Building Community Blog

The Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity ReStore in New Brighton recently got a big refresh makeover and now tons of new products are coming in for savvy shoppers.

 Edina based Innovative Energy Solutions is helping two Habitat homeowners with energy saving products this year. The company donated insulation to a Habitat home currently under construction in Anoka. In addition, Innovative Energy Solutions donated LED light bulbs to Twin Cities Habitat’s first ever net-zero energy home located in North Minneapolis. “We are very lucky to have generous in-kind donors like Innovative Energy Solutions,” Habitat staff member Mark Turbak said. “Our in-kind donations ensure our home construction costs remain low so more well-deserving families can purchase a Habitat home each year.”

On Saturday, March 2^nd, a group of 25 volunteers came together to build for the day in celebration of Chris Maccarone’s 50^th birthday. In addition to recruiting their friends and family members to build alongside them at a multi-unit home in Woodbury, the Maccarones also raised over $1,000 to support Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity in making sure all Twin Cities families have a safe, affordable place to call home.

A subsidized studio apartment is not the ideal place to raise three active kids. Thankfully Mohammad Zafar and his wife Sarah O’Keefe will soon have all the space they need in the Habitat home they're buying in Oakdale later this month. The family, their loved ones and volunteers from Twin Cities Habitat gathered for an emotional Home Dedication on May 4. The kids tested out the playground equipment in the backyard and enjoyed showing off their new rooms to their cousins.

Mohammad moved from Pakistan as a boy and grew up in Eagan. He served in the Marines and now works at Metro State University helping other Veterans get financial aid for college. Over the past year, Twin Cities Habitat has been reaching out to bring our programs and services to more Veterans and their families.

At the Dedication, Mohammad said as a Muslim it takes a long time to save for a home because his faith teaches that it is wrong to benefit from, or pay, interest. He said the family had a 10- to 15-year plan to buy a home, but once Sarah found out about Habitat's unique 0% interest mortgage they realized they could do it. Helping matters was Mohammad's stable post-Marines job.   

Sarah cried tears of joy when she heard they’d been selected into Habitat's Homeownership Program and she cried them again at the Dedication as she thanked everyone who helped make it a reality. She said she really feels ready to be a homeowner because of all the financial training and home maintenance classes she went through as part of Habitat's Homeownership Program. 

When Mohammad and Sarah close on their home, their mortgage payments will go to Twin Cities Habitat so volunteers can build even more homes.

And for the icing on the cake, Amaiya, the family’s older daughter, will celebrate her 13^th birthday the day after they sign the final paperwork. Now, she and her younger brother and sister will have space to study, play and have friends over.

The mortgage payments from Habitat homeowners do not cover all of the costs associated with Habitat volunteers building safe, decent affordable homes. Please make a gift to support the mission of eliminating poverty housing in the Twin Cities.

Fridley based Mr. Rooter Plumbing generously provided plumbing materials and services to one A Brush With Kindness partner family this spring. Rachel, a single mother of two, has worked tirelessly to make her home a safe and comfortable place for her and her children to live. When A Brush With Kindness staff arrived at the home, they discovered Rachel’s severe needs. The home had no running water which forced Rachel and her two children to live with a neighbor until home repairs were made.

Last week with the late spring snowstorm had me thinking about a family in Southeast Minneapolis that we worked the week before Christmas. The project was to install laminate flooring. The homeowner had ripped out the old carpeting the weekend before, which helped us out a lot. We had the entire week to install the laminate flooring, but to our surprise on the first day we were out on site, we found the old carpet had originally been glued down. 

April 15 is behind us, but that doesn’t mean that we can stop thinking about taxes altogether. Although much of the interest this time of year is on income taxes, there is another type of tax that, if not paid, can result in a people losing their homes: property taxes.

Once again, our supporters have shown just how much they care about the mission of eliminating poverty housing in the Twin Cities and helping families build for the future. On April 20 at the St. Paul RiverCentre, more than 920 people came together and raised over $550,000 at the annual Hard Hat & Black Tie Gala! 

Dressed in their fun and fashionable construction couture, they gave generously all night long. Warren and Mary Lynn Staley, the Co-Chairs of the World of Hope Campaign, spoke with the children of a family that'll be buying a Habitat home in Oakdale in May. The message that kids in Habitat homes can accomplish great things was the theme of this video that was shown to the audience.

If you haven’t already heard, this week is National Volunteer Week.  It’s a time to recognize the hard work and dedication of individuals willing to give their time and energy to their community and to make the world a better place for all.  Here at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, we are especially grateful to our volunteers and the impact they have on Twin Cities families.  One of Habitat’s most well-known volunteers may have said it best:

The ReStore has undergone metamorphoses. Once a gangly caterpillar of unorganized doors, miscellaneous fixtures, and a poorly placed front desk, the ReStore wrapped itself in a cocoon of volunteers and generous support from Target in late March, and has now finally emerged as a beautiful new butterfly.