On a crisp fall day in October, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity homeowners, volunteers, donors, and staff gathered for the first Home Celebration since before the pandemic. Attendees came together for games, snacks, joyful connection, crafts, music, and a whole lot of family fun. Music and good vibes filled the Securian Financial Club at CHS Field – a beautiful space with full-length windows overlooking the ballpark on one side and the bustling St. Paul Farmers Market on the other.
Early in the pandemic, we had to pause our standard Home Dedication ceremonies. During this challenging time, our staff reimagined what Home Dedications could look like and how to center the dignity and autonomy of our homeowners. We collaborated with homeowners, donors, and volunteers to create a new vision for these events and renamed them Home Celebrations.
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Our new Home Celebrations are intended to celebrate the community that comes together to create affordable, stable homeownership. They recognize Habitat houses as the collective achievement of the entire Habitat community—homebuyers, Habitat, staff, board members, friends/family of homebuyers, volunteers, sponsors, donors, neighbors, community members, and elected officials. They're also intended to welcome homeowners to the wider Habitat community.
The event in October was our first chance after COVID to come together and bring this vision to life. The first-of-its-kind event celebrated homeowners who closed on their homes in 2020 and 2021 and recognized the many contributions of our wider Habitat community.
The reimagined Home Celebration was designed to be casual, welcoming, and fun for all members of the Habitat community. The open-house format made it easy for guests to engage with the event however they felt comfortable.
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As soon as you set foot in the space, you knew you were at a party. Our incredible event partner, Twin Cities Road Crew, kept the energy high! They brought dancing, music, breakdancers, Habitat-themed games, trivia, and tons of prizes. Attendees noshed on ballpark snacks, hot dogs, and lemonade. Guests could decorate their own keepsake mugs or take fun and silly pictures in the themed photo booth. Guests also took home Habitat swag and household items donated by our partners at 3M.
It was truly a day to remember!
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Want to see more photos or upload your own? Check out our event photo album here!
This was our first time hosting a Home Celebration in this format—and it won't be the last. We're looking forward to hosting a similar event in 2024, learning from our previous experience to make it even better. As we plan for the next event, we want to hear from you. What do you want out of a Habitat Home Celebration? How would you like to engage with the community?
If you attended the event, please take a minute to fill out this quick survey so we can make the next event even better! Even if you didn't attend the event, please consider taking the survey to share what would make this event more appealing to you in the future.
Keep an eye out for news about our next Home Celebration in the coming months. We can’t wait to celebrate with our vibrant Habitat community again!
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