Did you know that you can designate a donation to your favorite charity on your Oregon personal income tax returns? The Oregon Charitable Checkoff Program offers an easy way to designate any amount you choose to help Habitat for Humanity build more homes for hardworking Oregon families in 2010. We are asking our members to designate $10 or more for Habitat in 2010. Make your $10 make a difference for 10 more hardworking Oregon families in 2010 by helping us build 10 more Habitat for Humanity homes in our state. And ask your friends and family to do the same!

Following is a letter written by the oldest son of the Sirvajanakul family who worked with Oregon Habitat volunteers in Chaing Mai to construct their first home

Firstly, I would like to thank God for giving us the best thing for our family. We have a very warm family. We are not rich but my parents try to give me anything that I want. They do their best to get it to me. In fact, the best thing to me is my family, the warmth, the sincerity, love.

Currently, we are living at the row building house. It is used as a church. We have 30-50 members. Most of us are hill-tribe villagers. We are all happy to be with God together.

When we look around us, we only see the best things that God gives our family. We are always praying that one day we will have a secure house. Finally, our wish that we are praying for everyday is coming true through the help of the Jimmy and Roslyn Carter Work Project by Habitat for Humanity.

We pray for all volunteers, staff, and all the neighbors that dedicate their time, they’re kind to our family.  We are very happy to have our own house. God bless you for everything you do.

The love of God.

The Sirivajanakul Family

Willamette West Habitat’s Anna Wendt crosses oceans and landmasses to arrive at the Carter Work Project in Chiang Mai

Imagine travelling for nearly 30 hours straight, crossing more time zones than your mind can keep track of, looking like death warmed over and feeling a bit like it to boot! Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?! Well, that was me on November 13^th (and thanks to time zone changes and sheer flight time, it was me on November 14^th and 15^th!) as I departed Oregon to volunteer with the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Work Project in Chiang Mai, Thailand. While the process of getting there doesn’t register in most people’s minds as being “fun” or even “remotely tolerable,” the fact is that each questionable airline meal (“tuna floss” was one such goody that I found on my plate), every single hour of sleep lost and even the last strand of sanity that disappeared when trying to navigate the red tape at the airport was utterly and completely worth it.

I was travelling to Thailand to represent my affiliate, Willamette West Habitat, where I’m on staff as the Family Services/Volunteer Coordinator. Our affiliate helped sponsor House #76, along with other Habitat affiliates from the state of Oregon. It was my first overseas build project, and I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the trip. I’ll admit I was nervous when the first thing I saw in the volunteer manual was that breakfast would be served from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.! Despite the early mornings, I couldn’t help but be filled with a sense of excitement about what the days ahead would bring: Habitat’s mission is one that I feel strongly about and I was eager to see its significance overseas.

Poverty in Southeast Asia is endemic, and the drive from the hotel to the worksite offered proof enough with the many corrugated tin shanties lining the sides of the road, some with gaping holes exposing the interior for the rest of the world to see. A few of the future homeowners were telling us about the living conditions they’re escaping—windowless apartments, living in a church with 30 to 50 other people, etc. I couldn’t help but feel distraught when thinking about the injustices I had been witness to, but my thoughts turned to the positive when I thought about the impact that the 2,000 volunteers in Thailand were able to make. Over the course of the week, we ALL came together—Habitat volunteers, staff and future homeowners—to build 82 homes and help give a hand up to those who needed it.

When I reflect on the time that I spent volunteering in Thailand, my first thought is how meaningful it was to take part in a cause that was bigger than the sum of its parts. Being a part of Habitat, I know I am lending a hand in the global fight against poverty housing, and every step forward we can take is invaluable. I think it’s safe to say everyone walked away not just wondering where the next Carter Project will be, but how they’re going to get there.

Newberry Habitat for Humanity has been awarded over $78,000 from the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, which will allow them to build an extra home next year in La Pine. Click here to watch the KOHD news report on the great work that Newberry Habitat for Humanity is doing.

Click here to read Habitat for Humanity of Oregon’s December newsletter.

Newberry Habitat hopes to build three homes in La Pine in 2010, which means tripling its average annual output. In the coming year, this increased effort will be assisted by grants from the Thrivent program of the Lutheran Church (ELCA), The Meyer Memorial Trust, The Ford Family Foundation and Loewe’s. In addition, Newberry Habitat hopes to soon announce the receipt of funding which will allow the purchase of a second subdivided property within the city. As well as these grants, continued generous support from local businesses and individual donors is vital to keep this program moving forward.

In January, in order to help support expanded efforts in La Pine, Newberry Habitat will open a ReStore in an existing building on Highway 97 in the Wickiup Junction area. The ReStore will sell donated building materials and used fixtures, appliances and furniture along with other construction and household items. To spot the location, watch for a big sign along the roadside. It should be up before the end of the year.

As of now, Newberry Habitat is looking for expanded community participation to build its volunteer labor pool for home construction, staffing the ReStore and contributing donations of items for the store. Until a new office and phone are established in La Pine, those interested in learning more can call the existing Newberry Habitat for Humanity office at 503-593-5005.

