Habitat MidOhio Monthly Musing
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CEO Corner
July is a month for celebration. For the nation, it’s July 4th that encourages remembrance of our founding. For Habitat MidOhio, it is a time to begin a new fiscal year on July 1st and celebrate what was accomplished during all of FY23, just completed.
As you know, our mission is to help as many families in our central Ohio community as possible. In this last fiscal year, the affiliate served a total of 102 different households with our combination of 12 new builds, two rehabilitated homes, and 88 repairs. In each of these categories, we either helped low and moderate-income families earn their own home, or, regarding repairs, helped others ensure that an existing home was made safe for future habitation. For some, that meant helping residents age in place, and that’s a blessing we will all come to appreciate when the time comes. These results are a direct reflection of your generosity and that of our dedicated volunteers who employ their construction talents in all kinds of weather. From all of us at MidOhio, thank you!
As we begin FY24, we are exploring new horizons – ones not dreamt of just five or so years ago.
In recent Musings I’ve shared that we are exploring the possibility of building shared-roof, townhouse-type construction, one where each unit would be owned by a Habitat partner family, just like a stand-alone home. We are in preliminary discussions with those who can provide land and construction expertise – both include considerable donations toward each of these important elements. With buildable land at a premium, this additional product offering for our families may well result in our being able to serve even more year over year.
Another exciting addition to our affiliate structure is the Habitat Capital Resource Corporation (HCRC) that, once certified by Treasury’s Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) office in the next 18 months, will provide us an avenue to attract additional funding for our work, heretofore unavailable. The task this year is to underwrite and create the first 15 loans to be held by the HCRC, as that is a requirement for certification by Treasury. Concurrent has been the creation of a stand-alone board of directors and establishing the in-house infrastructure for its operation, the latter of which will work seamlessly with our existing Homeowner Services and Finance Departments. Stay tuned for further developments!
Finally, as part of our MidOhio board committee reorganization, we have created the “Emeritus Board” for those members who have rolled off the governing structure. Although member status is ex-officio, emeritus members will be able to attend full meetings of the governing board and any other affiliate functions, thereby enabling them to keep their “hand in the game,” so to speak. Greg Smith was our first member, and recently he is joined by both Jim Petrie and Joe Reilly. All have donated countless hours, generous funding and many, many years to this organization, and this is our way of honoring those who have given us so much.
Like I said, beyond recognition of our founding, your Habitat MidOhio affiliate has much to celebrate in July as we look forward to another year of creatively serving our community. Know we celebrate and appreciate each of you as well, for without your support, our ability to do so would be impossible.
Thank you!
Homeowner Services
Dedication of Calvert Home, June 3
We were joined by sponsors Bank of America, The Champion Companies, Hexion, and Church of the Resurrection to dedicate a new home for the Calvert family! It was a beautiful day to hand over the keys and officially welcome them to their new home!
Dedication of Eckstine Home, June 5
We had a perfect day in June to dedicate a new home for the Eckstine family in Newark! Joined by house sponsor Discover and the City of Newark, there were smiles all around as they officially became homeowners!
Dedication of Booker Home, June 17
We joined together with the Women Build crew and the Booker family to celebrate the dedication of their new Habitat MidOhio home. It was a beautiful morning to receive the keys and commemorate all of the work put in by the family to get to this point! Thank you to house sponsors The Brighter Days Foundation, GEODIS, Wells Fargo, Ohio Wireless Association, and the entire Women Build crew!
Construction
Home Repairs Are Keeping Families In Homes
Throughout the past fiscal year, HFHMO with its dedicated volunteers and repair staff, completed 88 home repairs helping keep families in their homes and greatly improving their living conditions. The ongoing need for home repairs in our service area is vast making the work we do every day so vital. The varying scopes of work is challenging and can often involve unknown factors. From painting, porch repairs, heating and cooling repairs/replacement or helping make bathrooms and kitchen more accessible, the results are appreciated by the families and many times very noticeable visually to all.
We recently spent a couple of weeks working on rotted wood replacement and painting a turn of the century home on Linwood Avenue in Columbus. The repair was completed by our repair staff including Tom Mix, Ron Sendek, AmeriCorps member Sam Lucas, along with many volunteers. Additionally, the ‘Team Faithful’ members of our Northside Partnership group spent several days demolishing and rebuilding a new privacy fence to secure the back yard. Between the challenges of heights and summer heat, as well as removal of lead paint utilizing proper procedures, the work was often hard and tedious but the results are evident! We are proud and happy to be able to make these kinds of impacts on homes and families and look forward to being able to serve many more families with services such as these in the fiscal year ahead.
