Guest Blog by Grant Gray
Leadership Giving Officer
With hot coffee and fresh donuts in hand, Builder's Circle volunteers gathered at a Habitat build site for a morning safety talk from Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity Site Supervisor Dave Madzo and AmeriCorps Matt Benson. As they wrapped up the talk Dave reminded the volunteers that at the heart of everything we do, “Habitat is about building communities."
The basic philosophy of Habitat for Humanity is simple: neighbors working alongside neighbors to create safe, stable homes and strong communities. But the story of each house has unique characters—homebuyers, volunteers, sponsors, donors, site supervisors, neighbors—who fill the home with energy and love.
Habitat for Humanity International’s CEO Jonathan Reckford today joined a call for an immediate end to the family separation policy being implemented at the U.S. border. Reckford and leaders from other major nonprofit organizations that are members of Leadership 18 are urging the “Trump administration to immediately stop this wrong and immoral policy.”
Guest Blog by CJ Fitzsimons
Women Build Committee Member
Another exciting year of Women Build kicked off June 4th with a strong showing of support from many volunteers and leaders. One in particular, Twin Cities Habitat's new President & CEO, Chris Coleman, decided his first on-site involvement was to come out and support this excellent program; how awesome!
To understand property taxes, it may help to start with something more familiar: Sales taxes. Imagine you're at a restaurant and you order $23 worth of food. But, when you received the bill, the total came out to $24.58. That's because there was $1.58 added in sales tax, which typically goes to your state government’s general fund.
It's much the same way with property taxes. You want to buy a house, which requires a monthly mortgage, but you also need to pay property taxes, which go towards specific government-funded activities. For first-time homebuyers, this can raise a lot of questions. So, we've created a list of frequently asked questions when it comes to your property taxes.
Summer can be busy, and not every Habitat supporter can spend a day volunteering on a Habitat build or home repair site. That's why we've put together a list of fun ways you can support Habitat's mission and enjoy our Minnesota summer, too!
You may think of Twin Cities Habitat as a home builder, but that’s just part of the story. Safe and affordable housing isn’t just a one solution problem. Habitat’s Age in Place program is piloting chore services that strive to keep aging, low-income homeowners in their home and communities as long as possible by providing assistance for household chores that require a helping hand. As homeowners get a little older, a little bit of help goes a long way. We recently visited with Teri, who lives in Mounds View, to learn more about what kind of assistance she needed and discovered a small army of hard-working volunteers from United Properties.
This summer, Twin Cities Habitat is rolling out two exciting new volunteer opportunities! Both are non-construction volunteer roles. They provide new ways to get involved with our organization, and share our mission with our community. If you’re especially interested in helping out during the evenings and/or weekends, one of these new roles might be for you!
I am so excited to join the Habitat team and the mission that you
support! It’s an honor to lead an organization that has such great impact—for families, children, and our entire community.