Summer 2001
Millstone Basin's Tithing Helps Build Houses in Kyrgyzstan
By Torry Watkins
Building Committee Member
Habitat For Humanity's Millstone Basin Affiliate has begun its tenth year of operation by starting a new home with its sixth partner family. Located on Evan Avenue, just off Airport Road in East Windsor, the compact two-story will be the new home of Channel Howell, her children, and another family member. Long in planning, the new project began to take shape at the end of March, with a week-long "blitz build."
By the end of the week, the house was completely erected, framed, roofed, and ready for siding, trim, and electrical and mechanical details.
Construction has been partially overseen by Joseph Mutinsky, a long-time friend of the affiliate and former Centex Homes employee, recently named New Jersey's Builder of the Year by an industry trade publication.
Crews have been a contingent of past, present, and future partner families, veteran volunteers of past projects, and an infusion of enthusiastic new recruits. There have been a mix of all skill levels, with the novices learning from the experts -- all laboring through ninety-degree days, rain and mud to get the house closed in, roofed and sided.
Funding for Habitat homes in the Millstone Basin area comes from a wide cross-section of the community. Sources include individuals, businesses and professional people, religious organizations, and a great deal of self-help, such as pancake breakfasts, and sales by the chapter of its "house pin" costume jewelry. Local contractors and building materials suppliers help too, through in-kind donation of services and discounted equipment and supplies.
Habitat in the Eastern U.S. builds homes for about $50,000 each, and partner families repay that money with no-interest mortgages. All necessary funds are in hand before ground is broken on a Habitat home.
Habitat officials emphasize that "we're not just about swinging hammers." As with any organization, there is a tremendous amount of activity that takes place behind the scenes. Partner families must be carefully selected, motivated to perform a required 500 hours of service on their own homes and those of other partners, and nurtured through their critical early years of home ownership. Fund-raising is an ongoing activity, as is publicity, along with governmental relations within our host communities.
Habitat efforts don't stop at our regional borders, either. Each chapter "tithes" 10 percent of its donations to Habitat International, these funds are used to construct affordable housing around the world. Millstone Habitat members affirm that the organization is not a charity; it is a self-help, empowering experience, bringing together a diverse collection of people in a task that has wider relevance than the housing of a single family, worthy a goal as that is in itself.
Millstone Basin's Tithing Helps Build Houses in Kyrgyzstan
By Dave Petrenka
Building Committee Chair
The house is moving along, a bit behind the original schedule, but we have had quite enough work to keep everyone busy.
Right now the siding is complete except for the area under the porch which needs to be visible for the framing inspection before it is covered. The roof is complete and all the windows have been installed. Our rough electric went in a few weeks ago. We also installed the rough plumbing and had the water and sewer lines connected at the street this week. We are currently waiting for the installation of the duct work and then we will request a framing inspection. Once the framing inspection is complete and approved we will start insulation and drywall installation. Work on those items should begin in early August.
We have had many members of the community helping with the project as well as professional help in areas where our volunteers do not have expertise:
-- The building committee members that have been instrumental in getting this house off the ground are; Torry Watkins of Hightstown, Joel Carpenter of West Windsor, Dave Campo from Princeton Junction, Michael O' Laughlin of East Windsor and Ted Leung of Cranbury.
-- The contractors who have been involved include Hull Mechanical of Princeton, Conley Electric of Cranbury and Park Roofing and Sheet metal from East Brunswick.
-- We have received either a generous discount or "builder's pricing" from SuperSeal Windows from South Plainfield, Northeastern Lumber of Jamesburg, Haddonfield Lumber and Shangle and Hunt lumber of Hightstown as well as Air-Fab from Cranbury.
-- We will also be ordering our appliances from directly from Whirlpool which has a special pricing policy for HFH.
-- We also should mention long-time friend Joe Mutinsky, who, with the help of Dave Campo and Torry Watkins, installed the roof.
The items that we are currently getting ready to order are the kitchen and bath cabinets, carpet and floor tiles, paint and all other interior finish details.
The plans for our next house are taking shape. We do need to identify a demolition contractor because we are replacing the next house on the same land a few hundred feet away in the same community in East Windsor. We are going to be finalizing the floor plan in the next few weeks so we can start in earnest to get that house started this fall.