If you have interest in serving families who own their homes but need assistance with repairs and maintenance, we would love to have you join our dedicated team of repair volunteers.
The Construction department is excited to announce the newest member of our team, Marcus. Marcus is our new Repair Project Manager and originally applied because he loves the Habitat mission and helping underserved communities. In his role, he hopes to provide value to the position and be an asset to his team and the organization. When he's not working, Marcus coaches high school football and volunteers at his church. He also enjoys traveling, watching football, and being with his friends. Fun fact: He likes to grow his own food!
ReStore
Our annual Plant Sale starts at 9am on Friday, July 21st and runs through Saturday July 22nd. Come and shop a large variety of plants and flowers! The plants featured in our sale are generously donated by AmericanHort from Cultivate’23. 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!
We have quite a few new faces around our ReStore locations. Let's introduce them!
First, let's introduce Imani, our newest team member at our Westerville Road ReStore! Imani wanted to work for Habitat MidOhio because it is located close to her home and because of the benefits package we offer. She is excited to work with her new teammates because they are all friendly and welcoming. In her role, Imani hopes to work as hard as she can and learn as much as possible. She hopes to one day work her way up the ladder and plans to work here long term. Outside of work, Imani enjoys reading, journaling, traveling, watching movies, and playing video games. Fun fact about Imani is she is a self declared "nerd" and loves all things magic, fantasy, and Harry Potter!
Next, our ReStore is excited to welcome Melanie. Melanie is the newest ReStore Team Member at the Westerville Road store. She applied to Habitat because she admired the difference we make in the community and wants to be a part of that! She is excited to meet new people and learn more about the programs we offer. Melanie also enjoys making jewelry and going to festivals and parades around Columbus. Fun fact: Melanie has seven siblings!
Finally, we are excited to announce our newest ReStore Store Coordinator, Dana! He is excited to get started in a role that is similar to the retail environment that he is used to and is ready to hit the ground running in his new position. He hopes to become as knowledgeable as possible about the ReStore and Habitat and wants to help all of the team members do the same! Outside of work he enjoys golfing, cooking, and is a self-declared "movie buff and history nerd." Fun fact about Dana: he coached semi-pro football in Columbus for 7 years and also dabbled in stand-up comedy!
Did you know that Habitat for Humanity-MidOhio offers deconstruction services?
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 be sold at an affordable price to the community and funds raised help 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 central Ohio.
For more info, check out our new webpage dedicated to Deconstruction!
Volunteer Services
What’s new with Habitat Young Professionals?
All Hands on Deck for Homeownership! Vote for HYP’s boat in the Columbus Kiwanis Charity Regatta to raise money for Habitat MidOhio! Voting is open now through July 31st.
Fill the open board positions on the HYP Board! Email hyp@habitatmidohio.org for more info and an application!
AmeriCorps
We have started recruitment for next year’s AmeriCorps team, starting in August 2023! AmeriCorps members are needed in the areas of Construction, Volunteer Services, and Resource Development to serve a year with Habitat MidOhio. Members receive a modest living allowance, basic health benefits, an education award upon completion, and a monthly housing assistance stipend.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Mandela Day is an annual global celebration that takes place on July 18th to honor the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela. This day is a call to action for individuals, communities, and organizations to take time to reflect on Mandela's values and principles and to make a positive impact in their own communities. One of the ways the organization suggests celebrating is to “help build a home with Habitat for Humanity”! For more ideas on ways to honor and celebrate Mr. Mandela’s legacy of taking action for positive change, click the link below!
Resource Development
Allow us to introduce the newest member of the Resource Development team, Carman, our Grants & Compliance Manager. Carman was impressed with Habitat's accomplishments and the impact we have in the communities we serve. She is excited to see how she can apply her talents to strengthen the work we are already doing. Outside of work, Carman enjoys traveling, jewelry making, reading, and spending time with friends and family. Fun fact: Carman has never broken a bone in her body!
1st (two) Madison County Playhouses!
We joined staff members from the Target Distribution Center twice this week to build two awesome playhouses. These builds were extra special as they were our first playhouse builds in Madison County. Thank you Target for your support!
