The "Blue Sky Build" Has Begun

From June 30 to July 16, 350 volunteers from around the world will help build homes for the people of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia as part of the "Blue Sky Build." Eight of those volunteers are from Orange County.

Our group has been anxiously awaiting the day we begin building Habitat for Humanity homes and that day came. Yesterday morning we gathered to make our way to the site and you can sense the excitement from the group. We were ready to get our hands dirty and begin working.

There's so much more to share, but I have to make my way to the site again. It's Tuesday here and it's 8:07 a.m., which means it's time to build. I will share more in the next post.

Global Village Trip to Mongolia

Last week we left Orange County and traveled many hours to Mongolia. Upon arrival we got a crash course on how to speak Mongolian and how to maneuver through the traffic. Traffic lights and cross walks are merely a suggestion as traffic never really stops.

We traveled to the Gobi Desert for miles on off roads since there aren't any roads. We stayed in gers (felt-lined tents) for two nights, which was quite an amazing experience as the wind howls and the rain comes down. Horses were our mode of transportation once we arrived to our camp site. We rode the horses into the mountains and the Gobi Glacier.

We have not forgotten why we traveled miles away to Mongolia. We're here on a mission. We're here to build Habitat for Humanity homes and offer families the stability that comes from owning a home. Things are definitely different here and I will explain more on that in another post.

Sincerely,
Sharon
Habitat OC CEO

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.

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.

The People's Fleet

I'm happy to announce that Habitat for Humanity of Orange County is partnering with The People’s Fleet™ project highlighting community-minded young adults involved with Habitat OC. Recently launched, The People’s Fleet™ is using a nation-wide social media platform to increase awareness of a generation inspired to transform lives and communities. The project is also awarding short-term use of new, economical vehicles, enabling young people to achieve their goals more easily.

Aimee Sibet, 25, Volunteer Coordinator, serves as Habitat OC’s main featured personality on The People’s Fleet™ website and social media sites. Aimee was an AmeriCorps volunteer with Habitat OC for a year before her recent hire. Her strong values and life-long dedication to helping others is truly inspirational. Aimee, a graduate of Seattle Pacific University, decided to work with Habitat OC because she believes that living in a home owned by a family is extremely important for children. She cites her parents as excellent role models in assuring that she and her siblings had a simple, decent home to live in during their school years.

Being chosen for The People’s Fleet is not only exciting, it’s perfect timing. This October is one of our busiest months. The car is being used by the young people working in Habitat OC’s volunteer coordination department as we continue to build, search for families and work with volunteers. We’re very pleased!

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube!

S.E.

The Beat Goes On at the Everest Build

Hi All! Evertyhing is going well. Weather is quite warm but we have learned to trim bamboo and we can weave the stuff as well. Great team with several New Zealanders on our team. Great workers. Richard is in heaven and seems to be enjoying every minute. Lots of opportunities for adaptation. Today is the last full day of building so we are elbow deep in slurry and mud (see photo of Anne working hard.) We are hoping to get a primer coat on the outside today. It's hard to describe the beauty of this place. Pictures don't do it justice.

As the Everest Build comes to an end, we are preparing to participate in a celebration in a nearby park that includes a visit from the President of Nepal (very big deal since until recently, Nepal had a king). We were told that the President has never been to western Nepal region before. It should be a great event.

More to come.

S.E.

Second Day of the Everest Build

Any of you who have ever worked with Richard on the construction site know he is a great construction supervisor, but learning to build with bamboo certainly has its challenges. After all, if we are going to weave every wall in the 18' by 18' home we had to have pliable bamboo, thin enough to weave. Wow, what an adventure. Even Richard was out there with a sickle trimming bamboo as we were all working to get the entire house woven by the end of the day so they could apply the corrugated aluminum roof. With the hot temperature and high humidity, we had our work cut out for us.

Although we have a few high areas to finish tomorrow, we managed to get the walls almost completely woven – and lived to tell about.

Today was World Habitat Day so we all had work shirts from our respective affiliates and had flags hung near each home. Our house had the New Zealand and USA flag - quite a colorful day!

Lunch again on the top of our mountain and back down the hill around 4:30 PM – a little more tired today. I'm sure every muscle in my body will be talking to me when I wake up tomorrow morning :)

S.E.

Pokhara

What an adventure to travel from our hotel in Kathmandu to the airport. Once there, getting our tickets and passing through security took some time. But once we were in the terminal, we were excited to begin our adventure at the Everest Build.

Once we arrived in Pokhara, we were separated from our luggage, which went off to our respective hotels while we were transported to the Mountain Museum and a Habitat Welcome. Children greeted us with Namaste (welcome, hello) flowers and scarves commemorating the Everest Build. Mountain Museum was great, kids were wonderful and dinner (served in the middle of an open field) was lovely. We were entertained by children from a partnering organization - SOS Children Villages - who entertained us with beautiful folk dances from regions of Nepal. Time to go back to our hotel and get some rest.

