In case you haven't heard, we have some exciting news to share!  We are building TWO houses this year! 

One house is being built with Sophie and Ivan (Kelly) Marshall, and their children. This is an Apostle Build, which means that 14 area churches have come together to provide monetary donations, lunches, and devotions.

This family will build their home at the corner of Pike and Oak Streets in Alliance. The first build day will be Saturday, April 22nd, and will continue every Saturday until the build is complete.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Apostle Build will take place on Wednesday, April 5, at 5:30 p.m.  It is planned to be at the build site, weather permitting. The backup location is Christ United Methodist Church located at 470 E. Broadway Street.

The second house is being built with Donald and Sonya Wood and their grandchildren.  This house will be built just a few houses from our Apostle Build site, on Pike Street.

This build will begin May 6th and continue until complete. Both builds will run almost simultaneously.

The groundbreaking ceremony for this build is planned to be held at the build site (weather permitting) on Tuesday, April 11 at 6 p.m. The backup location for this ceremony is Christ United Methodist Church.

Our build days are on Saturdays throughout the spring and summer. We will need volunteers each Saturday beginning April 22nd through the month of July, with the exception of Memorial Day weekend.

If you are interested in volunteering to help build, call the Habitat office at 330-823-2448.

                                            The Ivan and Sophie (Kelly) Marshall Family

                                                                    The Wood Family

Mortgage Burning Ceremony

Join us in congratulating our partner families, the Lawson family and Barbara Alexander, for paying off their mortgages!   A mortgage burning ceremony was recently held in celebration of the two families for this milestone.  This makes a total of three families who have paid off their mortgages over the last year. 

 

The last couple of months have been a whirlwind at Alliance Habitat, planning and executing a successful "Building Homes, Building Hope" reverse raffle and benefit auction.  The event took place on October 24th at the Alliance Country Club, and it was a wonderful evening!

Thank you to the following sponsors of the event:

Platinum ($2,500) Sponsor:

Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA)

Silver ($500) Sponsors:

Ralph Betz & Sons

and

Robertson's Heating Supply

Bronze ($250) Sponsor:

Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home

Goris-Meadows/Ermlich Insurance Agencies

Rodman Capital Management

Wally Armour Chrysler Dodge Jeep

In other news, the Alliance Area Habitat Young Professionals chapter will be receiving half of the funds from the Turkey Trot this year.  This 5k walk/run begins and ends at Chives Grille.  

As you're doing your holiday shopping this season, think of Alliance Habitat!  We are one of 5 organizations being featured as a part of Carnation City Mall's Community Christmas Giveaway.  You can bring your receipt(s) from any Carnation City Mall store to the welcome center and your subtotal will be counted as votes for Alliance Habitat.  We're in it to win $3,000!

The contest begins on Black Friday (11/27) and runs through Christmas Eve.  You can help us win this contest! Happy Shopping!

The old adage "it takes a village" really does ring true.  Last weekend, we hosted our annual garage sale fundraiser.  A huge thank you goes out to the planning committee and all of the board members and volunteers who made the event possible.  It was a very successful fundraiser. We increased our earnings from last year; making well over $2,000.  One person's trash is another person's treasure.  Thanks also to the community members who stopped by the sale, found their treasures, and supported our mission.  We couldn't do it without our "village".  Thanks, Alliance!

Alliance Habitat Young Professionals

We are very excited to announce the formation of a Habitat Young Professionals group in Alliance!   Alliance Habitat Young Professionals is open to people ages 21-40 who live or work in Alliance. Dues are $35 per year.  

Members will enjoy the opportunity to showcase their talents and skills and take part in networking and professional development opportunities, all while raising funds and awareness for the Alliance Area Habitat for Humanity.

We are planning the group's first social meet up for mid-July.  Look for more information as it becomes available.

Have questions?  Call the Habitat office at 330-823-2448.

A Busy Week!

Excavation has begun on our 45th home build!  If all goes as planned, and the weather works in our favor, we are scheduled for our first volunteer build day THIS Saturday!

As we've been telling you, this year's build is an Apostle Build. This means that 14 area churches have come together to offer not only monetary donations, but also volunteers, lunches, and devotionals.  The first three churches will have the chance to volunteer this Saturday! 

This week also brings a Habitat fundraiser.  This Friday, May 1st, local trio Ladyface will perform a benefit concert at Don Pancho's. Proceeds will go to the Alliance Habitat.   We are EXCITED about this and ready for a fun night!  

There are still some tickets available. They're $5 in advance, and if there are still tickets available they will be $7 at the door the night of the show.  We're looking to max the banquet room out at about 200 people, but we need YOUR help to make that happen.  Silent auction items and a 50/50 raffle will also be available.  Those wishing to have dinner can do so (at their own expense), but are suggested to get reservations.  You won't want to miss this exciting fundraising event!   Thank you to our sponsor for the event: Dustin Burgess-Nationwide Insurance & Financial Services.

We are also excited to announce the formation of a Habitat Young Professionals group in Alliance.  This is a network of young professionals ages 21-40 who live or work in Alliance.  Alliance Area Habitat Young Professionals (AAHYP) members are committed to the vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Members support and contribute to the Alliance Area Habitat for Humanity's mission of eliminating poverty housing.

AAHYP will work closely with the Alliance Area Habitat for Humanity through fundraising efforts, volunteer build days, social and networking events, and more.

AAHYP membership dues ($35 per year) and fundraising profits are used to fund the construction of Alliance area Habitat homes.  More info about the group can be found here.

It's a very busy, but very exciting, time here at the Alliance Habitat!

Groundbreaking Ceremony

On Wednesday, April 8th, a ceremonial groundbreaking event was held for the 2015 Apostle's Build.  The event was one of the first opportunities for this year's partner family to meet and talk with representatives from the 14 area churches that are sponsoring this year's build.

The event was held in the fellowship hall of the Christ United Methodist Church. Although no one was able to actually dig in the dirt, the symbolic importance of the event was clear.

The excitement in the room was evident -- both in the church representatives and the partner family.   JR, Ann, and their two children are eager to start the building process, and were very excited for this symbolic beginning of that process.  The couple's daughter Aubreeana as all smiles, thanking each church representative as they shared a unique blessing with the family, and their son Jayden was following his sister's lead. The blessings included that of comfort, contentment, faith, happiness, hope, endurance, hospitality, joy, laughter, shelter, peace and love.

Thanking the 14 area churches involved this year doesn't seem like quite enough for the amount of, not only funds, but volunteers and support that each are offering. We hope that they know how appreciated they are and how lucky the AAHFH --and the Alliance community -- is to have them.

A special thanks should also go out to Lowes in Alliance, who graciously donated 15 shovels to the AAHFH.  We were then able to give each participating church, and the partner family, a shovel to keep. The company has been -- and continues to be -- extremely supportive of our organization. For that we are truly grateful.  In the photo to the right, you can see Lowe's representative Carlton Jarrett taking a picture of the family and church reps while they pose with the shovels.  A close-up of the family and church reps can be seen below.

A huge thank you goes out to everyone who attended the groundbreaking ceremony.  We hope you all enjoy this process as much as we do!   As we plan for the actual excavation and build process, we can say without hesitation -- the excitement is (always!) building.