Moving Down the Road

We are expanding! Do you live in Van Alstyne and need adequate housing? Do you live in Southern Grayson County and have always wanted to help build a Habitat house?

Thanks to generous donors, we will be able to build a house at 103 S. Dallas in Van Alstyne within the next year. Habitat for Humanity has built 19 homes in Sherman and Denison. Now we are anxious to spread to other parts of Grayson County. We are currently seeking a homeowner partner for this Van Alstyne house and recruiting volunteers who want to help build it.

To apply, print off an application from our website or call the office to have an application mailed to you. If you, your church, business, or community group is interested in joining up to help build a house, please call our office at 903.893.0009. We can't grow without you!

Women's Build 2009!

On the day before Mother's Day, groups of women volunteers from our area spent their Saturday working at 1827 S. Travis in Denison in recognition of National Women Build Week, May 2-10. The Women's Build program is a partnership effort between Habitat for Humanity and Lowe's, which underwrites the program.The volunteers put up exterior siding and installed insulation before torrents of rain halted construction in the early afternoon.

This is what Women's Build is all about!

Groundbreaking on house #19

Photos by Stewart Rake

Deidra Johnson and her children Antonio, Monasiah, Messiah, and Terrion are looking forward to leaving their rental home with a leaky roof and drafty windows to move into a home of their own. Groundbreaking on the Johnson family's new home at 1827 S. Travis, Denison happened on Saturday, March 7.

Sign-A-Stud

During lunch hours throughout the week, the Austin College campus chapter recently held a "Sign-A-Stud" fundraiser.

For $1 per signature, members of the AC community could sign a stud to be used in the framing of House 19, or they could sign a "stud," -- a member of the Habitat campus chapter. The group will present funds and the signed studs at the groundbreaking on March 7.

 

 

 

 

Donated Car Can Help Build a Family Home

Habitat program steers families toward affordable housing

It was a sad day. It was a happy day! Five-year-old Joseph Williams watched and waved goodbye as a driver loaded his family car onto the tow truck and drove away.

The 1995 Pontiac Grand Am had served the family well for thirteen years, but now it needed work—lots of it. The Williams family—John, Linnéa, Emily, and Joseph—replaced the car and decided to donate their much-loved Grand Am to Habitat for Humanity’s “Cars for Homes” program. The proceeds will be used to help fund houses slated to be built next year in Grayson County.

Habitat for Humanity will accept cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, RV’s, and even snowmobiles, running or not. They then sell the vehicles through automobile auctions, recyclers, or salvage yards to raise money that helps in the construction of homes. Donors receive an acknowledgement letter for their car donation and can check with the Internal Revenue Service or their tax advisor for information on the tax-deductible donation. The local affiliate receives 85% of the donated value after towing charges.

Habitat for Humanity launched the program three months ago, and five local donors are in process of donating their vehicles—two cars, one pick-up truck, one mini-van, and one boat. “We are delighted to be a part of this program,” said John Williams, who is both donor and Co-President of Habitat for Humanity of Grayson County. “In 2009, we plan to double the number of homes we build, and this provides an easy, very effective way for donors to be a part of building simple, decent, affordable homes in this community.”

Call Cars for Homes at 1-877-277-4344, visit the website at www.carsforhomes.org to process a donation online, or call the local office at 903-893-0009.