Back home from Cambodia

I have returned from my Global Village trip to Cambodia and am full of joy. On Friday, we finished with the build and ended the day with a home dedication. Home dedications are always one of the most amazing Habitat for Humanity events. At a home dedication you get to witness the family receiving the key to their home and the excitement it brings them to become homeowners. It is truly an incredible thing to see.

The home Adelle and I helped build was for a family of four: mom, dad, and two daughters. Both parents are orphans, so having a home built for them is a dream come true. I was lucky enough to see the family walk into their completed home for the first time and it was incredible. The little girls were excited to no longer have to live on a dumpsite. Can you imagine having to live on a dumpsite? I'm happy Habitat for Humanity was able to help them move off the dumpsite and is giving all of the families the tools to succeed in their new homes. If you would like to learn more about my trip, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Sharon
Executive Director
Habitat for Humanity of Orange County
ExecutiveDirector@HabitatOC.org

Building a garden and courtyard in Cambodia

Besides helping build 22 homes in Cambodia, Adelle and I are helping construct a garden and courtyard around the community center. We're using the same bricks that the homes are made of and it is looking quite lovely.

The bricks are made primarily from the local soil mixed with a little cement and sand. Then, it's all mixed in a large rotary miner usually used to mix clay. Once mixed, it's poured into molds, dried, released from the mold and cured for 16 days.

Time is flying and we can't believe how much work is being done. Stay tuned to see the end result!

-Sharon

Habitat OC meets Cambodia

Adelle Yeaton (a Habitat OC supporter) and I have traveled from Orange County, California to Cambodia to build 22 Habitat homes. We arrived in Cambodia on Sunday and were greeted by the Habitat Cambodia team. Once we got settled at the Hotel Cambodiana, we went for a walk along the promenade which parallels the Mekong River (which we can see from out hotel window.) Phnom Pehn is such an interesting city – it looks very European with wide boulevards and traffic circles. Grand palaces and incredible poverty sit side by side.

Today we started building 22 homes for families who used to live on a huge dumpsite. There have been significant changes each family has had to undertake since part of the process for becoming a Habitat homeowner in this program required the families to move from the dump site to a cleaner, safer location. This was especially difficult for the families since their former way of making a living was scavenging. Due to the change in location, the families were taught new skills: raising crops and animals. This is an ongoing transition as they are not only changing where they live but how they live. While the homes are built, the families have been building their new skills necessary to successful raise crops and animals and living in temporary facilities.

Before we began building today, we took a tour of the dumpsite and found the sheer scope of it hard to comprehend. There are over a thousand families living as scavengers in the dump area. Children run barefoot and many are naked as they climb over mounds of trash. Women spend the day separating plastic bags which are gathered, bagged and shipped to China where they are recycled. We’re happy to be in Cambodia helping build the homes of 22 families that will no longer have to call the dumpsite home. We hope to be able to do the same for all of the families that are still living there.

Stay tuned to keep reading about our time in Cambodia!

Sharon
Executive Director
Habitat for Humanity of Orange County

Royal Newlyweds Applaud Habitat for Humanity's Plan to Reach out to Veterans

On Sunday, July 10th, 2011, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, met with two senior leaders from Habitat for Humanity during their visit to the Service Nation: Mission Serve Veterans Job Fair held at Sony Pictures Studios. The Habitat for Humanity representatives shared with the Royal Highnesses Habitat's plan to actively engage veterans. The Royal Couple was delighted when presented with the personalized hard hats that created specifically for a future King and Queen.

The event dubbed, "Hiring Our Heroes" invited a number of local veterans who were seeking employment to visit with employers with the hope of finding a good fit. More than 2,000 veterans, military spouses, servicemembers and employers turned out to exchange resumes, set up interviews, and assemble care packages for children whose parents are about to deploy overseas to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Habitat for Humanity of Orange County initiated the Habitat for Heroes and Foundations for Families™ program in 2007. The pilot program has been completed in beautiful San Juan Capistrano where active military, veterans, disabled vets, and local families are thriving in their new community. This successful program is slated for three more Orange County cities: Cypress, Santa Ana and La Habra.

This cause is close to Prince William's heart. The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry is the Princes' primary charitable vehicle and one of its core aims is to raise awareness and support for the servicemembers who put their lives on the line for their countries. With more than one million veterans facing homelessness due to poverty, lack of support and dismal living conditions, Habitat for Humanity is reaching out nationally to meet the changing needs of U.S. military veterans and their communities.

