Habitat MidOhio Monthly Musing
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CEO Corner
We completed our 2024 fiscal year on June 30 with a record 130 families served! Through our unique model of bringing together cross-sector groups, families, and volunteers, we completed the construction of 15 new homes, one home rehabilitation, and 114 home repairs. From the bottom of my heart: thank you to every volunteer, donor, partner, Board member, partner family, and staff member. You are the lifeblood of Habitat’s model, and our impact is nonexistent without you.
While I have been part of just a fraction of this work, I have learned that every family served through a home repair, rehab, or new build has a story; a story of their life before Habitat and a story of their life (or envisioned life) post Habitat. I've loved hearing, seeing, and feeling the words, stories, and emotions of the families I have met. Truly seeing and hearing our partner families illustrates the importance of having a decent, safe, and affordable place to live. Access to affordable housing is foundational to a thriving community.
Habitat for Humanity-MidOhio wants to be part of changing more lives through affordable housing and affordable home ownership. My 90-day listening tour is serving as an introduction to the creation of a strategic framework for Habitat MidOhio; a roadmap of our next years of growing our impact in making affordable housing and home ownership a reality for more of our neighbors. I look forward to sharing more about our framework and asking you to join us.
Brandi Braun AL-Issa
President & CEO
Homeowner Services
Commencement of Williamson Family Home, June 11
The sun was shining bright for our wall raising ceremony with the Williamson Family in June! This home is part of our Veterans Build Program and graciously sponsored by Bread Financial, the City of Columbus, and The Davis Foundation. We are thankful for their support of not only affordable housing and our mission, but also our Veteran Build Program!
Dedication of Travis Family Home, June 18
We dedicated the Travis family home last month and handed over the keys making them official homeowners! Thank you to the Brighter Days Foundation for your sponsorship of this home and to our many dedicated volunteers!
Dedication of Spikes Family Home, June 22
We enjoyed our time with the Spikes family this past month when we came together to dedicate their new home! Thank you to sponsors Church of the Resurrection and the City of Columbus for supporting our mission for many years!
Construction
Joyce took seriously her AmeriCorps pledge to "Get things done for America—to make our people safer, smarter, and healthier. I will bring Americans together to strengthen our communities..."
We want to take this opportunity to give a huge thank you to Joyce Quaye for completing her AmeriCorps year of service with HFHMO as a Construction Crew Lead!
Joyce came to the organization last year with extensive education and background in construction including a degree in architecture from Kwame Nkrumah University from her home country of Ghana, as well as a master’s degree in construction management from Southern New Hampshire University. After almost a decade of utilizing her skills in architecture, she came to realize that she wanted to gain the hands-on experience of building homes and thus came to us.
Joyce is appreciative of the great advice she has received from ‘seasoned’ construction folks and says she had a lot of fun meeting new people who made her AmeriCorps time here very memorable. We want to convey our true appreciation back to her for all of the dedication and service that she has contributed to the community and the people we serve! Thanks for all that you have done over the past year Joyce and we hope to be able to continue to engage with you and your talents in the future!
ReStore
Our Annual Flower Sale is right around the corner! Our favorite event will be held at all three locations this year! The event starts Friday, July 19 at 9am and runs through Saturday, July 20. We will extend our hours on Friday July 19 until 6:30pm for all your shopping needs! Come and shop a large variety of plants and flowers!
The plants featured in our sale are generously donated by AmericanHort from Cultivate’24. We are so thankful for the many generous sponsors involved with this fun event including AmericanHort, LettuceWorks, Foertmeyer & Sons Greenhouse, Strader’s Garden Center and many more!
If you are interested in helping with this event or volunteering at one of our stores, check out the opportunities here:
Our ReStore network has undertaken a large project, working to sell off a large amount of brand-new store fixturing and building material. A prominent retailer went out of business prior to remodeling their stores and the inventory was turned over to our ReStores. Our goal is to generate revenue for our mission by selling all of the inventory as quickly as possible. Not only will it benefit our mission, it will save hundreds of thousands of tons from going to the local landfills.
If you have a small business or know someone who needs store fixtures, please contact Josh Cobbs at jcobbs@habitatmidohio.org for more details.
Habitat for Humanity-MidOhio offers deconstruction services for your home!
The Habitat ReStore Deconstruction Team provides removal of salvageable materials from your home or business. As a locally recognized and respected organization, we offer efficient service and experienced personnel to complete your job on time.
How the Deconstruction Process Works
- Contact us to schedule a walkthrough of your project at cconley@habitatmidohio.org or 614-419-4389
- Our experienced crew removes salvageable materials from your property
- Materials go to the Habitat ReStore to help raise funds to build affordable housing
- You receive a donation receipt for tax purposes
We would love to be a part of your summer-cleaning process. Items donated to Habitat MidOhio go to our ReStores to be sold at an affordable price to the community which in turn helps support us on our mission to end substandard housing in Columbus.
For more info, check out our new webpage dedicated to Deconstruction!
Volunteer Services
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps recruitment: Join our AmeriCorps team for 2024-2025! Opportunities include multiple Construction Crew Leads and a part-time Construction Logistics position.
Each month, we spotlight two volunteers who have gone above and beyond to support Habitat’s mission. Check out our recently spotlighted volunteers, including Mitch Janklow and Diana Welsh!
We are grateful for AmeriCorps Volunteer Services Coordinator, Aly Ludwig, as she completes her service year this month!
