Guest blogger: Steve O’Malley
Habitat 500 rider and supporter

Guest Blog written by Pat Lund
Twin Cities Habitat Age In Place Program Manager

Twin Cities Habitat is responding to a growing need in our community to preserve homeownership and assist older homeowners live safer and longer in their homes. Our Age in Place program launched in 2018 and is serving older homeowners with home modifications and exterior chore services. In honor of National Volunteer Week, we'd like to share with you ways to get involved in Age in Place. 

Guest blog written by Shannon Twiss, Lead Volunteer Coordinator, and Greta Gaetz, Local/Regional Policy & Advocacy Coordinator

Each year, the Corporation for National and Community Service (the federal agency that oversees AmeriCorps and Senior Corps) releases a comprehensive report on volunteer trends throughout the United States. The 2018 Volunteering in America report found that Minnesota ranks #2 for volunteering among states, and the Twin Cities Metro ranks #1 for volunteering among US cities. 

Guest blog written by Shannon Twiss, Lead Volunteer Coordinator

Welcome, reader, to my experience as an AmeriCorps member over the last two years in the Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity program! In case the quotation marks aren't a dead giveaway, the headers below are all in jest. I have truly loved my time in AmeriCorps, and below are just a few reasons why. 

Guest blog by Shannon Twiss
Volunteer Coordinator and AmeriCorps member

April 8-12 is National Volunteer Recognition week, not just at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, but all across the country. Each year, nonprofit organizations and communities recognize volunteers and celebrate service. National Volunteer Week was established by Points of Light, and started in 1974.

We all have our own stories of home. This series shares those stories from Habitat staff. We'll explore questions like: what does home mean to us? How did we find a stable home? How do our stories inform our work? And how do Habitat's mission, vision, and values resonate with our experiences?

This story is written by Shereese Turner. She's our Senior Director of Programs & Services, and has worked at Habitat since 2018.

We recently held a Stories of Home Contest where we asked Twin Cities Habitat homeowners to share a story answering the question: "What does your home mean to you?" Here's one of the winning stories in the homeowner's own voice. Story and photos shared with their permission.

Written by Melody Lawson, Habitat Homeowner since 2011

I am so excited to write the greatest memories I have in my life when I purchased my Habitat of Humanity home.

Guest blog written by Haley Wotzka and Liz Farrell,
Global Village Volunteers

The authors of this blog are currently in Quetzaltenango (aka Xela), Guatemala with a group of 27 Global Village volunteers ("GVers"). Some on their ninth trip, some on their first—collectively this group has completed 104 trips in total. That’s right, 104.

Guest blog written by Stephanie and Josh Moline,
Global Village Volunteers

Guatemala is an incredibly beautiful country that I have been fortunate enough to visit three times. Each trip has taught me something new about the country and culture, but one thing that has been clear from the start is the gratitude radiating from everyone I've spoken with—to be alive, to be with their families, to be able to provide what they can for their children.

And that's a really powerful thing to see when the majority of us spend our days at home being surrounded by "first-world problems."

Guest blog written by Bonnie and Tim Power,
Global Village Volunteers

If you are lucky, someday you will find your way to Xela, Guatemala. You will be in a hotel off the old town square that is on a very steep street. You will be at 7,600 feet altitude.