Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity

Wonderful Habitat Homeowner Makes Lunch For Staff!

HabitatAdmin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:19:27 +0000

Last week, the staff of Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity were lucky to have one of our wonderful homeowners cook us a delicious lunch! Lavonda, who just moved into her home with her two children in the Church Hill area in September, cooked us a feast of baked spaghetti, deviled eggs, rolls, and two sinfully delicious pecan pies!

We are so grateful to Lavonda for being such a wonderful, caring Habitat homeowner.

A Little DIY Inspiration From Your Friends At The ReStore!

HabitatAdmin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:10:19 +0000

We have lots of super creative shoppers at our store everyday who use items they purchase from us and repurpose them into something amazing! Their creativity has inspired us to research some really unique, funky ideas you can use in your own home from items available at the ReStore.

If you’re feeling inspired – stop by the ReStore and pickup some of these items and start your own project!

New Post-Purchase Education Program Helps Homeowners Thrive

HabitatAdmin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:01:12 +0000

Once a homeowner has purchased their home, Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity’s work does not end. Our Family Services Manager, Amy McDaniel, continues to provide support and educational opportunities for each one of our homeowners. In the last year, Amy has focused on creating new post-purchase educational programs that will continue to help our homeowners and their families. This holistic approach will help to ensure that our partner families thrive now and for the rest of their lives.

Thanks to a generous donation from Capital One, Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity is able to provide a wonderful new post-purchase education program to our homeowners. Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity’s post-purchase education program is designed to give delinquent homeowners the tools necessary to make better money management decisions in order to pay their monthly mortgage payments on-time each month.

Paying late comes with significant negative consequences for our homeowners and their financial standing, such as paying late fees and lowering their credit score. A low credit score affects the interest rate our homeowners receive when they need to borrow money, the amount they pay for insurance and can also hinder their ability to obtain a job. Foreclosure is also another real and serious consequence of paying their mortgage late.

Post-Purchase program includes 4 financial literacy classes:

Good Credit and Repairing Credit
Saving to Build Wealth
Manage Your Money Wisely
Keeping Your Home

Along with the 4 classes, our homeowners also meet one-on-one to discuss a spending and savings plan, as well as, create an action plan to help find solutions to paying their bills in-full and on-time each month based on their specific financial situation.

A volunteer from Capital One taught the four courses during the month of December. Seven homeowners participated in the pilot program. Participants are now going through the second phase of the program, meeting one-on-one with the Family Services Department to create action plans for saving and paying bills on time each month.

For more information, please contact Amy McDaniel at (804) 232-7001 ext. 105 or amcdaniel@richmondhabitat.org.

Join us for NAPO’s “Get Organized” Event on Jan. 15!

HabitatAdmin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:14:39 +0000

January is Get Organized (GO) month and the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) Richmond chapter wants to help you with your new year’s resolutions. They will be holding a Get Organized Drop-in Drop-off event this Sunday, January 15, 2012 from noon until 4pm at the Weinstein Jewish Community Center.

Here’s how you can get involved:

1. Gather donations and recyclables
2. Pack items in your car
3. Take items to the DRIVE-IN, DROP-OFF event!

All donations collected at the event will go to the Richmond Habitat ReStore and Goodwill of Central Virginia.

SUGGESTED DONATIONS

Desktop/Laptop Computers
Cell Phones
Batteries
Home Maintenance Materials
Cabinets/Countertops – Undamaged and complete with all doors and drawers
Carpet/Linoleum/Tile – New and clean
Windows – Like new, no cracks
Lumber/Plywood/Siding/Trim – Full and 1/2 sheets of plywood, 8 ft minimum on lumber, no rot, screws or nails.

We hope to see you there!

Give Back In 2012 By Volunteering With Habitat!

