Habitat MidOhio Monthly Musing
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CEO Corner
It's the season of focused and intentional gratitude. I have so much for which to be grateful including my health, my family, my soon-to-be-born baby boy, and my home. I’m also incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve Habitat and interact with so many amazing volunteers, partners, and donors on a daily basis.
This includes Lynne Ayers, who recently made a $20,000 donation to Habitat in honor of our former President and CEO’s twenty years of service. After her commitment, Lynne and I attended a beautiful worship service at her church together. I was incredibly grateful for the chance to get to know Lynne better, meet some of her fellow parishioners, and spend time in reflection and prayer in the beautiful First Community Church.
I’m grateful for the 150 volunteers we celebrated and recognized at our recent annual Volunteer Dinner. It was amazing to spend an evening and share a meal with these beautiful humans who dedicated tremendous energy and time to Habitat’s mission.
I’m grateful for the regular construction leads and volunteers who show up day in and day out – in all weather conditions – to work with other volunteers and partner families to build safe, decent, and affordable homes. This past Saturday, I visited several of our under-construction homes and really enjoyed seeing the hard work and fellowship (and fun) in action.
I’m grateful for our 75 team members, who approach our work and mission with passion, compassion, and integrity every single day. I’m inspired by what they do and how they do it.
I’m turning my gratitude into action by becoming a Hope Builder for Habitat MidOhio; a monthly donor to help support and sustain our incredibly important work. I invite you to join me in becoming a Hope Builder. No monthly amount is too small (or too big). Your investment helps support work to ensure we have a region where everyone has a decent place to live.
Lastly, I’m thankful for you and your support of Habitat. I wish you and your family and loved ones a very Happy Thanksgiving.
Brandi Braun AL-Issa
President & CEO
Homeowner Services
Wall-Raising of Ale & Budathoki Family Home, October 9
We had another beautiful day last month to celebrate the start of a new Habitat MidOhio home in Newark! Joined by future homeowners, the Ale & Budathoki Family, we raised the walls in their home. Thank you to each of the sponsors for this house: Park National Bank, Licking Memorial Health Systems, Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, The Energy Cooperative, and the City of Newark!
Wall-Raising of Nichols Family Home, October 17
We were honored to gather at the site of a future Habitat MidOhio home last month with the Nichols family! They officially kicked off the build with house sponsors Discover and the City of Newark! We can't wait to watch this become a home over the next few months!
Construction
FOUR HOUSE COMPLETIONS IN NOVEMBER
FOUR HOUSES ACTIVE AND WELL UNDERWAY
FIVE NEW HOUSE STARTS UPCOMING MAKES FOR AN ACTIVE AND EXCITING FALL AND WINTER!
The summer and fall have been busy and extraordinarily productive as Habitat volunteers have forged forward on many new home projects. Most of our Adopt-A-House partnerships have been diligently working to bring several houses, soon to be homes, to completion and ready for excited families to move in.
- The AEP Foundation project wrapped up recently and will soon welcome the Issa family home.
- Hilliard Adopt-A-House, with all of its churches, has put the finishing touches on the Sheikh & Mohmud home where they will soon be moving into the neighborhood.
- The Northside Partnership, with its faithful volunteers, have seen their project to completion for the Ahmed & Ibrahim family to be able to plan toward their move soon.
- Lastly, the 2024 Veterans Build under the leadership of HFHMO staff Project Lead Alex Goetz, is competed and looking spectacular! The Williamson family cannot wait to move in.
It is wonderful to see all of these projects completed in the Linden neighborhood of Columbus. Meanwhile, many of our regular and crew leader volunteers continue to come out and push forward on working with corporately sponsored new house projects underway. We have rounded the corner toward completions on two houses on Washington Street in Newark, a house on 15th Ave in South Linden, and a house on Genessee Avenue in North Linden. These homes will all be ready for our partner families within the next several months.
HFHMO staff have also been working hard in the wings preparing for another round of new homes to soon be started. Within the next month or so, five additional project starts are happening to keep the production moving as we all work together to get more families into simple, decent, and affordable homes!
