Millcreek Valley Habitat for Humanity

Here are some training and information opportunities offered by Habitat for Humanity Int’l.

Howard Brown, 51, passed way on Feb. 23, 2008. He was the beloved husband of Debra Brown and devoted father of Monica Morris & Latisha Peart. Visitation is Sat. March 1 at 9am and the service is at 10am at the Donald & Stewart Funeral Home, Inc., 3939 Reading Rd @ Paddock.

In an extraordinary act of rebellion, the oldest affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International has filed suit to protest a new agreement that the nonprofit housing organization is imposing on its 1,600 local chapters.

The San Antonio affiliate, which built the first Habitat house, is seeking a court ruling that would allow it to continue to use the Habitat name without signing the agreement, which it contends gives the international organization too much power over its assets and operations.

“We have about $21 million in buildings and other tangible and intangible assets that we’ve acquired over 31 years on our own, and this agreement gives them unilateral and total control over us,” said Rene Diaz, chairman of the San Antonio Habitat’s board and a professional mediator. “If we fall out of favor, they could come in and take over everything and we couldn’t do a thing about it.”.

Read the rest of the article at New York Times: Habitat for Humanity Sued by Affiliate.

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As part of its series on generosity called Tackling the Elephant, the Vineyard Community Church has provided us with a check to cover the cost of building a house. They indicated their preference that the house be built in Lincoln Heights. We are looking forward to partnering with the Vineyard on building this house and to continue to create hope and optimism in the family and in the community.

We will be holding a celebration dinner on Saturday, November 17 at the Wyoming Presbyterian Church at 6:00 PM. We are excited to announce that Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity International, will be our guest speaker. Millard will talk about the founding of Habitat and its miraculous growth throughout the world. He will also talk about what he’s up to currently, and what we can all do to put our faiths into action and end poverty housing.

Millard will also autograph his recently-released biography which tells the "Habitat story." The book will be available for purchase at the dinner.

The evening promises to be an entertaining one. Musical entertainment will be provided by singer Scott Wesley Hawley. We will talk about our heroes from the past year, and our dreams for the upcoming year. There will even be door prizes.

We hope to see you on the 17th to help us celebrate, and to kick off an exciting new year.

Please let us know you are coming by calling Gabe Blumer at (513)761-4687. We will need to know of your plans by Thursday, November 15.

The suggested donation for the dinner is $10.

Forty attendees braved the elements to celebrate the partnership between Millcreek Valley and members of the Ohio Contractor’s Association, and attended a kick-off for the project. Participating members of the Association who are listed in the graphic above, will be extending Wilson Avenue through early December. Rev Joe Mears of Grace Wesleyan Church blessed the project, and members of the partnership broke ground. When completed, six Habitat homes will ahve been built on the site.

On the weekend of November 13, Dan Dallmer took a group of 14 college students from UC and Xavier down to Frakes, Kentucky to the Red Bird Mission. The trip was their second service trip this fall, and took place during semester breaks at both schools. While they were there, they roofed the 10,000 square foot roof of the Community gym. The gym is in use nearly every weekend with community events, and is “essential to the work of the Mission.” To accomplish their task, Dan’s group used shingles donated by Owens Corning Corporation. He will be taking 15-20 UC students back down to the Mission the weekend of November 10.

Millcreek Valley received $5000.00 from Bike & Build, Inc. located in Brooklyn, New York.  It its award letter, the organization said “our funding committee identified your project as having a high potential of impacting the affordable housing landscape…while involving young adults.”  Millcreek Valley will use the funds to support mission trips for local college students in Kentucky and Alabama.  This will further Millcreek Valley’s efforts to provide opportunities for teenagers and young adults to serve their communities and to put their faiths into action.

Bike & Build forms teams of college students who ride across the U.S. each summer in support of low-income housing.  They devote days to work with local housing developers along the way.  A Bike & Build team stopped in the Cincinnati area in May of this year for 2 nights, staying at the Kemper Road Christian Church.  For their Saturday workday, half of the group put a roof on a Cincinnati Habitat build in Walnut Hills, while the other half assisted a Mt. Healthy homeowner in clearing debris from her home.

Members of the Southwest Chapter of Ohio Contractors Association take on a volunteer project each year to help the larger community.  Last year they assisted One Way Farms in Fairfield with a parking lot and other infrastructure needs.  This year, when they heard of Millcreek Valley’s need for a road extension at their Wilson Road Development, “we had no trouble getting partners,”  says chapter president, Dennis  Brunton.  An engineer with Barrett Paving Materials, Inc, he says, ”People were ready to jump in, and there were businesses waiting in the wings.”  For the Contractor’s Association, whose members  build America’s roadways, this project was “right in our wheelhouse.”  The Association will begin its work in early October, and should  finish up by December 1.

For Millcreek Valley, the assistance of the Contractor’s Association is nothing short of a blessing.  Federal funding had been obtained through a S.H.O.P. grant, which allowed for the purchase of property on Wilson Road.  However, the infrastructure needs were yet another challenge.  When the project is finished, six Habitat homes will stand on the tract.  

This site will host Millcreek Valley’s 2008 Builder’s Blitz, when two homes will be built by area home builders in the course of a week next June.