Mount Everest

Habitat for Humanity Nepal representatives took us into the city of Kathmandu. It was a wild ride into the city as there are no lanes to speak of, and if they did exist, no one pays any attention to them. Whether it's a bus, van, truck, small tractor, little truck, motor scooter, bicycle or pedestrian, they all seem to share the road with give and take. It made the 405 look like a Sunday drive!!

Adelle and I took the first three days in Nepal to explore the ancient Buddhist and Hindu shrines in the Kathmandu Valley. There were markets and getting to see some of the handicrafts made by local artists was very interesting. The highlight of three days was definitely our 6:45 AM (local time) flight around Mount Everest! It was breathtaking and we were able to take photos in the cockpit. The stewardess opened the door to the cockpit and invited each of us (18) to come forward one at a time for a panoramic scene of the range. I think we were both humbled by the majesty of the Himalayan Mountains and were blessed to have this chance to see Mt. Everest - as we both know we will never climb it.

Once back at our hotel, we met up with Richard Martinez, Jaymie Fisher and Anne Thorward for a pleasant lunch. Then Richard, our house leader, flew on to Pokhara to prep for the build. We will be flying out tomorrow morning - so more to come...

Habitat OC meets Nepal

Five volunteers from Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, California have traveled to Nepal to be a part of the Everest Build. The Everest Build 2010 will celebrate more than a decade of Habitat’s work in the mountainous nation of Nepal. Hundreds of volunteers from all over the world will join together to shine a light on the scourge of substandard housing and demonstrate what can be accomplished when families, communities and nations come together to build a future where every man, woman and child has a decent place to live. Everest Build 2010 volunteers will focus on building at least 30 houses in one week in a community near the city of Pokhara.

Our groups consists of the following people:

• Jaymie Fisher, Director of Volunteer Services & Special Events
• Richard Martinez, Construction Site Supervisor
• Anne Thorward, Habitat OC Supporter
• Adelle Yeaton, Habitat OC Supporter
• and me, Sharon Ellis, Executive Director

Jaymie and Richard just joined Anne, Adelle and me in Kathmandu. Here's what Jaymie has to say about that -- After 30+ hours of travel we finally made it to Kathmandu, Nepal. WOW!!! I will spend a day and a half here and then leave Saturday for Pokhara, Nepal. That will be our base for building. Thank you for all the positive thoughts. Namaste!

Stay tuned for more on our travel adventures in Nepal's capital and largest city in Nepal, Kathmandu.

The Chair Builds a Home

Hello again, friends! I apologize for missing a couple of entries; we've been busy this month. While I was away from the blog, I had time to think about what my next entry and I decided to write about our chair of board of directors, Brett Mansfield.

Brett has been a board member since 2006 and became board chair in 2009. In that time, he's been an active participant in the organization and has joined us at our construction sites. In fact, he recently stopped by the Fullerton site. So Brett, what's going on in Fullerton?


Interested in volunteering? Join us! I also invite you to get to know our Board of Directors. Until next time...

Orange County is Going Green!

Habitat for Humanity of Orange County is working hard to Go Green as we fulfill our mission of changing lives and changing communities in Orange County. We continue to implement more and more green construction methods on our homebuilding sites. And our Habitat ReStores and DeConstruct Services offer local residents unique opportunities to preserve our environment by recycling while they help the families we serve.

Take part in ensuring a beautiful environment for future generations of Orange County residents. Don’t know where to start? Let Habitat for Humanity of Orange County help you begin your GO GREEN journey. Did you know that changing your impact on the environment from negative to positive can all start within your own home or business?

When you remodel don’t be in the red, instead GO GREEN!
It can cost a pretty penny to have old items removed from your home or business during a remodel or demolish. Instead of having your items sit in a landfill forever allow Habitat’s DeConstruct Services come prior to your remodel or demolition and remove qualified items. Qualified items DeConstruct Services will pick up are: appliances, kitchen cabinets, exterior and interior lights. The removed items will then be taken to a local Habitat Restore, in Santa Ana or Garden Grove, where your trash will become someone else’s treasure! By recycling your items you not only are allowing someone else to benefit from your previous items but also contributing to building affordable housing for hard working families.

Make the Greener choice!
Habitat’s ReStore Discount Home Improvement Centers in Orange County offer you the greener choice when shopping for replacement appliances and home furnishings. All ReStores are open to the public and allow customers to shop for deeply discounted appliances and home furnishings. The Habitat ReStores recycle by selling donated items which are gently used to new customers. Orange County has ReStore locations in both Santa Ana and Garden Grove with a total combined 280,000 square foot shopping space. Proceeds from the Habitat ReStore’s are used to build affordable homes for hard working families who are seeking home ownership.

Who knew that being Green could be so easy when teaming up with Habitat for Humanity of Orange County DeConstruct Services? This winning combination benefits YOU, future homeowners, and Habitat for Humanity of Orange County.