With Spring showers and new beginnings in the air, we celebrated our latest home dedication on Smith Street! This home was made possible by Perinton Congregations for Flower City Habitat for Humanity and the Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation. Congrats Franchesca!

"Surprise Jae & Pito, welcome to our new home!"

What an amazing day. Despite personally building almost every week throughout construction, Natasha managed to keep her Habitat home a secret from her kids until today's dedication! Be sure to check out the livestream video (link below) for their reactions seeing the house and their new rooms!

Today's dedication was also a milestone for our affiliate and the Greater JOSANA Neighborhood, with this house being the 100th Habitat home built or renovated within a half mile of School 17!

This new home was generously sponsored by Thrivent and the Harvest Home Coalition, the fourth Habitat home they have partnered together on, raising the funds and volunteer labor needed to complete the home with Natasha. Thank you all for your partnership and hard work. Congratulations Natasha!

In these photos, regular volunteers Jim and Tim were installing handrails in the stairwell, and you can see that kitchen cabinets are going in and closet doors are ready to be installed. It's moving along!

This home was made possible by Perinton Congregations for Flower City Habitat for Humanity and the Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation.

Construction is nearing completion at 757 Jay Street!

This home, which is the 100th Habitat home within a half mile of School 17, has been made possible by Thrivent and the FCHH Harvest Home Coalition.
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Join us for the dedication livestream next Friday, February 4th, 1pm at www.facebook.com/RocHabitat/live

It was a big week for volunteers from the Perinton Congregations as we prepared for arrival and installed the roof trusses at 871 Smith Street!

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

In a time when the need for safe, affordable housing is even more clear, we are thankful to be celebrating the completion of four new Habitat homes on Holworthy Street.

Over the past few weeks, our construction team has been working with staff only (no volunteers) and maximum health and safety precautions to finish homes that were nearly complete.
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Last week, we turned over four sets of keys and each family is moving in as they can, and as safely as possible.

Although our CEO, Matt Flanigan had to keep his distance, he was grateful to be among the first to say, "Welcome home!" to Kiomy and her family on move-in day.

Check out interviews with Kiomy and Matt from Spectrum News, WHEC News 10, and WROC News 8 who helped us share the great news!
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And our biggest thanks to the Greece Coalition of Churches for sponsoring this home!

The other three families on Holworthy Street are in the process of moving in as well, and we will share updates when possible. We also look forward to having in-person celebrations with the families and house sponsors once it is safe to do so.

Though we have had to make a lot of adjustments, Flower City Habitat's commitment to a world where everyone has a decent place to live is as strong as ever.

You can view our broad operational updates at any time, but please help us keep you informed by updating your email preferences so we can get you more specific information on the topics that you are most interested in.

Our work building homes, community, and hope continues and we thank you for your continued support!

Today is a day where far too many are struggling to make rent payments, often for substandard housing. We know how big the task is before us, but we are also fortunate to share some good news today.

Today is move-in day for Rochester's newest Habitat homebuyers; with several more expected to be ready in the next few weeks!

Both our construction and family services teams continue to practice maximum social distancing and we are working with each family on an individual plan regarding safety, logistics, and timing of move-ins.

This first family has asked for some privacy, so we are respecting that, but we can share that they are excited to now know that "staying home" means the safety, security, and stability that we all deserve.

The kitchen appliances were delivered just after these photos were taken and of course we'll be back to help with landscaping when it's safe for volunteer groups again.

This home, at 96 Holworthy Street, was made possible by generous donations from Thrivent Financial and the Harvest Home Coalition. THANK YOU!

We miss seeing all of our supporters in person, but hope you will join us in saying "Welcome home!" to Rochester's newest Habitat homebuyers!

Where there was once five empty lots, there are now five nearly completed homes!

Five home dedication ceremonies have been scheduled:

• March 24: Dedication of 874 Smith Street (3pm, RSVP here)
• March 28: Dedication of 96 Holworthy Street (10am, RSVP here)
• April 4: Dedication of 120 Holworthy Street (10am, RSVP here)
• April 18: Dedication of 105 Holworthy Street (10am, RSVP here)
• April 18: Dedication of 126 Holworthy Street (1pm, RSVP here)

If you helped fund or build any of these houses, or are a regular Habitat supporter, we welcome you to join us in the transition of these construction sites into Habitat homes!

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!