday, Oct. 14: General monthly Habitat
meeting
7 p.m.,
BP Conference Center
Saturday, Oct.
18, 10 a.m.-noon: Next open homeowner application
session
St. Isidore's Catholic
Church, 427 W. Army Trail Road, Bloomingdale, Ill. Visit www.dupagehabitat.org
for
details.
DuPage Habitat Friends,
 This continues to be an
exciting time for DuPage Habitat. Now that we are the proud
owner of a three-acre parcel in West Chicago, we are gearing
up to launch Pioneering Affordable Homeownership, a
three-year initiative designed to proactively respond to
concerns about the lack of affordable homeownership
opportunities available to working families in DuPage
County. The cornerstone of the initiative will be Pioneer
Prairie, a residential neighborhood of 11 detached,
single-family homes in West Chicago. Along with the new
homes, DuPage Habitat will develop the neighborhood,
including sidewalks, parkway trees and streetscapes.
Over the next
three years, DuPage Habitat will be reaching out to the
community to educate all about the need for workforce
housing in DuPage and the Habitat for Humanity solution, and
to engage a broad spectrum of partners in this initiative.
This outreach effort will target the 400-plus churches and
faith-based groups in DuPage, corporations and business,
civic groups and individuals.
You can
help! Here's how:
1) Provide
us with a referral to your church, business or civic
organization so that we may reach out to try to schedule a
presentation. You do not have to "sell" anything - just
forward a name to get us the door to
pioneer@dupagehabitat.org.
2) If you
know someone who might be a good candidate for a Habitat
home, encourage them to come to the mandatory application
session Oct. 18, 10 a.m., at St. Isidore's Catholic Church
in Bloomingdale. The session is in English and Spanish.
Habitat is an Equal Opportunity houser. Visit www.dupagehabitat.org
for details.
3) Attend
the Pioneering
Affordable Homeownership kick-off event Sept. 23, 8
a.m., in West Chicago.
DuPage County
needs attainable housing for our teachers, health care
workers, military, service sector employees and all those
that make our county WORK. Working together, we are all part
of the solution. Thank you for your continued support.
In partnership,
Sarah Brachle
Executive
Director
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SPOTLIGHT: SARAH
MUENCH, NEW YOUTH COORDINATOR
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 This month, Sarah Muench is in
the "Spotlight." Sarah is the youth coordinator for Youth
United, which DuPage Habitat hopes will engage children
and young adults ranging from ages 2 to 25 in
fundraising and other activities within the organization.
Sarah says that the area's youth, while not able to
physically work on Habitat homes, can still help to build
the organization by helping to generate awareness and raise
money. Younger students can reach out to their classmates by
giving speeches or by engaging them in activities, such as
writing thank-you notes for Habitat donors. Youth United
will be working toward raising enough money to build its own
Habitat home, which Sarah says will really let them "take
ownership in a particular project." Sarah is pleased to see
a lot of excitement in the local youth when, she says, they
realize that "they are making a difference outside
themselves and their families."
-- Dave
Bristol
"Habitat has opened up unprecedented
opportunities for me to cross the chasm that separates those
of us who are free, safe, financially secure, well fed and
housed, and influential enough to shape our own destiny from
our neighbors who enjoy few, if any, of these advantages of
life."
--Jimmy Carter, former U.S.
President
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FINAL THOUGHT FOR THE
MONTH |
"Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his
belief from his
occupations?"
Kahlil
Gibran
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to top
DuPage
Habitat for Humanity is a Christian housing ministry
affiliated with Habitat for Humanity International. We welcome
all people dedicated to building decent, affordable housing
for families in need, while empowering families to help
themselves.
DuPage Habitat for Humanity
213 S. Wheaton
Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187
Phone: 630.510.3737 Fax:
630.682.4881
www.dupagehabitat.org
dhfh@dupagehabitat.org |
DuPage Habitat for
Humanity