Thrivent Build Kick-Off Ceremony

This Saturday, July 11th we will begin construction on Alicia and Irvin Wittrell's home in Brownswood Place and we invite you to join us for this momentous day!

The wall-raising celebration will begin at 8:00 am on Saturday, July 11th at the construction site. Local Habitat for Humanity representatives and Thrivent Financial members will speak during a short program and volunteers from Lutheran churches throughout the Lowcountry will be on site to begin construction on the Wittrell family’s home.

This new home is a result of an alliance between Habitat for Humanity International and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Called Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity, this alliance has resulted in thousands of decent, affordable homes across the country since 2005. Thanks to its 2.6 million members who own financial products with the organization, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is able to contribute to the improvement of communities like Johns Island and its surrounding areas. The Thrivent Builds alliance also engages volunteers—members of Thrivent Financial, members of area Lutheran churches and members of the community at large—to work alongside the partner families to build these homes.

The Wittrell family is more than a little eager to begin construction of their new home. “In the normal housing market, my husband and I could not afford to purchase a home for our family,” said Alicia Wittrell. “With the help of Habitat for Humanity and Thrivent, our dream of owning a home will be possible.”

Construction on the home will begin on July 11th and will continue until it is completed three to four months later. For more information or to register for the build, please contact Molly Coffey at Sea Island Habitat for Humanity at 843-768-0998 x112.

HABITAT NIGHT at Charleston Battery

Come out and join us for "Habitat Night" at the Charleston Battery Game!

Join us July 24th as the Charleston Battery take on the Carolina Rail Hawks! ALL TICKET PROCEEDS GO DIRECTLY TO HABITAT FOR HUMANITY!

Date: Friday, July 24th
Time: 7:30pm
Place: Blackbaud Stadium, Daniel Island
Cost: $15

*****In order to have your ticket purchase proceeds go to Habitat, you MUST PRE-ORDER your tickets. Please call 843-768-0998 today to PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS!*****

FAITH IN ACTION BUILD

This past Saturday, volunteers from James Island Presbyterian Church braved the climbing temperatures and came out to help frame the Brown's new home on Lot 42 of Brownswood Place. Earl and Carrie Brown, residents of James Island, are now renting a small 2-bedroom apartment in a somewhat unsafe neighborhood and are looking to own their first home. They have never been homeowners before and are looking forward to the adventures and challenges this new chapter in their life will bring. About 30 volunteers from JIPC came out to help and lunch was generously provided by Epworth UMC. Both churches volunteered their services as part of the Faith in Action project, spearheaded by SIHH.

The Faith in Action project, taking place this spring, is an initiative encouraging churches from all over Charleston to come together and put their "faith in action" by helping to build a home for the Brown family. With the ultimate goal being for local churches to provided the labor, prayer support, and funds to build the $60,000 home, it is a massive undertaking, but several partner churches have already stepped forward to help. James Island Presbyterian Church, Blessed Sacrament Church, St. Johns Presbyterian Church, St. John's Parish, St. Andrew's UMC, and Seacoast Church--James Island all plan on contributing financially to the home as well as by bringing out volunteers to work on the house. Epworth UMC, St. James Presbyterian and Crosstown Christian Church will also help with the home by providing lunches or by volunteering.

To check out pictures from this Saturday's build, please click on the link below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/seaislandhabitat/FaithinActionBuild

For more information on the build or to get involved, please contact Molly Coffey at 843-768-0998 x 112 or outreach@seaislandhabitat.org

BROWNSWOOD BLOCK PARTY

With the sun shining down and the sweet tea flowing, volunteers from James Island Baptist Church came out to Brownswood Place on Johns Island Saturday afternoon to throw a block party for the neighborhood families. Jump castles, water balloons, tug-of-war, corn hole, face painting, hot dogs, chips, drinks and more were all provided by James Island Baptist and about 50 neighborhood children came out to enjoy the festivities. The Johns Island Fire Department even stopped by to talk to the children about fire safety and to cool off the crowd with a little mist from their fire hoses!