HabitatAdmin — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:51:24 +0000

We are just a few days into 2012, but our volunteers are already hard at work! This week, we continued work on Ratcliffe Ave., a home that was donated to Habitat and is being gutted and renovated. The Khamis family is purchasing the home and is expected to move in this March. Over in southside Richmond, volunteers are working with our construction team to finish up some painting and the building of a fence at our Gordon Ave. house. And as always, volunteers are hard at work at our popular ReStore, helping the team there get the store ready for their January sales! Thanks to everyone who has joined us so far this year. We are blessed with the most dedicated and hardworking volunteer pool anyone could ask for!

Why not make a resolution this new year to give back to your community by volunteering with Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity? A day of service at our ReStore or on one of our build sites is not only a great way to support our efforts to break the cycle of poverty in the Richmond area, it’s also a lot of fun! Grab a few friends or coworkers and sign up together to volunteer on our online registration and signup system VolunteerUp ( http://volunteerup.com/Login.asp?w=i&o=240 ).

Heres wishing all of our volunteers a very happy and prosperous 2012! We hope to see you soon!

Support Richmond Habitat in the Miller & Rhoads Charity Christmas Tree Contest!

HabitatAdmin — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:06:42 +0000

Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity is lucky to be a participant in the Miller & Rhoads Charity Christmas Tree Contest this year. The trees will be unveiled on Tuesday, December 6th at 6:30PM and will be displayed in the windows of the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Richmond.

Be sure to head downtown in the next few weeks to check out our tree in person. Also, vote for us online as your favorite starting on Saturday, December 10th.

The charity that has the favorite tree will win $1000. Help Richmond Habitat be that charity!

Jane Helfrich Appointed as New CEO

mwright — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:15:59 +0000

The Board of Directors for Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity (RMHFH) is pleased to announce they have named Jane Helfrich as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer, effective December 1, 2011. In her new role, Helfrich will lead the day to day operations and fundraising efforts of the organization.

“Jane’s 30 years of non-profit management experience has been marked by outstanding performance”, said Oliver Way, Chairman of the Board for RMHFH. “Jane has extraordinary leadership skills and her vision, along with her extensive fundraising experience in the affordable housing sector, makes her the right person for the role. She will help shape the future of RMHFH and we are thrilled to have her”.

Prior to joining RMHFH, Helfrich has most recently served as the Vice-President, Resource Development and Marketing for the Better Housing Coalition in Richmond, VA. She has held numerous leadership positions in the Greater Richmond area. She has also served on several non-profit boards including Communities in Schools of Richmond, Inc., Sacred Heart Center, the convening board of CASA, the Board of Directors of the Commonwealth Girl Scout Council of Virginia, Inc., and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. A recipient of the Nina Abady award from the Virginia Association of Fundraising Professionals, Jane has continued her studies in non-profit management and leadership through Nonprofit Learning Point, where she earned a certificate in 2007. Helfrich was noted for her leadership skills by being named to the inaugural class of the Emerging Non-Profit Leaders program and the first class of Capital One’s non-profit leadership program.

The Board of Directors would also like to thank Sheila-Hill Christian, who has served as the interim CEO since the resignation of former CEO, Leisha LaRiviere. “Sheila has shown exemplary leadership during this transition. Thanks to Sheila and her firm, the organization has successfully accomplished numerous critical goals over the last seven months” according to Way. Hill-Christian is the President/CEO of Hill-Christian Consulting Group, LLC, a regional firm offering high quality consulting services to both government and non-profit agencies.

Richmond Habitat for Humanity Launches New Website

mwright — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:32:39 +0000

At Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity, we’re always doing a lot more than organizing volunteers with hammers. In fact, we act as a major community resource, offer family services, help with financial planning, and we even have our own store where donated items like building supplies and furniture are sold at affordable prices.

All of these facets of our organizations deserve to be showcased, which is why we are so pleased to present our new website. We’ve included a lot of the information you need to know–whether you are interested in purchasing a home, volunteering, or donating financially, or through our ReStore. We also have links to our social media sites and plenty of photos, so that you can stay up to date with the latest happenings at Habitat.

Please explore the site, and discover all that we offer. You may even be inspired to support our mission of ending poverty and providing decent, safe, and affordable housing for families throughout Richmond and the surrounding counties.