Barb Seabolt - Quarterly Newsletter

Mecosta Habitat Family Circle

Quarterly Newsletter #3

Hi! My name is Lisa Barnum. I am the Community Outreach Director for Mecosta County Habitat for Humanity. My rolls have changed since being introduced to MCHFH. I originally was asked to be on the board, then started working at the Restore then on to Outreach Director. The change occurred by the need of our programs. I coordinate and facilitate all of our Critical Home Repairs. When we started our program which was called a “Brush with Kindness,” it was meant for small home repairs like fixing stairs, building ramps and painting houses. But today we are assisting home owners of Mecosta County with critical home repairs such as water wells, septic systems, windows, furnaces and much more. Our Critical Home Repair program offers home owners hope for the future. The best part of my job is to see the faces of our home owners when they know their home repairs are completed. Having running water, heat in the winter, no leaking roof and just knowing their home is safe to live are just of the few things we all can take for granted.

Just like our Home Ownership Program, our Critical Home Repair families repay the expense of their projects with affordable payments.This helps secure the long-term success of our program and makes sure we are able to help the next family and the next.

Lisa Barnum - Community Outreach Director

OUR HOME OWNERSHIP PROGRAM

Homeowner Program Process:

Many people want to know how to apply for our Home Ownership Program. In short, to qualify for our Home ownership Program, our families must have a need for decent housing, the desire for home ownership, a willingness to partner and earn less than 60% of the AMI (Area Median Income.)

MCHFH has partnered with the financial counselors at the State of Michigan Habitat, we call this the HOPE Program, (Home Ownership Preparation and Education.) If you are considering applying four our home ownership program If you want to be considered for the Home Ownership Program, here is our process:

1. Complete the intake information by going online to https://mecostahabitat.org/homeownership or by calling (517) 485-1006 X 135 and asking for an intake appointment.

2. Schedule a time with a housing coach to review your credit, debt, and income information.

3. During your individual session you will learn what you need to do to qualify for home ownership and will create an action plan to be mortgage ready as soon as possible.

4. Your housing coach will work with you to remove barriers until you are ready to buy!

5. Once you are mortgage-ready to buy a home you will be referred to Mecosta Habitat to complete our home ownership application.

6. All meetings you attend will be credited to your sweat equity requirements for buying a Habitat home!

DON’T DELAY – GET STARTED ON YOUR HOME OWNERSHIP GOAL TODAY!!

OUR CRITICAL HOME REPAIR PROGRAM

Water finally after a year without

Thanks to MSHDA, United Way, Consumers Energy, Brad Malley’s Well Drilling Service and all of our supporters, we were able to install a new water well for Michelle. This project was very challenging because where the well was to be installed had an electrical pole that had every line coming into it for the neighbors. No well company could get their rig in to drill the well with all the over head lines. We were finally able to get Consumers to inform the neighbors that their electricity would be off for a couple of hours while the well was drilled. Malley was so great to be ready to install as soon as Consumers could disconnect the electrical lines. It was truly a group effort to get Michelle her water. The first thing Michelle said she wanted to do was to take a bath! Happy to help!

OUR VETERANS PROGRAM

In 2019, our affiliate began an initiative to increase our focus on our deserving Veterans. We seek to assist Mecosta County Veterans in any way we are able with their housing issues. One such Veteran family speaks of their experience.

Meet Mike and Karen Fitzgerald. During his Senior year of high school, 1966, Mike entered the United States Navy. Mike spent the majority of his time in the Navy traveling back and forth to Vietnam aboard the USS Enterprise… an aircraft carrier that has since been decommissioned. During his time aboard the ship, Mike worked many electrical jobs that were vital to the ship and its mission. While at home station in Hawaii, the ship caught fire. Several 1000 lb bombs exploded aboard ship, causing major damage not only to the ship, but also to Mike’s hearing. He has since suffered hearing loss from this exposure. Also coming home from the service with him were two chemicals found in the Agent Orange that was used during the Vietnam conflict. These chemicals have led to many health issues.

Mike suffered a stroke last November that has left his entire left side debilitated and unusable. His house was not ready to accommodate a wheelchair bound individual so we needed to modify his home. This is when Mike and Karen’s son-in-law and daughter reached out to Habitat for assistance. With the support of the Home Repair Corp program through Home Depot we were able to modify Mike’s bathroom/bedroom, install a new washer and dryer on the main floor and a chair lift in the garage.

“The remodel has made our life so much easier. We are able to wheel my husband right into the shower with no risk of him falling anymore. Having the washing machine and dryer on the main level is fantastic. My favorite thing about the whole project is how everyone has helped us so much. Everyone has been so nice and it has made Mike and myself so grateful for everyone. Mike can get around so much better. It was an old house with small rooms and bathrooms and now it is not. Thank you!”

Mike and Karen Fitzgerald

OUR DONORS - Our Foundation

MCHFH depends on the financial generosity of our community for all of our programs. Dick and Heidi have been friends and supporters of MCHFH for many years; here is their message.

OUR LIFE WITH HABITAT

We became interested in Mecosta County Habitat for Humanity through Jim and Norma Hansen sometime in the late 1990’s. I don’t know how or when I got hooked for sure but I do know the reason. Dick and I have always tried to help charities in the area where we lived. When we moved to Canadian Lakes, I met Norma and Jim. Norma was the President of MCHFH at the time and like everything Norma was involved in, she always tried to put the best construction on her projects and she got to know people well enough to see if they would be a good fit for her projects and the people who worked with her.