To learn more about our Habitat for Heroes and Foundations for Families™, please contact us. Tweet us @HabitatOC or Facebook us @HabitatOC to share your ideas on how we can continue to serve the military community. If you would like to learn more about Habitat OC's services and programs, please visit http://habitatoc.org/.

*Information shared by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles

Spring Cleaning

Spring is here and with it comes spring cleaning. The March issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, suggests getting rid of everything that is weighing down your life and bringing in fresh exciting things to replace them.

Do you have an older car, truck, van, trailer, RV or boat taking up valuable space in your yard? Donate it to our Cars for Homes program. Your donation will support Habitat for Humanity’s local and global mission of eliminating poverty housing and save you the time and energy of finding a buyer. By donating a car to our vehicle donation program, you can help Habitat for Humanity of Orange County build houses in partnership with families in need of a hand up, not a hand out.

It is quick and easy to donate cars, trucks, boats, RV’s, motorcycles, construction equipment and other vehicles-running or not! Plus, you may be eligible for a tax deduction. (Consult your tax advisor or the IRS for details.)

To donate a car, truck, boat or RV to Cars for Homes™ - Habitat’s official car donation program, call (877) 277-4344 toll free or visit http://www.carsforhomes.org/ and let us take care of the rest. It’s a convenient way to support Habitat for Humanity of Orange County and create more space in your driveway!

Your "problem" can become part of the solution!

Used Cars. New Homes. New beginnings.

Update on Our Campaign to Save Affordable Housing

Unfortunately, the Budget Conference Committee has voted to eliminate $1 billion in annual funding for affordable housing that assists California Habitat affiliates in procuring land for low-income homeownership housing. All is not lost.

Senator DeSaulnier has proposed an amendment that balances California’s budget and protects affordable housing as a core service. Now is the time to ask Governor Brown and your legislators to include this proposal in the final budget. Read our full proposal.

How can you help? Please contact Governor Brown and your legislators today.

Call Governor Brown's office (Here’s a script to help).
State Capitol office: 916.445.2841 -- if line is busy, try the following field offices
Los Angeles field office: 213.897.0322
San Francisco field office: 415.703.2218

Send a message to the Governor directly: Governor Brown’s contact page.

Call your legislators (Here’s a script to help).
Visit this website to look up your legislators.

Last, there is still time to sign our petition.

Thank you for helping save affordable housing in California!

Rally for Affordable Housing

Sharon Ellis, our Executive Director, is in in Sacramento to meet with Assembly member Diane Harkey and members of Senator Tom Harman's office to discuss Governor Brown's proposal to eliminate all Redevelopment Agencies in the State of California. While there, she participated in a rally put together by Housing California to oppose this proposal. If this proposal succeeds, our ability to build homes in Orange County will be severely impacted.

If you believe as we do that the funding for affordable housing provided by Redevelopment Agencies should be preserved, please act today.

Help us continue building in Orange County

Governor Brown has proposed eliminating all Redevelopment Agencies in the State of California. If this proposal succeeds, our ability to build homes in Orange County will be severely impacted. Since opening our doors in 1988, our ability to build homes in Orange County has been based upon our partnerships with Redevelopment Agencies. In fact, 96% of the homes we have built in Orange County have been based upon our partnership with Redevelopment Agencies. If you believe as we do that the funding for affordable housing provided by Redevelopment Agencies should be preserved, please act today.

Connecting Families to More Opportunities

Nineteen very excited families gathered at the Toshiba America Information Systems (TAIS) offices in Irvine this summer to receive brand new laptop computers, courtesy of the TAIS technology sponsorship with Habitat OC.

TAIS created this innovative technology sponsorship after they heard about the laptops that were stolen from Habitat’s San Juan Capistrano construction site during the summer of 2009. They immediately stepped forward to replace those computers, and since then have given laptops to many families purchasing new Habitat homes in Orange County, and some who have lived in their Habitat homes for some time.

TAIS and Toshiba America Business Solutions (TABS) are strong supporters of Habitat’s work in Orange County. In addition to providing laptops to families, TAIS and TABS are helping to build homes with their pledge of $250,000 as a Whole House Sponsor in San Juan Capistrano, and their volunteer service on the construction site.

Miguel Escobedo is happy that Toshiba is so involved with Habitat. "I'm starting Cal State Fullerton and a new computer will help me a lot with my homework," said Miguel as he received his new Toshiba laptop. Miguel, whose family purchased their Habitat home in Santa Ana in 2003, will be the first in his family to attend college. He plans to study engineering.

Thanks to Toshiba, the laptops are connecting the Escobedo family – and many others -- to some new educational and job opportunities.