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2002 W Superior Street, Suite 9 Duluth, MN 55806 Phone: (218) 722-3875 Fax: (218) 529-7656 Office Hours: M-F 10 to 3 |
| Building Homes, Building Hope |
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We offer volunteer* opportunities for folks of all skill levels. Call the office to confirm. 218 722-3875 We'll be landscaping in May. If you have a group interested in pushing dirt or have experience operating a bobcat we'd love to talk to you. *due to Insurance restrictions youth under the age of 16 are not allowed on an active construction site Now more than ever we need your support to build hope for low-income families. Your donations buy bricks and mortar that build a place to call home. |
Click on this link to watch us build hope Habitat in the news! www.bikeandbuild.org |
Maynard Drywall Experience The Art 218 390-3698 call him up and "give him the business" Thanks to National Title-Duluth Vehicle support generously provided by "it's all Ok in Cloquet" |
| Wish List items we need to continue building hope in Western Lake Superior
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| It's Crunch Time Dan and Sara Johnson have been through a lot and it all started last year when their son Landen was diagnosed with diabetes after he collapsed on the floor. "His blood sugar was 1,497. They said he shouldn't have been alive and I was like this is so horrible, how can this happen and I thought that was the worst thing," said Sara Johnson. Then at just 4 months and 21 days old, Johnson says her son Aiden passed away from SIDS. "And we were kind of struggling trying to move on without him, trying to teach the kids that it's not their fault, they blame themselves." When on Valentines Day of this year, Johnson's husband and their 2 boys were involved in a near fatal car crash in Cloquet. "Experiencing all that and staying in the hospital for 2 ½ months, it was the worst thing I could ever possibly imagine," said Sara Johnson. Both boys were injured; their oldest son is still recovering. Dan Johnson was in a coma for a month with a traumatic brain injury and was paralyzed in his hands and legs. "They told me he would never walk, he would never talk again," said Sara Johnson. It was a long road to recovery but now Dan Johnson is back on his feet. "I’m supposed to be in a wheelchair, in a group home, not being able to respond to anything so I like to think that I’ve come really far," said Dan Johnson. They are renting a small apartment that is not handicap accessible so this new home is a blessing. "If I can get in here faster, I don't have; to worry about Dan so much falling down the stairs, it's just really unsafe in our house right now," said Sara Johnson. The Johnson’s have held fund raisers and have been there every week helping with the build. "I’m continually impressed by their attitude, the way they've shown up all the time, every time we need them," said Daryl Yankee of Western Lake Superior Habitat for Humanity. Monday volunteers were finishing the electrical and getting the home ready for insulation, the goal is to have it completely finished by Thanksgiving. "We’d like to sit down as a family; it would be kind of nice to be able to have our first Thanksgiving in our first home," said Sara Johnson. But they need money to buy building materials so they can finish the home by winter. "Yeah we could defiantly use the community's help to bring it on home here," said Yankee. It's a chance for them to start a new life in a new home. "It’s been a long road, getting a house that's going to be the way we want it is going to be wonderful," said Dan Johnson. To donate, log on to www.habitatduluth.org or call (218) 722–3875. They still need about $23,000. Volunteers skilled in carpentry and finish work are also needed. Excerpt from story by Melissa Ganje & photojournalist Harry Baker, FOX 21 News Click Here to See the Story on Fox 21 |
| Habitat in Haiti: How you can help rebuild In Chile too... |
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| Habitat for Humanity will respond to this earthquake and help low-income families by building new homes and repairing existing homes as part of the recovery process. Habitat for Humanity International is currently monitoring the situation in Haiti and is in contact with Habitat for Humanity Haiti to assess the damages to homes where low-income families live. Donations are urgently needed for this effort and can be made at www.habitat. org. We also can take your donation over the phone if that is more convenient for you. Please call 1-800-Habitat Habitat for Humanity has a long history of working in Haiti Habitat for Humanity has worked in Haiti for 26 years, providing more than 2,000 families in Haiti with housing solutions through a variety of initiatives including building new home construction, progressive building, home repairs and improvements. Habitat also builds capacity in construction skills, disaster mitigation and financial literacy, and works in coordination with community and government agencies. Habitat for Humanity Disaster Response Habitat’s Disaster Response focuses on the housing needs that arise from natural disasters and human conflicts. Habitat offers expertise in technical assistance; program design and implementation; and disaster response policies, protocols and procedures. Habitat Disaster Response also supports informational resources for disaster mitigation and preparedness―helping communities in disaster-prone areas protect themselves against future threats. |
| Building Capacity through A Brush With Kindness Our mission statement compels us to make safe decent shelter a matter of conscience and action for everyone in Western Lake Superior. That's a tall task! There are thousands of families living in poverty housing in the Twin Ports alone. How can we serve the over 300 very-low income elderly that own their home but are unable to perform the upkeep necessary to gracefully age in place? Introducing A Brush With Kindness: A New Way to Help our Neighbors in Need A Brush With Kindness matches mostly elderly very low-income homeowners in need of exterior repairs with service groups, businesses, churches, and community clubs looking for opportunities to make a difference in their community. They sponsor the project and provide volunteers, Habitat for Humanity provides experienced construction coordination to oversee the project, purchase materials, pull permits and put the pieces in place for a successful workday. Repairs range from much needed yard clean up and landscaping to building access ramps to installing a new roof and siding. Most projects are completed in a single Saturday and allow the homeowner to enjoy safe, decent shelter for years to come. Our first A Brush With Kindness (ABWK) project this year will be for Mary Cox, a 59 year old woman who lives in a Mobile Home that she owns in Superior, WI. Mary has difficulty breathing and often relies on an oxygen tank. Her vision is impaired in one eye and she has chronic back problems that make climbing the stairs to her home very difficult. Mary was encouraged to apply for ABWK assistance by Leadership Superior. Students in the business program at University of Wisconsin - Superior have taken this on as their Academic Service Learning project for the spring semester, hosting fund raisers and building the infrastructure necessary for a successful project. The primary goal for this pilot project is to build Mary a new ramp so she can access her home safely. If enough money is raised we'll also help re-paint some spots on her house, do some weatherizing, and landscaping to brighten the yard. Students from UWS will be performing all the work under the supervision of skilled carpenters. A Brush With Kindness Quick Facts A Brush With Kindness is a repair ministry that fulfills Habitat for Humanity's mission of ensuring that all God's people have a simple decent place to call home. Qualified applicants must own their home, which must serve as their primary residence. Qualified applicants fall under the same income requirements as Habitat homebuyers (under 60% of Area Median Income). Qualified applicants must not be able to pay for improvements through other means and are expected to work alongside volunteers as they are able. Projects are generally limited in scope to exterior maintenance work that can be completed in a single day, typically Saturday. Church, school, and service groups may sponsor an ABWK project by raising the money to cover material costs and providing volunteers. Habitat for Humanity provides tools, technical support and supervision. Why do we ask for a sponsorship fee before initiating an ABWK project? When Western Lake Superior Habitat for Humanity offers hope to someone in need we want to be certain we make good on that promise. As Luke 14:28 cautions, " For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doth not first sit down and count the cost, whether he have wherewith to complete it?" Our continuing capacity to serve as many deserving families as possible relies on our ability to budget for and complete construction projects in an efficient manner. So that someday all God's children will have a safe place to sleep. Put your donor dollars to work making a big difference one day at a time with Habitat for Humanity's A Brush With Kindness program! Click here to help Mary and others live in safe decent shelter this summer |
| Under Construction We're building a better website. We'll have new content and project links updated later this week at www.twinportshabitat.org |
