Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The Locals at Gritty's!

The Locals (interestingly enough, a 'local' band from Freeport) will be playing outside at Gritty's on June 18 as a benefit for the Green Bean House in Freeport.

Come on out for some of your favorite 'oldies' from the 60's and 70's. All are welcome to this family-friendly event. 7 PM - 10 PM. Tickets are $10 in advance (Gritty's, Habitat for Humanity Office in Portland) and $12 at the door.

Get a jump on the summer concert-going season with a fun night with The Locals!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The house in winter

Just walked by the house yesterday (of course, no camera!) and it is looking really nice! I'll have to stop by sometime when the doors are open and get some inside pix.

Looks like great strides are being made!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Winter Happenings at the House

Since we last met, we have made some great progress with the Green Bean structure. If you have not driven by it lately you should, just to see how it looks nearly finished on the outside, with all the windows in and siding up, and a front porch roof added. It is going to be a really cute house for Eli and Mikki. Inside we have completed the framing, and have the rough wiring completed. The rough plumbing and heating is being done very soon as well. Then we make a final push with volunteers to put up the sheetrock walls, finish trim and floors. Although our plan is to get Mikki and Eli in by the end of June, Mikki has been working hard to keep the house moving along so that we can deliver it even sooner if possible.

On the fundraising side, we have also made some great progress. In addition to the funds raised by the Rotary event in November, we have been successful in receiving some grant money since November, and we also got some Green Bean funds in from the annual appeal efforts that we conducted in December and January.

(Thanks to George for this update!)

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Freeport Habitat House Fundraiser and Informational Gathering

November 11, 5-7 PM, Freeport Community Center. $10 suggested donation.

KICK OFF CELEBRATION FOR HABITAT BUILD IN FREEPORT

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland and Freeport Rotary invite you to join them for a kickoff celebration for the “Green Bean” building which is now underway on West Street in Freeport. The event is taking place on Wednesday November 11th from 5 – 7 pm at the Freeport Community Center. Come and learn about the newest building effort and how you can get involved in Habitat’s efforts to build another affordable home in Freeport. The event will include an array of appetizers and beer and wine, along with a silent auction of goods and services donated by area businesses and individuals. Children are welcome with activities planned.

Keynote speaker Craig John, world class climber, will present his inspirational stories of scaling Mount Everest and several of the world’s tallest peaks.

The Green Bean house is the frame of a house that was donated to Habitat by LL Bean and then moved to the West Street site onto a piece of land donated by the Town of Freeport. In a true green fashion, the house is being recycled and will be rebuilt to green standards that will make it highly energy efficient. Habitat has recently started work on the home and welcomes the support of the community in the effort.

For more information please go to www.habitatportlandme.org or call Nicole at Habitat at 207-772-2151. A suggested donation of $10 is requested. For planning purposes you are asked to RSVP to Nicole no later than Monday 11/9/09.

How is a Habitat family chosen?

The family selection process for a Habitat House involves a lot of effort and hands on work from the family.

The selection process starts with a list of names of possible families. To be eligible the family must first attend an orientation meeting for new families which explains how Habitat works, what the requirements are to be considered, how the process works and more details on what is involved.

Once prospective families have been identified, they are invited to a more in depth informational meeting where the nuts and bolts of home ownership and working on a Habitat house are reviewed.

There is a selection process which involves a financial review to determine if the family is eligible, can they maintain the home, can they afford the utilities, etc. The family's need will be assessed as well. The family must be willing to pay the closing costs for the house, work on the house itself and donate their time to other Habitat homes and events. A family desiring a house through the Portland Maine Habitat organization must live or work in Cumberland County.

The Family Selection Committee makes visits to the family in their present home to determine eligibility.

The family must be willing to put in 250 hours of sweat equity into their home or a combination of their home and other Habitat homes. As the Habitat Organization states it, 'This is a hand up, not a hand out.'

Families must attend financial literacy classes to ensure they understand what is involved in maintaining a home, paying for a home, budgeting for payments and more. They are also required to attend home maintenance classes so they can make small home repairs on their own.

For more information on how the process works, please visit the Portland Maine Habitat website.

Meet the family!

Mikki and Eli are the mother and son who are working on their Habitat House in Freeport! They have been living in Freeport for 2 years now.

Mikki is a manager at a fitness club and Eli is in school.

When asked how she got involved in Habitat for Humanity, Mikki responded that she wanted to volunteer to help build houses for families and after getting the information she realized she and Eli might be good prospects for getting their own Habitat house. She filled out the paperwork and attended the classes required (see post about how the family selection process works) and started to dream about owning her own home.

Not content to sit and wait to see if they would be the family chosen for the house in Freeport, Mikki started going to the house site and doing some small jobs on the site...raking and other outside chores.

Once they were notified they were the family chosen for this house, Mikki and Eli picked up the pace and started doing more work on the house with the teams.

Mikki is excited about owning a home and Eli is thinking about getting a dog.

Good luck to Mikki and Eli during the construction phase and after they move in!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Let's have fun outside the house!

OK, the sun is out and things are starting to heat up in the 'fundraising' department. Now If you're like me, 'fundraising' is not your favorite way to spend your time. But, fear not! There is a terrific group working on fundraising for the Green Bean Habitat House and all YOU have to do is show up at an event. This group is putting the 'fun' in fundraising!

Coming up this week and into the fall, here are ways you can particpate in fundraising without having to knock on doors or call people you don't know:

  • Wine & cheese tasting event (see, I told you it would be fun!)- Stop by at Wilbur's Chocolates on August 3rd from 5 PM- 7 PM to sample wine & cheese from Freeport Cheese & Wine (located in the same complex). To add to the fun, 10% of sales during that time will be donated to the building of the Green Bean Habitat House. That's 10% from Wilbur's, Simply Divine Brownies and Freeport Cheese & Wine.
  • Stop in and visit at the Farmer's Market on July 31. The Farmer's Market is held each Friday afternoon from 2 PM - 6 PM in the Freeport Town Hall parking lot. Info will be on hand about the house and there will be items to purchase to help with building the house.
  • All around town...many Freeport merchants will soon start displaying chocolates and other candies (like chocolate hammers and lobster pops) for sale at their check-outs to help support the build. Everyone has a sweet tooth, so when you see the Habitat candy box at a favorite store, please pitch in!
  • Save the Date for the Raise the Roof Bluegrass & Barbecue 'friendraiser' on Sept 13. Held at Thompson's Orchard in New Gloucester, this yearly Habitat event features a great barbecue and the music of Jerks of Grass. For more info and to purchase tickets, check the Portland Habitat for Humanity website. This event benefits all Habitat builds in Maine.
  • Please check our list of ways to help out for more ideas!