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Where there was once five empty lots, there are now five nearly completed homes! Five home dedication ceremonies have been scheduled:
On the volunteering side, there is still some work left to do and we have opened several house sponsor and public volunteer shifts leading up to the dedications. Take a look at the whiteboard to see what to expect and email us if you have any questions! In the season of giving, we took some time to sing, eat, and be merry with our regular volunteers who give generously of their time all year! Thank you to all of the volunteers and sponsors who celebrated another successful Leaders Build year, we look forward to continuing to build homeownership, communities, and hope with you in 2020! Bob August honored as 2019 Outstanding Philanthropist Last Friday we joined the AFP Genesee Valley in honoring local philanthropy, including a person very close to our mission. At Flower City Habitat, Bob August is a regular "Hammer & Saw" construction volunteer, member of our Board of Directors, a generous donor, and so much more. It was a joy to see his philanthropy work celebrated and to learn more about the other organizations he supports. Please help us congratulate Bob for the well deserved distinction of AFP's Outstanding Philanthropist of 2019! ------------ From the RBJ: While humble and quiet about his deeds, Robert W. August’s actions send a strong message about fulfilling one’s duty to help others when you can. He always takes the initiative to get things done and knows when to ask for help. “While it is true that Bob carries out several community commitments,” Tom Hildebrandt of The Davenport-Hatch Foundation explained endorsing August’s nomination, “I have consistently seen that he manages to give high quality ‘time, talent, and treasure’ to each.” August starts with causes that are near and dear to his heart and his family. As a trustee of Hillside Family of Agencies Children’s Center, August leveraged his connections and advocacy to provide a lead gift towards the $1 million renovation of Camp Possibilities, a summer day camp serving 400. August’s support of Hillside’s nationally recognized Work-Scholarship Connection also helps at-risk youth graduate from high school and continue their education or enter the workforce. At Hope Hall School, which receives no state or school district funding, August’s efforts help fuel educational opportunities for students who struggle with learning challenges. In addition to making 101 personal gifts to Hope Hall, August helped to raise $4 million to build the high school and hire the necessary teachers. Eighty-seven percent of Hope Hall students live in poverty, so August cultivated support from the community to ensure the school can continue to give $400,000 in scholarships each year. August has been a long-term and fully committed annual donor, board member, and faithful friend of Flower City Habitat for Humanity for over 16 years. As an on-site volunteer, August worked alongside Habitat homebuyers, adding his sweat equity hours to theirs. The two houses he helped to build are now homes that promote revitalization and growth in their neighborhoods. August saw the need for a box transport truck at the construction site and personally supported its purchase. Habitat’s Vacant and Abandoned House Initiative began at the behest of the city of Rochester. August turned to the August Family Foundation for seed money to renovate a house on Parsells Avenue. Soon other private, foundation, and corporate donations followed, allowing for the renovation of six more houses. August may not realize his influence, but he is a pacesetter that others follow. “Bob is not bashful about sharing ideas for programs that could benefit from our mutual support,” said Hildebrandt. “A grant from the August Family Foundation is an incredible endorsement that other potential funders invariably take notice of.”  Today we celebrated love in action, on Love Street! Dozens of members of the Habitat Family: staff, board members, volunteers, donors, faith partners, city & town partners, and more joined together as we celebrated another Habitat home on Love Street. (1 of 8 Habitat homes on Love Street) When Eudosia first applied for the Habitat homebuyer program, she explained that her preference for Habitat was in large part due to the financial and home maintenance education that is part of our program. After furthering her own education, including teaching herself to read and write English as a young adult, she is now investing in her future through homeownership. Her goal is for this home to not only provide stability for herself, but also to be an asset to her young adult children. The Brighton Churches Habitat Coalition has been building homes in partnership with Flower City Habitat for Humanity since 1998, when four Brighton pastors decided among themselves to launch the Coalition. The faith-based membership has grown considerably over the past 21 years to include ten pastoral communities. The Bright Coalition now includes: Atonement Lutheran, Baptist Temple, Edgewood Free Methodist, First Baptist, St Damien of Molakai Knights of Columbus, Our Lady of Lourdes-St. Anne Cluster Community, Peace of Christ, Saint Thomas Episcopal, Trinity Reformed, and Twelve Corners Presbyterian. This year’s home on Love Street is the 7th Habitat home and first rehabilitation project sponsored by the Brighton Coalition, which previously built Habitat homes on Taylor Street (1999-2000), Rauber Street (2002), Love Street (2005), Orange Street (2008-2009), Orchard Street (2011-2012) and Brown Street (2014). The refurbished home being dedicated today is the second on Love Street sponsored by the Coalition. Now entering a third decade of partnering with Flower City Habitat, the Brighton Churches Habitat Coalition is a prime example of our mission to put God’s love into action by bringing partners together to build homeownership, communities, and hope. We were also honored to be joined by partners from the City of Rochester, Town of Brighton, and Town of Pittsford; represented by: Dana Miller, Rochester Director of Business Development & Chairman of Rochester Land Bank Corporation; Bill Moehle, Brighton Town Supervisor; and Matthew O'Connor, Pittsford Town Council & Chair of Brighton Church Coalition. All of these partners coming together - to lift our neighbors and ourselves - is how Habitat builds homes, community, and hope. Learn how you can help build a home for yourself through our homeownership program or with your neighbor by volunteering or donating today. Women Build hosts wall-raising ceremonyWomen Build teams joined Illeana and her family to raise the fourth wall of their home on Holworthy Street! We are grateful to have celebrated our 35th Flower City Habitat for Humanity Anniversary with our wonderful community supporters, donors, volunteers, staff, and sponsors! Together we raised over $125,000 to continue building strength, stability, and self-reliance in Rochester!  Betts Family & Sutton Family Dedications!What a beautiful day to celebrate TWO Habitat Home Dedications! Today we had the honor of celebrating the ceremonial and spiritual transition of two construction sites into two new Habitat Homes that were full of excitement, love, and plans for the future. There's a few things left to finish up, but in just a few short weeks The Betts Family and The Sutton Family will be closing on their affordable mortgages, moving in, and building the next chapter of their lives in a quality, affordable, and stable home. These two homes were made possible by the hard work of our partner families, Habitat staff and volunteers, and the faith-filled support of the Penfield Area Coalition of Churches, Thrivent Financial, and the Harvest Home Coalition. All three of these faith-based organizations (along with many more) are already gearing up to partner with us again - and if you are interested in putting your faith into action with us, we invite you to learn more at: www.rochesterhabitat.org/faith To learn more about our homeownership program, visit: www.rochesterhabitat.org/homeownership
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