Aly has been an immense help to the Volunteer Services team during her service year focusing on our Habitat Ambassadors outreach program, compiling our FY23 Volunteer Impact Report, creating volunteer recruitment tools and graphics, assisting in volunteer recognition efforts as well as developing our new online volunteer orientation video series that will be launching soon. She also got to know many volunteers and partner families while serving at events and assisting on sites.
Not only did Aly gain both personal and professional skills during her service year, she was able to continue to work on her degree online outside of serving to further her education while exploring the nonprofit sector. We appreciate Aly’s commitment to Habitat MidOhio and the legacy she leaves behind. We wish her all the best as she pursues another AmeriCorps service year out of state. Thank you, Aly!
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
July is Disability Pride Month!
Disability Pride Month is celebrated every July and is an opportunity to honor the history, achievements, experiences, and struggles of the disability community. Why July? It marks the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), landmark legislation that broke down barriers to inclusion in society.
People with disabilities deserve to live full, self-determined lives, just like everyone else. Yet discrimination persists for the 1 in 4 U.S. adults living with a disability. That’s why we spotlight inspiring stories in July and beyond that show what’s possible with inclusion.
Nelson Mandela International Day - July 18
Nelson Mandela International Day honors the legacy of Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa and a global symbol of peace, justice, and reconciliation. Established by the United Nations in 2009, this day encourages everyone to spend 67 minutes in service to others, representing the 67 years Mandela dedicated to fighting for human rights and social justice. It’s an opportunity for us to reflect on his enduring legacy and consider how we can contribute to making the world a better place through acts of kindness and community service.
International Day of Friendship - July 30
The International Day of Friendship was proclaimed by the United Nations in 2011 to foster friendships between peoples, countries, cultures, and individuals. This day emphasizes the importance of building bridges between different communities to promote peace and understanding. It’s a reminder of the value of personal and professional relationships in creating a supportive and inclusive environment. Let’s use this day to appreciate our friends and colleagues, and to strengthen our commitment to fostering a culture of unity and collaboration within our workplace.
Ashura
Ashura is a holy day for Muslims all over the world, observed on the 9th and 10th day of Muharram, according to the Islamic calendar. This year, Ashura begins on July 16. The Shia Muslims see it as the climax of the Remembrance of Muharram and the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali (the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad) at the battle of Karbala.
For the Sunnis, Ashura is the day Moses fasted to show his gratitude for the freedom of the Israelites. Today is also a holy day of mourning observed primarily by Shia Muslims. Other Muslim sects spend the day fasting and meditating.
Resource Development
The annual 24 Hours of Hockey for Habitat event is a unique peer-to-peer fundraiser where members of the hockey community commit to playing in a 24-hour continuous hockey game. Proceeds from this event raise funds and awareness of Habitat MidOhio’s programs and our efforts to empower veterans and low-income families in central Ohio to save or attain the dream of homeownership.
We were so excited to have first-time participant Andy Ward join our 8th annual game this past June! After turning 40 earlier this year, he told himself he wanted to “do more hard things,” and a few days later received an email from Habitat MidOhio about this event. He knew he wanted to support both veterans and low-income families and liked that the “personal challenge of finishing a 24 hour-long hockey game is unique and out of the ordinary.” So, he set a goal of raising $4,000 for Habitat, commemorating his 40th birthday!
Andy saw the fundraising goal as a chance to invite his friends, colleagues, clients, neighbors and former teammates to participate. The outpouring of support he received from his network once they received the fundraising link was incredible! Not only that, those who supported him felt a sense of gratitude for allowing them the opportunity to support Habitat while supporting a friend. He wanted to make participation accessible and exciting for everyone and asked his network to consider a donation of $12, $24, or $36 (or $1, $2 or $3 per hour that he would be playing). He found that this yielded many contributions for those amounts and higher. Andy was our top fundraiser, raising over $4,700. Our 8th annual event became record-breaking fundraiser, bringing in more than $65,000.
24 Hours of Hockey participants can play in honor or memory of someone who served our country. Andy’s motivation for playing was a personal one—playing in honor of his good friend, Nathan Showman, US Army Battalion Commander at 5th Ranger Training Battalion. Andy shared that, “Nate is the most mentally and physically tough person that I know, and I'm inspired by his devotion to his fitness, his son, and his soldiers.” Andy asked his friend Nate which number he should wear on his jersey and he shared, “I can think of 50 guys more deserving than me, so wear #29, for March 29th, 2008 when my friends PJ Miller & Durrell Bennett were killed in action during a mission in Baghdad.”
So, what’s next for Andy? He shared, “I will play in this event as long as I'm physically able. I also joined the Planning Committee to be part of the team that puts on such a great event, and I look forward to helping other players finish the game and achieve their fundraising goals.”
Andy shared, “If you're capable of playing, you're capable of playing for 24 hours! This is a one-of-a-kind event that offers the reward of personal challenges and community impact. Come play!”
Meet the Team
Please join us in welcoming Chris to Habitat MidOhio! Chris is a new Team Member at the Bethel Road Restore. We are very excited to have him join the team!
Chris applied to work at Habitat due to working in similar fields in the past and due to him reading that Habitat is a great company to work for. He is excited for the opportunity to help build a house for one of our families. Chris’s goals is ensure he does his job well in his new position. Outside of work, Chris enjoys learning how to model things in 3D using TinkerCAD. He also enjoys working with door locks! Within the community, he is involved with a local kickball team! Fun Fact: It is said that his chili wins contest! Yum!!!