Habitat members urge others to volunteer their time and talents. Come to the job site any Saturday, or visit our Web Site: http://members.aol.com/HabitatMBA. Email can be sent to HabitatMBA@aol.com.
Sponsorship Offers Unique Opportunity
While much can be done with the money raised from modest events like pancake breakfasts and the many personal checks we receive in our post office box each month, the reality facing the affiliate is that helping more than a family or two requires significant support from the community.
To wit, the affiliate is searching for individuals, community groups, churches, businesses or corporations to consider sponsoring a portion of an upcoming house, the purchase of much needed equipment or a specific project.
Ideas include:
-- house demolition to prepare a lot for building ~ $10,000
-- one room of an upcoming house ~$7,500
-- windows and doors ~$1,500
-- services of a professional plumber/electrician ~ $1,000
-- circular saw ~$200
You might also be in the unique position to donate office or warehouse space or consider a donation of land, building supplies or tools.
Please ask yourself if you could commit to such a generous offer or if you would be willing to approach your corporate or community organization to take on such a sponsorship. Or if you would like to discuss the tax benefits of such a donation, please call the affiliate at 609-443-8744 and leave a message that you are interested in finding out more about sponsorship.
An open letter to Congregation Beth Chaim
Rabbi Eric B. Wisnia
Congregation Beth Chaim
Princeton Junction, New Jersey
Dear Rabbi Wisnia,
Please extend our sincere appreciation to the entire Beth Chaim congregation for so generously providing a meeting place for Habitat for Humanity Millstone Basin's monthly board meetings over the past year and a half. We would also like to acknowledge and express our appreciation for Beth Chaim's ongoing vigorous support of the McCaffery's receipt fund raising effort (to which Beth Chaim is, by far, the No. 1 contributor) as well as for the numerous Beth Chaim congregants who have volunteered on work groups.
Sincerely,
Board of Directors
Habitat for Humanity Millstone Basin Area
Third-Annual 'Race to Build' Continues Running Tradition
For the third straight year the weather was beautiful on the morning of Millstone Basin's Race to Build 5K road race. This year's race was held July 7, in Mercer County Park in West Windsor, N.J. The skies were sunny and clear and the boathouse parking lot at was abuzz with runners and walkers eager to start the race - fewer this year than last, but spirits were high.
Building on the success of the previous races, planning for the 2001 race began shortly after the 2000 race ended. The project was headed by local college student Anand Vimalassery. He founded the event in 1999 and co-chaired it in 2000 and 2001. It was co-chaired this year and last by Sharon Brett, a senior at West Windsor Plainsboro High School - South, and Caroline Deetjen, a recent graduate of that school and incoming freshman at Villanova University.
Runners paid a $12 or $15 entry fee or solicited donations from friends and relatives willing to sponsor their participation. All expenses were covered by local sponsors so virtually all money raised through race fees will go directly to the affiliate.
The biggest support came from Wegmans Nature's Marketplace in West Windsor. The store paid for the racers' T-shirts, bagels for breakfast and sent three volunteers to help with the proceedings. Power Bar donated its namesake product to the racers.
All prizes were donated; gift certificates came from Sportstyles in Lawrenceville, The American Café in Lawrenceville, Bread and Life in Cranbury, Money's Worth Personabilia in East Windsor and Romano's Macaroni Grill in West Windsor.
Those interested in sponsorship opportunities for future races should contact the fund-raising committee or Anand by email at injun@home.com.
Race to Build 2000: Last year's race was funded by donations from Linden Assembly Plant of General Motors, Sacacity Group, Dr. Stuart Alexander DMD of Cranbury and Deborah C. Brett & Associates. More than $2,500 was raised for the affiliate from that event. ACME Markets, Sportstyle, The American Café and Runners World supplied prizes for the runners and donated food for the post-race breakfast.
Special thanks to the following for their generous contributions:
Sam's Club of West Windsor
Linden Assembly plant of GM Truck Group
The Trentonian
Dr. Stuart Alexander DMD
Pancake Breakfast Tradition Continues at St. Anthony's Church
The affiliate continued its tradition of holding pancake breakfasts to raise funds and community awareness of its house-building activities. This year's event, again held at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Hightstown, was the most successful ever, raising about $5,000. Event organizer, Fund Raising Chairman Jerry Ford, was ably assisted by several committee members.