As we move through this season of Thanksgiving we are all incredibly thankful for the many blessings of dedicated and giving people surrounding us at Habitat MidOhio! Thank you for your service!
ReStore
Donate
Looking to declutter before the holidays this year? We would love to help! Visit our website to see a list of items we are able to accept and schedule a pickup for larger items by calling (614) 364-7028. Your donations directly support Habitat MidOhio and our work towards creating and maintaining affordable housing for families in our community. As a reminder, you can claim your donations as a tax deduction!
Shop
Come check out our stores for great deals! We have been fortunate to receive several large donations over these past few weeks. Our inventory changes daily and we have recently received new bathroom vanities, new flooring, new lighting and so much more. Stop in and check out everything we have available. Check out our Facebook and Instagram pages for all the unique and great items we have in the stores. If you can't make it in to the store, shop our eBay site!
Can’t make it into the store? Check out all the cool stuff at our eBay Store!
Desconstruction
Habitat for Humanity-Mid Ohio 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
1. Contact us to schedule a walkthrough of your project at cconley@habitatmidohio.org or 614-419-4389
2. Our experienced crew removes salvageable materials from your property
3. Materials go to the Habitat ReStore to help raise funds to build affordable housing
4. You receive a donation receipt for tax purposes
Volunteer Services
Volunteer Spotlight
Each month, we spotlight 2 volunteers who have gone above and beyond to support Habitat’s mission. Check out our website to view all of our recently spotlighted volunteers, including Bob VanVilet and Brandon Foley!
Women Build
Women Build #18 is scheduled to kickoff construction in early 2025! Individual volunteers and groups of up to 10 are needed! Reach out here to get more details!
The Branding Wearhouse is offering a seasonal promotion this year. This sale will run starting Thanksgiving Day (11/28/24) through Cyber Monday (12/2/24)! This is a great way to promote Habitat and the perfect holiday gift!
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
National Native American Heritage Month is celebrated each year in November. It is a time to celebrate the traditions, languages and stories of Native American and Alaska Native communities and ensure their rich histories and contributions continue to thrive with each passing generation. This November and every month, we celebrate the culture and heritage of these remarkable Americans who deeply enrich the quality and character of our Nation. We celebrate Indian Country with its remarkable diversity of American Indian and Alaska Native cultures and peoples while remembering and honoring our veterans who have sacrificed so much to defend our Nation.
Did you Know?
7.4 million
The nation’s American Indian and Alaska Native population alone or in combination with other race groups in 2023.
325
The number of distinct, federally recognized American Indian reservations in 2024, including federal reservations and off-reservation trust lands.
574
The number of federally recognized Indian tribes in 2024.
120,476
The number of single-race American Indian and Alaska Native veterans of the U.S. armed forces in 2023.
1916
The first American Indian Day was celebrated in May 1916 in New York.
Resource Development
Rock the Block with Gilbane
On Saturday, November 16, Habitat MidOhio was honored to host a Rock the Block with sponsor Gilbane. The neighborhood clean-up day was on Genessee Avenue where we have built, are currently building, and will be starting new homes in the near future! Volunteers from Gilbane and Habitat staff were excited to work alongside future Habitat homeowners and neighborhood residents for the day.
Meet the Team
Please join us in welcoming the newest member of the Habitat MidOhio team, Deb!
Deb is the newest member of the Finance team working as the Accounts Payable Specialist. She is excited to learn more about our mission and is ready to help revitalize our AP systems. Outside of work, Deb enjoys reading and traveling...reading more than 200 books each year!
Join us in welcoming Adafa to Habitat MidOhio.
Adafa will be a ReStore Team Member at our Westerville ReStore. Adafa saw this job as the perfect opportunity to expand his experience in retail and is most excited about meeting new people and helping others. He also wants to be as productive as possible while working. Outside of work, Adafa enjoys producing his own music on a digital audio workstation. Fun fact: He started producing music as a teenager!
