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.

Spring Has Sprung

As a new homeowner, there are often many first-time experiences, exciting happenings, and expensive endeavors.  From fixing leaky faucets, to painting walls, to cleaning and maintaining the property or purchasing new appliances -- new or first-time homeowners may not be aware of all of the work that goes into owning a home. When you're renting, someone else is responsible for fixing any issues that arise. When you own a home --  that person is YOU.   It's exciting and scary, all at the same time.

As the weather begins to show us signs of spring, it's a perfect time to begin talking about yard maintenance and landscaping.  Your yard -- specifically your front yard -- is the first thing that visitors and passersby see. Make that first impression gorgeous with the help of the following tips and tricks!

Mowing Grass:  It may surprise you that there's more to cutting grass than starting the lawn mower and pushing it across your lawn. Both mowing height and frequency are important to the health of your grass.  For instance, did you know that mowing with a low blade height removes nutrients stored in leaf blades and exposes the soil to sunlight, allowing weeds to take hold more easily?  It also helps to mow in different directions each time you cut the grass.   Grass develops a grain based on your cutting direction, tending to lean toward the direction you mow.  Alternating the pattern causes more upright growth and helps avoid producing ruts in the lawn.  Other quick tips from Lowes include:

• Mow when the grass is dry. The blades will be upright and less likely to clump when cut.
• Avoid mowing in the heat of the day to prevent heat stress on your grass and yourself.
• Keep mower blades sharp and balanced. Ragged cuts made by dull blades increase the chance of disease and pests.
• Mow moving forward, whether you're pushing a walk-behind mower or sitting behind the wheel of a lawn tractor.
• Discharge the clippings (unless you bag them) towards the area you have already cut.
• Leave clippings on the lawn unless they form clumps or rows. This technique (known as grass cycling) returns nutrients and nitrogen to the lawn.
• Consider using a mulching mower or mulching attachments.
• If you bag your clippings, consider composting them.
• Mow grass higher in shaded areas under trees. In these areas grass has to compete with tree roots for water and nutrients.
• Reduce mowing frequency and raise the mowing height of cool-season grasses when hot, dry weather slows their growth rate.

Fertilizing Grass: All lawns require feeding throughout the year for proper nourishment and growth.  Check out this video for information on choosing a fertilizer and tips on how to properly fertilize your lawn.

Gardening:   Planting a vegetable garden is not only a healthy option, it can often save you money! But when should you start the process?  How do you know what to plant?   According to sources such as HGTV and Better Homes and Gardens, soil is officially ready for gardening once it is free of ice crystals and crumbles easily.  Common early spring crops are peas, spinach, lettuces and leeks.  Follow those crops with ones like broccoli, radishes, kale and onions.     More tips and tricks can be found at this website.     More interested in planting flowers than veggies?   Not sure which flowers to plant when?  This might help! 

The Alliance Habitat is fortunate enough to have numerous volunteers with "green thumbs" who come together to landscape our homeowners' lawn(s) toward the end of each build, which gives our homeowners a wonderful jumping off point to maintain a gorgeous lawn for years to come!   If you would like to assist with the landscaping -- or any other part -- of our builds, let us know!   Our organization runs on volunteers like YOU!      

Spring is an important time for us here at Habitat.  The groundbreaking ceremony for this year's Apostle's Build will take place this week, and excavation is scheduled to begin at the end of April.  The excitement is building in our process of working with the 14 area churches taking part in this build, and the generous community members who support us!

 Happy Spring!

Welcome!

Hi Everyone, 

Welcome to the Alliance Area Habitat for Humanity's new blog!   It's Amanda here, the Executive Director of the organization.  I'll be posting regular updates here about things that are going on with Habitat, important information/issues, and more.  Keep checking back.  The feed for this blog will be on our website, at www.allianceareahabitat.org, and will be posted to our Facebook page.  You'll enjoy numerous ways to follow our posts to learn more about our organization and what YOU can do to help the Alliance community.


I'd like to begin by introducing you to our current partner family, Kenneth Lott, Jr., his fiance Ann Smith, and their two children, Aubreeana and Jayden.

This year's build is an Apostle Build, which means that 14 area churches are coming together to provide not only monetary donations, but also numerous volunteers, devotionals, and more.  We are all very excited to start the process in late April/early May.


The 14 churches involved in this years build are: Abiding Savior Lutheran, Beechwood UMC, Bethel UCC, Christ UMC, First Christian, First Immanuel UCC, First United Presbyterian, Grace Community, Reading Church of the Brethren, Science Hill, Spirit of Faith Christian Center, St. Paul's Lutheran, Union Avenue UMC, and Well Spring.  A HUGE thank you goes out to each of these churches for their assistance in making this build possible.


Our partner family got a chance to meet with representatives from the churches last night at the Apostle build monthly meeting.  Both Kenneth Jr. (who likes to be called JR) and Ann are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Habitat.  Jayden (age 6) is eager to finally have his own room!  He currently shares with his older sister Aubreeana (age 9).  He's ready to have a space of his own, as is his sister. They are both looking forwarding to helping however they can with the build.

The family has already begun their sweat equity hours, and have started the process of making decisions on their home such as siding and shutter colors.   The excitement really is building!