The party lasted from 12pm-3pm and it was a great way for members of James Island Baptist to get to know our Habitat children and families. The event was organized by Pastor Brent Gordon as part of the James Island Inasmuch Project, which took place on May 16th and encouraged James Island residents to give back to their community through participating in projects such as the Brownswood Block Party. Several members of the JIBC youth group as well as multiple church families were on hand to lead the face painting, tug-of-war and other activities throughout the day.

You can just tell from the look on the children's faces that a good time was had by all, and we extend a BIG thank-you to James Island Baptist Church for organizing this great community building activity!

For more pictures from the event, please check out our online photo album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/seaislandhabitat/BrownswoodBlockParty#

WOMEN BUILD 2009

The sounds of hammers, saws and power tools filled the air of Brownswood Place May 2-May 9, 2009. Hundreds of women throughout the Lowcountry (and those from places as far away as New York and Massachusetts) journeyed to Johns Island, SC to participate in Women Build 09 and help build a home for Cuco and Yenny Ramirez and their 3 boys. With the Carolina sun blazing down, over 200 women worked tirelessly throughout the week to raise the walls, install the windows and put the roof on the home. While there is still much interior work to be done, by the end of the week, Lot 41 looked like a real home from the outside...an amazing feat for 7 days of work!

The mission for the Women Build project is to fund and build a home, primarily by women, for a hard-working family and to inspire women to empower themselves, while at the same time develop lasting life skills and relationships. 2009 was the 9th year that Sea Island Habitat for Humanity has participated in the Women Build program, but it was the 10th Women Build home as SIHH completed 2 homes as part of Women Build 08.

This year's homeowner, Yenny Ramirez, was out at the site EVERY DAY...and even was there to work during the "early bird" shift at 6am on Wednesday morning. Residents of North Charleston, the Ramirez family is so thankful to be receiving this blessing. "We are so happy to be building our home and thank SIHH for this opportunity," says Yenny.

In addition to the dedication of our volunteers and homeowners, local organizations throughout the community also came together to help provide lunches and fund portions of the home. A special thanks goes out to all of those who helped to make this dream possible for the Ramirez family. We look forward to seeing you all out there next year!

To check out more photos from the week, please visit our online photo album....
http://picasaweb.google.com/seaislandhabitat/WomenBuild2009#

Habitat for HumaniTEA Party!

With beautiful weather and a crowd of close to 100 women displaying their elaborate hats, our Tea Party fundraiser was a shining success. Hosted by the Hat Divas Society of Charleston, the "Habitat for HumaniTEA" event was the primary fundraiser for Women Build 2009! The event was held at the Charleston Tea Plantation on April 18th and thanks to the support of the Hat Divas Society, the Charleston Tea Plantation, and many other generous Charleston retailers and restaurants, we were able to exceed our goal and raise $5,101 for the Ramirez Family home. The afternoon was filled with lemonade, iced tea and delicious food, and Gary Pecorrella generously donated his piano skills to the event. All who attended enjoyed the afternoon tea, and we are already looking forward to next year! For more pictures from the event, please click on the link below!

http://picasaweb.google.com/seaislandhabitat/HabitatForHumaniTEA#

Hear What They Had to Say...

Over the past several weeks, we have been immersed in our Collegiate Challenge program. College students from all over the country have come to SIHH to volunteer during their spring breaks and we have gotten so much done as a result! Construction on three new homes in Brownswood Place on Johns Island has begun and our staff and volunteers are working diligently on two homes in Trinity Place in Hollywood, SC. Check out what the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee Group had to say about their experiences here...

http://www4.uwm.edu/news/stories/details.cfm?customel_datapageid_11602=680782

For more photos from Collegiate Challenge, please check out our online photo album at

http://picasaweb.google.com/seaislandhabitat/CollegiateChallenge2009#