Local volunteers join women across the United States to build affordable housing in their communities

More than 10,000 women are expected to volunteer at Habitat for Humanity construction sites across the country in recognition of National Women Build Week, May 4-12. Now in its sixth year, National Women Build Week challenges women to devote at least one day to help build affordable housing in their local communities.

On May 4, volunteers from Colorado Springs, including Lowe’s Heroes will work on Pikes Peak Habitat’s Cucharras and Institute project.

WHAT: Local Women Build day in recognition of National Women Build Week

WHEN: SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

8:30 am Construction begins and remarks from Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity

12 pm- 1pm Lunch break

1 pm Construction begins and remarks from Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity

4:30 pm Construction ends

WHERE: Corner of Cucharras and Institute (840 E. Cucharras/ 136 S. Institute) Colorado Springs, Colorado

WHY: Habitat’s National Women Build program recruits, educates and inspires women to build and advocate for simple, decent and affordable houses in their communities. Lowe’s, the underwriter of Habitat’s Women Build program donated more than $1.75 million to 300 Habitat affiliates across the United States during National Women Build Week.

Kyler owns a wood finishing business named Crown 1, Inc., and Leah is a natural childbirth doula and homeschools the children (Lane shared that she is the best teacher!). Both kids are very active and love to be outdoors. Lane enjoys playing the violin, reading and practicing his archery skills,
and Claire likes ballet, reading and play dates.

They are looking forward to not only building their house, but also contributing to the well-being of other families and helping develop their community. Kyler and Leah are committed to “paying it forward in every way we can.”

Many thanks to Thrivent Builds for their continued support! We are thrilled to provide the Strand family with this opportunity.

Nancy Albertson (right) from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans spoke at the March 10th ground blessing, while neighbors, friends, Habitat board members and staff braved the cold weather to celebrate with the family.

Our volunteers complete 90% of the work on each Habitat home built in El Paso County.

Each project includes building the foundation, the floors, framing the walls, installing the insulation, doors, windows and siding, painting, and completing the roof – all done by volunteers.

On average, it takes nearly 3,000 hours to build a house. Between July 2011 and June 2012, PPHFH was blessed with hosting over 4,600 volunteers who contributed 26,200 hours constructing Habitat homes and working on committees. All of this time dedicated by the volunteers saved Habitat nearly $193,000 in wages. The money saved keeps the cost of the home low for the families and goes directly to supporting the building of more homes for local families.

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered. You are making dreams come true!
 

Last year 200,000 TONS of used building materials were diverted from landfills by 750 Habitat ReStores across America. A vintage VW beetle weighs about one ton. Picture 200,000 VW beetles parked on 300 football fields. That’s a lot of recycling!

Speaking of cars, did you know you can donate your unwanted vehicle to Habitat?
Call 877.277.4344 or visit www.carsforhomes.org.

 
 
 
Our ReStore in Colorado Springs is a 31,500 sq ft warehouse (almost three-quarters of a football field) packed with new and slightly used building materials for sale to the public. Items and material are priced at 50-70% below retail. It is a self-sustaining fundraising entity to benefit Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity. When you support the ReStore, you help Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity build more homes.

If you’ve been to our ReStore, you know the great bargains that you can find for your DIY home projects — lumber, windows, hardwood and laminate flooring, electrical, tile, plumbing, doors, cabinets, hardware, lighting, carpet, and much more. Many customers will tell you that it’s hard to leave there empty-handed. And there are plenty of items for your craft ideas, too. Are you into upcycling and repurposing items? Use tiles to create personalized coasters or trivets. Cabinet doors and a couple handles make handsome trays. Refinish an old kitchen cabinet and add some legs and a cushion for a stylish bench seat.

The ReStore also relies on volunteers to maintain its operations. Last fiscal year 5,044 volunteers donated 20,519 hours at the ReStore. Calculated at the Colorado Springs minimum wage of $7.36, volunteers saved the ReStore over $12,000 per month, or $144,000 per year. If you’d like to volunteer, please contact Martha Lewis at 719.667.0840 ext. 303 or email volunteer@habitatrestorepp.com.

The ReStore is located at 411 S. Wahsatch Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80903, and is open Monday through Saturday 9am to 5pm. Donations are accepted from 9:30am to 4:30pm. For donation guidelines and more information including scheduling a pick-up, call 719.667.0840 or visit the ReStore website.