Oregon’s 1000th Habitat for Humanity Home within Sight

Springfield/Eugene Neighborhood has been chosen for Oregon’s 1000th Habitat for Humanity Home

(Portland, OR) An ambitious goal of building 1000 Habitat for Humanity homes in Oregon by 2010 is within reach for the statewide organization. Earlier this month a site in Meyer Estates, a 10-house development in Springfield, was chosen and a hardworking local family was paired with the planned home. “We are so honored to be associated with this important milestone,” said Don Griffin, Executive Director of the Springfield/Eugene Habitat for Humanity affiliate, who will head up the planning and construction of the 1000th home. “We’re proud of the fact that in the last 19 years we’ve built more than 40 homes for families in this community. Knowing that we are a part of such an impressive statewide total makes our work that much more meaningful.”

A dedication and celebration date of October 10, 2010 has been chosen for the 1000th home, which is realistic but will require an efficient build schedule. The community is coming together to build the 1000th Home and to do their best to ensure that the timeline is adhered to. In addition to fundraising and strategic partnership development by Habitat for Humanity of Oregon, additional materials, volunteers, and grants will come from the City of Springfield HOME program, Habitat for Humanity volunteers, and several centers of faith. Because of the extensive commitment by faith communities, the project has been named an Apostles Build.

“A lot of hard work and a lot of amazing people have helped get us to this point,” said Patricia Day TenEyck, Executive Director of HfHO. “But the reality is that Oregon has thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of hardworking families still living in substandard housing. We won’t stop with 1000 homes. Affiliates across the state have accepted Habitat for Humanity of Oregon’s challenge to build the next 1000 homes by 2020. That’s 1000 more homes in 15 fewer years than the first 1000. But I believe we’re all up for the challenge. In fact, we’ll keep building until all hardworking Oregon families have a safe, decent and affordable home.”

Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit Ecumenical Christian housing organization, has been working in Oregon for 25 years. In that time, the default rate on mortgages has been less than 1%, lower than the national average. In addition to making regular mortgage payments, Habitat for Humanity partner families contribute 500 hours of labor on their own or other partner family homes. By providing a hand up, not a hand out, the Habitat for Humanity program maintains the dignity and pride of homeowner families.

HFHO will be the host of a one day “Focus on the Future” conference on Saturday, October 18, 2008 in Salem, OR.  The conference will allow Habitat for Humanity affiliates from the northwest to come together to network, share their experiences and learn from experts.  HFHO will also be announcing the beginning of a statewide marketing campaign – “1000th Home Campaign.”  Currently, the 33 Habitat affiliates in Oregon have built 797 homes across the state.  They have projected that by the end of 2010 they will be building their 1000th home for hardworking Oregon families. “We want to use this milestone event as a way to raise awareness of our work around Oregon and in your own community,” Patricia Day TenEyck, Executive Director, HFHO said.

Habitat for Humanity of Oregon’s New Revolving Loan Seeded by the State (April 9, 2008 — Portland, OR)

Habitat for Humanity of Oregon (HfHO), a local nonprofit organization providing fundraising and outreach assistance to 34 affiliate offices across the state, has received a $500,000, 5 year, 0% interest loan from Oregon’s Housing and Community Services Department to be used as seed money for a revolving loan fund. Nancy Hamilton of the Governor’s Office will present the funds to HfHO at a dedication ceremony at on April 16^th, 10 a.m., at 635 SE 197th Ave., Portland.

“Putting this money to work as a revolving loan fund will mean leveraging an amount that might typically purchase two homes in Oregon into providing hundreds of homes for hardworking families,” said Patricia Day TenEyck, Executive Director of HfHO.Any Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Oregon will be able to apply for funds to assist in the process of acquiring land, purchasing permits, paying fees, and other activities related to homebuilding and renovation. Payments on the loans, made by the borrowing affiliate, will replenish the fund, allowing for continued lending to additional Habitat for Humanity projects in Oregon.

The fund is designed to become self-sustaining within five years. As additional monies are invested in the fund, Habitat for Humanity will increase the number and amounts of loans to affiliates. “The skyrocketing number of foreclosures and loss of homes due to unethical lending practices has drawn our collective attention to the overall housing crisis—a problem that Habitat for Humanity has been addressing for decades in Oregon,” said Victor Merced, Director, OHCS. “Our solution turns predatory lending upside down, offering zero-interest loans with payments that remain stable and that almost any hardworking Oregon family can afford, rather than creating a situation in which they are forced to choose between buying groceries and paying their mortgage,” said Day TenEyck.

Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit Ecumenical Christian housing organization, has been working in Oregon for 25 years. In that time, the default rate on mortgages has been less than 1%, lower than the national average. In addition to making regular mortgage payments, Habitat for Humanity partner families contribute 500 hours of labor on their own or other partner family’s home. By providing a hand up, not a hand out, the Habitat for Humanity program maintains the dignity and pride of homeowner families.