Volunteers from local Girl Scout troops provided much of the labor, helping hungry attendees to empty seats, serving them food and drinks and finishing the process by cleaning tables. Meanwhile, at the heart of the meal was the kitchen staff, led by Mike Lynch and other volunteers from the West Windsor Lions Club, Perritt Labs and numerous other individuals. McCaffrey's Supermarket in West Windsor helped defray some of the cost of the food.
Do You Know Habitat? Ask Yourself Three Questions
President's Message
by Judy Hall
There are several important stories in this issue, including the progress of the current building in East Windsor, the results of our continuing relationship with the Guatemala Habitat affiliate, and the remarkable fundraising stories.
There are two items, however, which deserve special attention. The first is the volunteer welcome packet. Habitat is volunteers. Without volunteers, Habitat doesn't exist. They are the lifeblood of the organization, and we need additional volunteers, not only to build, but to raise funds and run the organization. And that is the second item which needs comment - a call to individuals with special managerial and administrative interests and talent.
We need additional volunteers to join the Board of Directors and to take leadership roles. We will be rebuilding the board this fall, at which time we will be electing a new president and other officers. We need you to consider joining the board and accepting a leadership role.
When you pick up this issue (and we welcome the many of you who are "picking up" the newsletter electronically), please ask yourself three questions…
1. Do I understand just how important Habitat is to the lives of people without any other chance for decent, safe affordable housing?
Understand that if your family income is below $20,000, you are simply priced out of the market. If you spent what housing authorities suggest-1/3 of your monthly income on shelter-what can you buy for less than $550 a month? There is very little subsidized housing available-and without Habitat, home ownership is simply impossible for lower income families-and we have thousands of income eligible households in New Jersey!
2. Do I understand that with the help of people like me, and houses of worship like mine, I can really put my faith into action by helping a real family in need?
New Jersey Habitat chapters are formed by individuals with the support of area houses of worship-and in the Millstone Basin area, we have made a real difference in the lives of five families. With your help we can do so much more.
3. Do I understand that there are many ways to become involved with Habitat in my community? I can serve on the Board, organize a work party, help with a fundraising project, or do any of a many tasks which are needed to build houses.
"Swinging the hammer" is actually the smallest part of the homebuilding process. Habitat needs Board members, team leaders, fund raisers, family nurturers, support people of all kinds-people just like you!
Answer those questions-and join us! We have two more families waiting for housing, and intend to start our next house building project this fall, while we complete the current house. We cannot do it without your help.
Ana Regina Cifuentes has a Home Thanks To Affiliates Like Millstone Basin Area
Millstone Basin Area continues to tithe 10% of its annual income to Guatemala Habitat, recently sending a check for $1,145 for the first quarter of 2001. The following, written by Alfredo Keihnle, donor relations coordinator for Habitat in Guatemala, talks about a family very much like the ones we've supported. This was reprinted from Habitat for Humanity's Web site -- www.habitat.org. - G.F.
Before owning a Habitat house, Ana Regina Cifuentes and her two children had to live with her parents in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. "Home" for the extended family was confined within the adobe walls of a 9-square-meter house.
A drugstore vendor, Ana Regina works while her children, Fernando, 17, and Ana Isabel, 10, go to school. With only a meager income, hope for a home of her own was slim. "If it wouldn't have been for God's grace and Habitat's help I would never have had a home," she says.
But since 1999, she has owned a Habitat house in a village called San Juan Ostuncalco. She worked hard to pay the monthly payment but it was a struggle. Then, her aunt died and left Ana Regina enough money to pay off her mortgage. In March 2000, she paid off her house believing that in this way she would help benefit other families in need of housing.
Ana Regina's Habitat house is typical of the area -- four rooms, 49 square meters and made of block walls with a cement floor and a tin-sheet roof. Her total mortgage, at $16 a month, totaled $1,500.
"Habitat really helps people in need like myself," she says. "I am very thankful."
In Brief ---
Board of Directors Seeking Applications
The affiliate's Board of Directors is currently soliciting applications from local volunteers interested in applying for a seat on the governing body. The time commitment is typically 5-10 hours a month and includes one board meeting and/or one committee meeting, as well as a few hours of independent work.
Those interested can use the application found in this newsletter or contact the affiliate by phone or email to have one sent to you. Or for more information, contact Board President Judy Hall by leaving a message at the affiliate's main phone number or email address.
Donate Electronically to Millstone Basin ...