It didn’t take me long to find that Habitat was a great organization that had a mission to help people with “a hands up” not “a hand out.” Both Dick and I also liked their vision to help families grow and succeed by have good, affordable, safe housing. The people who were able to get a home needed to work to build that home. And they had to learn how to take care of that home both inside and out. Dick and I became a team to work for Habitat. I was the work-a-bee and he always made sure Habitat had the money needed to do their job.

Every family who became a Habitat Home owner that I knew, grew as parents, community members, students, etc. They became proud home owners and they all really liked to share what they learned while becoming a Habitat Home owner with others who were new to Habitat.

One of the jobs I loved while I was on the board as the Fund-Raising Chairperson, was the Home Tours we held in Canadian Lakes. Each home owner that allowed us to feature their home had one chairperson and many, many helpers. We all got to know so many people who lived in Canadian Lakes. And I remember those who worked on the Home Tours always saying what a wonderful time they had. I think we had the Home Tours for at least five years and we always had a log cabin on the Tour.

The other job that I loved was chairing the Annual Golf Outing. That was started several years before I became a member of the board and it is still being held every year. This was just like the Home Tour in that it was never hard to get people to work at the Golf Outing. Every year we grew and the outing is still growing because the people who took over the Golf outing had many new and exciting ideas.

I believe one of the reasons that MCHFH has continued to grow over the years is because the Board is always looking for new people with ideas on how to grow. The Board was not afraid to open a Habitat Store or to hire a full time, Director. MCHFH will continue to grow and help families have safe, affordable housing. And as they grow, they come up with new and exciting ideas. An example of this, is the new program they have for Veterans. These are the men and women who were willing to give their lives for the freedom of Americans. This is such a great and good commitment. I look forward to the next new idea coming from Mecosta County Habitat for Humanity.

Dick and I have remembered Mecosta Habitat in our estate planning and we urge you to consider doing the same.

Dick and Heidi Litobar

OUR VOLUNTEERS- Our Backbone

At Mecosta County Habitat, we could do nothing and would be nowhere without our very wonderful volunteers. We depend on volunteers to work at our ReStore, on our Home Construction sites and at our Critical Home Repair projects. We reached out to get one of our dedicated volunteers to speak to her experience.

Nominated for Habitat of Michigan’s Volunteer of the Year

Being nominated for Volunteer of the Year for the Mecosta County Habitat Affiliate is unexpected and humbling. When I think of all the wonderful deserving people I have worked with over 36 years of volunteering with Habitat, I am honored to be nominated. My experiences have included working with large affiliates like Detroit and small ones like Mecosta County. I have worked in many different types of settings, cities, rural areas, Native American Reservations, overseas with Global Village work projects and many blitz builds, including 11 Jimmy Carter Work Projects. Taking my high school students to work with Habitat was rewarding and enlightening for them. Working with Habitat has been a blessing. I believe that I have received much more from my volunteering than I have been able to give. Working with Habitat has been a positive life changing experience for me. I recommend volunteerism for everyone.

Humbly, Marshal Wied

WIN ME!

When long term supporter Betsy Ashbaugh is not volunteering, she is busy crocheting. She has recently created this beautifully hand crocheted 70” x 53” American flag afghan, which she has generously donated for us to raffle as a fundraiser.

Raffle Tickets are available at the Restore or for more information email mecostahfh@gmail.com.

The lucky winner will be drawn November 11th on Veterans Day! It is on display at the Restore.

OUR RESTORE

History of our Restore

Our Restore

Many Habitat for Humanity affiliates in Michigan and throughout the US have a Restore which receives donated items and sells them. It is one way to raise money that can be used to help build homes and do home repairs.

In 2013, our Mecosta County Habitat for Humanity affiliate opened a Restore on Northland Drive just south of Rogers Heights and the Muskegon River. We rented two buildings and started receiving and picking up donated items. It was completely run by volunteers and we had a good flow of customers. Of course, we had to learn a lot about pricing items, displaying items and understanding what would sell and what would not. We very quickly realized we did not have enough room to display donated items and to clean and lightly repair some items. Doing pickups and running the store with volunteers was not easy.

So, in 2015, we rented the previous Markel Dodge dealership building on 18387 Northland Drive north of the Big Rapids airport, which provided a lot more enclosed space. We also hired part time staff to manage the store, to do pickups and interface with the customers. We continue to have wonderful volunteers who help with many aspects of the store operation. We continue to be thankful to everyone who donates items which is the store’s lifeblood. We sell not only building products like doors, windows, cabinets, vanities, sinks, toilets, appliances and more, but also kitchen goods like plates, cups, glasses, silverware, etc. We sell furniture, lights and books. The above are just a small example of what we sell. We encourage you to come to the store and look around. Even if you have no intention of buying anything it will give you an idea of what you could donate or be able to tell your family, friends and neighbors about what’s available at the store. We also encourage you to go to our website mecostahabitat.org

The Restore is successful in providing us some of the needed funds to be used to help people in Mecosta County with new/renovated homes and home repair needs. I believe the Restore is a WIN on many levels:

It provides a place for people to donate useful items
It provides customers with reasonably priced items they need and want
It raises funds to help build homes and do home repairs
It provides part time employment

Lee Wolken, MCHFH Board Member

Schedule your pickup Online HERE or call 231-629-8700

To honor our deployed military, we wear red on Fridays. We never forget!

What our customers are saying about our ReStore

OUR FAMILY NEWS - Keeping Connected

Mecosta County Habitat for Humanity recently lost one of our donors. Yolanda Lyons donated her home to us. We extend our condolences to Yolanda’s family and we sincerely thank Yolanda for her generous support enabling us to continue our mission.