The joy of giving! Thanks to the generous donations and support of local sponsors, our 2020 holiday gift drive set a new record of 382 gifts for children living in Habitat homes this year!

Benefitting 191 children, each child will receive one gift of necessity and one leisure gift to help relieve some of the financial stress experienced by Habitat families during the holiday season.
Despite a difficult year, an outpouring of support from local businesses, church groups, families, staff, board members, and committee members ensured that this year’s gift drive reached its highest collection numbers yet.

Long-time community partners, including Rochester-based Messner Flooring, felt an even bigger need to give back to those who may struggle to provide for their families during the holidays. 

“We wanted to do our part in supporting Flower City Habitat and the immeasurable impact it has on the Rochester community. The Habitat holiday gift drive provided our employees an opportunity to personally bring a smile to children’s faces on Christmas morning,” said Ted Messner, Commercial Flooring Sales Rep at Messner Flooring. “The joy this brought to our company, employees, and hopefully the Habitat children far exceeded anything we could have imagined.”

Habitat families' wish lists included necessities like school supplies, bedding, and clothing for the upcoming year; and some of the most requested toys and games included scooters, LEGOs, and dollhouses. 

In order to keep sponsors and Habitat families safe in the gift exchange process, Flower City Habitat for Humanity staggered the gift donation and pick-up schedule over five days to keep person-to-person contact to a minimum. 
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Thank you to everyone who made this year's gift drive a success! We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season!

Bikes for all ages!
Nearly all bikes will be priced between $10-$50.

Cash only.
Face masks required.
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Sunday, July 19th, 11am-2pm
755 Culver Road.

Women Build is back on the construction sites and working on the 16th Women Build house! This year's new home is being built at 423 Jay Street and will be a two-story, five-bedroom home that will be purchased by a hard-working Habitat family. (more on the family soon!)

The following photos were taken during the first week of construction (July 1-9), and as you can see we are already making great progress!

Women Build is currently recruiting individuals and teams to help build this house. Learn how to get involved at rochesterhabitat.org/womenbuild

The Women Build 2020 fundraising campaign has a different look this year. Large in-person events are much less likely to happen this year, so we need to rely more on creative fundraising – including small donations.
 
To help illustrate how impactful each donation is, we have compiled a “catalog” of some common materials that we use in building the Women Build house.
 
We have included example items in several donation ranges for you to consider. These are suggestions to help guide your donation, but you can always donate any amount that is comfortable for you.
 
Take a look at the suggested amounts below, and go to this link to choose your item or to make a general donation: https://give.rochesterhabitat.org/ge/wbfundraising
 
Or send a check, with Women Build in the memo line to:
Flower City Habitat for Humanity
Attn:  Women Build
755 Culver Road
Rochester NY 14609
 
We know that the global pandemic has had adverse effects on everyone.  Please know that we will welcome donations in any amount.  $5 and $10 gifts will help immensely.  Your gift in any amount will help us buy all of the necessary construction materials and will enable Women Build teams to construct a lovely, safe, energy-efficient home for a hard-working family.  We thank you for your support and generosity!
 
Our goal for our 2020 house at 423 Jay Street is $75,000.  As of July 1, we have raised over $29,000 toward this goal.

Throughout Habitat's history, our work has been a vehicle for reconciliation that has broken down barriers between people. We work alongside those willing to partner with us, no matter their background or walk of life, and that will always be true.

We will continue to build with our hammers, build connections among community members; and build strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter.

At the same time, we must also do a better job of directly addressing systemic barriers to affordable housing, and we must work to eradicate those barriers.

Historic discrimination in U.S. housing policy — particularly discrimination against Black Americans, and including mortgage redlining in Rochester — is one of the chief drivers of racial inequities that still persist today.

Organizations like Habitat that work on housing must understand that history, understand that its legacy still affects our neighbors and neighborhoods today, and it must inform our work moving forward.

At the link below you will find further details of Habitat for Humanity's commitments, including steps that are being undertaken now, a great list of actions that you can take with us, and a list of educational materials (to read or watch).

We know we can't do everything on these lists all at once; but as individual staff members, volunteers, and supporters — we can each commit to starting with one. Start with one action today.

As a local Habitat affiliate, we are also committing to walking alongside and supporting each other as we undertake this essential work.
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We will occasionally send bigger updates to everyone (like this one), but if you would like to receive more frequent, step-by-step updates about our advocacy, education, and social justice work, please update your email preferences here.

Have you ever wondered how Habitat homeowners are doing long after they move in?

Ana Medina is approaching 15 years as a Habitat homeowner in Rochester, and she has been a close friend and mentor to Kiomy Rivera, who just moved into her Habitat home last month!

Please join us to hear Ana's story on Wednesday, June 24th, starting at 7:00pm.
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RSVP here to get a reminder and watch the video below for a teaser.

In addition to Ana's story on Wednesday, we have updated our website with a full schedule, details, and themes for each night (June 23-26).

Each evening is only 1 or 2 hours, so you can join us every night (without losing your whole night), or pick and choose which parts to attend!
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Plus, the online auction is open now! Click the button below for more details or to bid on auction items now.

The tithe is a foundational principle of Habitat for Humanity, based on our biblical roots as an ecumenical Christian ministry, and it's also a principal that people of all faiths and no particular faith can participate in.

Through the financial commitment of a tithe, all U.S. Habitat organizations are able to participate fully in building Habitat’s vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. While each country is different, it takes an average of only $4,500 to build dramatically improved, permanent housing solutions with our international partner families!

Flower City Habitat for Humanity designates our tithe funding to Habitat Nepal and Habitat Ethiopia; two countries that Habitat for Humanity International has designated as ​having particular need for tithe support.
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As we work together, we hope you will join us in building long-lasting, impactful, and deepening relationships with our global brothers and sisters.

While of course we are disappointed about not being able to travel and build in Nepal this year, it is a great time to learn more about the work being done in both Nepal and Ethiopia.

Please help us build a deeper relationship with these two Habitat organizations by visiting their websites and following them on social media today:
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Habitat Nepal: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Habitat Ethiopia: Website, Facebook