It is now possible to make donations to the Millstone Basin Area affiliate electronically through the use of our Web site. A link found on the affiliate's home page, http://members.aol.com/habitatmba takes users to a location on the site of Habitat for Humanity International, or go there directly: http://secure.habitat.org/giving/online.html. This is a secure Web site.
On that site donations can be made by Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover. You must specify "Millstone Basin Area" in order for your donation to go directly to our affiliate where it will help us build houses here in the Mercer/Middlesex county area. Donations are tax deductible at the amount allowed by law.
Questions about donating to Habitat can be directed to our affiliate's main number or to HFH International at 1-800-HABITAT. You can also use the toll-free HFHI number to make donations. If you do not specify any affiliate, your donation will go to the general HFH fund, which is used to cover operational costs and fund building projects outside the U.S. HFH International does not directly fund any affiliates in the U.S.; they are all run locally and are self-supporting.
... Or Take the Direct Approach
If you'd prefer, you can make a check payable to Millstone Basin Area Affiliate and, using the envelope found in this newsletter, mail it directly to us. If you don't have one of the envelopes, please use the address found on the last page of this newsletter.
Find out How Volunteers Get Started
A New-Member Question and Answer period is held at 7 p.m. on the nights of the monthly board meeting -- typically, the second Thursday of the month. The meeting is an opportunity to introduce prospective volunteers to Habitat for Humanity and show them ways they can get involved right here in Mercer and Middlesex counties. Youth and adults interested in learning more are invited. See the back page of this newsletter for dates and locations.
House Pin Coordinator Sought
The board is looking for a volunteer to oversee the ongoing house-pin jewelry sale. The individual would be asked to spend about 2 to 4 hours a week and be responsible for finding places to sell the pins, coordinating the sale of the pins with other volunteers, ordering and maintaining an inventory of pins and reporting to the board on progress. Interested people should call the affiliate.
Turn Trash to Cash -- Save Those Receipts
Millstone Basin Area continues to participate in a philanthropic program run by local merchant McCaffrey's Supermarket. The store donates 1% of all cash-register receipts returned to it through Millstone Basin Area affiliate and other local charities. Through this program, the store has donated thousands of dollars to the affiliate in the past several years.
For information on getting your community group, school class or house of worship involved in this very beneficial program, contact the affiliate. We would like to have other groups or houses of worship collect their members' receipts and donate them to us.
And, as always consider patronizing McCaffery's and, when you get a handful, send your family's receipts to: HFH Millstone Basin Area, Box 178, Cranbury, N.J. 08512.
Bradford Collectible Plates Offered
The affiliate has received a donation of several hundred collectible Bradford plates. They have been catalogued and are in storage.
We are looking for the most efficient way of liquidating this collection. There are a few options, the most desirable being an offer from a collector or dealer willing to purchase the entire collection. We are open to other ideas. Anyone interested should contact the affiliate at the number below and leave a message for Jerry Ford, acting chair of the Fund Raising Committee.
Pin a Medal on Them
The staff of the Brace Place, from left, Bonnie Schwarz, Angela Marty, and Kathy Clark, on 234 Princeton-Hightstown Rd., West Windsor, has been a long-time supporter of Habitat's local efforts, going out of their way to sell fashion jewelry, known by everyone as 'House Pins' for this continuing fund-raiser. All the proceeds from the sale of the pins go to the affiliate. So even if you or your children don't need braces, why not stop by to thank them for their efforts on behalf of Habitat and buy a pin.
Who are Habitat Families?
They are "the working poor," holding down multiple, low-wage jobs and trying to keep their kids in clean clothes and with a safe place to live. Their incomes are often around minimum wage, thus keeping them from affording a traditional mortgage. Even to afford the median fair-market price of a two-bedroom rental unit in New Jersey, a person has to earn $15.90 per hour at 40 hours a week -- that's 297 percent of the current federal minimum wage of $5.35 per hour.
The Need is Great
Why are Habitat's efforts needed? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 30 million U.S. households face one or more of the following housing problems:
-- paying an excessively large percentage of income on housing costs (14 million people pay more than 30 percent of their income for rent and utilities)
-- the number of people in the house is greater than the total number of rooms (2.5 million people);
-- severe physical deficiencies (no hot water, no electricity, no toilet, or neither a bathtub nor a shower); one family in seven lives in housing which is severely physically inadequate.
