Habitat LA’s first paid employee was a forward-thinking volunteer. Through faith and collaboration, Erin Rank became our President & CEO. This month, we are honored to celebrate the thousands of dedicated individuals, donors, and partners who help us daily to build affordable homes, thriving communities and restore hope! Read more about our upcoming Power Women, Power Tools® Build Day, our Volunteer Appreciation event, Mother’s Day gifts, and ways to support our families’ dreams of homeownership below. | |
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Celebrating Our Amazing Volunteers!
Volunteer Appreciation
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This year, Habitat LA hosted our annual volunteer appreciation event at Hotel MDR in Marina Del Rey, CA. It was a beautiful evening recognizing volunteers who support Habitat LA’s work across our departments toward a shared mission. One of the special volunteers recognized that night was Gloria Bradley, who was nominated by Habitat LA’s Programs Team! Gloria has been volunteering with Habitat LA since 2019, often helping with the set up of homebuyer education workshops in the Washington neighborhood of Long Beach, CA. She frequently serves as a guest speaker in our 8-hour homebuyer education workshops. Many of our participants have commented that they enjoy her energetic, attentive and informative presentations.
We’re grateful to all the volunteers who were recognized, including our 2023 honorees: Susan Booth (Executive); Jan Tomlison (ReStore); David Mintz (Construction); Jessica Miller (Events); and Peter Stoughton (Volunteers), as well as our 2020 honorees: Greg Ferree (Executive), David Whalen (Volunteers), Al (Ezell) Lynch (ReStore); Jim Cunningham (Construction), Lisa Homeidan (Events); and Tony Stafford (Programs).
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Save the Date for our 2023 Power Women, Power Tools® build
Calling all Sponsors!
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Get your hard hats ready, it’s time to support our 19th Annual Power Women, Power Tools ® build event! This legendary build day is happening on June 17, 2023. For nearly two decades, the collective efforts of thousands of power women have helped us build dozens of affordable homes.
Be a changemaker! Sponsorship opportunities are available to support this celebration of women from all walks of life who are committed to making Los Angeles a place of greater opportunity and decent affordable housing for all. For more information visit: bit.ly/PWPT23.
All proceeds from this year’s event will help support Habitat LA’s efforts to eliminate substandard housing by building and repairing homes in our community.
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Fair Housing Month Looks Like Opportunities
Advancing Black Homeownership
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This year marks the 55th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act! This landmark civil rights law was passed April 11, 1968, to eliminate housing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, gender identity, and familial status. Historically, housing discrimination, such as redlining, disproportionately affected access to homeownership in the Black community, especially in Los Angeles. Habitat LA is committed to dismantling these injustices and taking significant steps in Advancing Black Homeownership.
Recently, we won a Capacity Building grant to further develop this much-needed program! This major milestone is a collaborative effort between Habitat for Humanity International’s Advancing Black Homeownership (ABH) initiative and HUD. It’s designed to support a cohort of affiliates (including us!) in amplifying our efforts through recruitment, hiring and onboarding of the new ABH staff.
With this grant, Habitat LA will strengthen ties in the local community through a 3-year action plan focused on these key areas:
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Further Engagement & Partnerships in the Black community
- Programs including financial coaching, down payment assistance, and more!
- Public Policy & Advocacy
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National Skilled Trades Day
David Palos shares the benefit of learning a trade!
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Learning a trade can put you miles ahead on your chosen career path! Many of our volunteers and staff have shared their skills in construction, electrical, and more on our build sites and with our growing community of partner homebuyers.
Fun fact: For nearly 17 years, Habitat LA built a thriving relationship with Los Angeles Trade-Tech College (LATTC). We have partnered with the instructors and their classes to provide hands-on construction experience, such as plumbing and foundation work, while benefiting from their skilled workmanship. From this partnership, we’ve gained some of their best graduating students in our Habitat LA family! With National Skilled Trades Day just around the corner, our very own Construction Team Crew Leader, David Palos, shares his story as a skilled tradesman.
David says, “No one in my family ever did construction. Initially, my background was in cooking. I was a chef for 12 years and had a tough work-life balance. In my early 30s, I decided to make a change and I thought carpentry would be as fun and engaging as cooking—it is! We make beautiful things and there’s an attention to detail which made the switch really easy. As a viable career, carpentry has been the healthiest lifestyle that I’ve had in my life. With Habitat, taking time off, finding work-life balance is so welcomed. When I learned this trade, I knew I could do private contracting, but I always wanted a job with a purpose and had my eye on Habitat LA.”
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Mother’s Day Gifts Made Easy!
Make a tribute gift in your mom’s name
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Looking for the perfect Mother’s Day gift? Habitat LA has you covered. Make a tribute gift in mom’s name to Habitat LA and TOGETHER you’ll be building homes, communities, and hope with us!
Making a tribute gift is easy:
- Make a donation in honor of your loved one (minimum of $10 per card).
- Select the card design that you’d like to send via mail or email.
- Tell us the message you’d like included with your card.
We’ll take care of the rest! Save time shopping this Mother’s Day and let mom know how much they mean to you while supporting the life-changing work of Habitat LA.
Our thoughtful cards and tribute gifts double as an impactful way to celebrate your loved one's birthday or even honor their memory. Tribute gifts are tax deductible, and you can find more information HERE.
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Join The Carpenter’s Club!
Help fulfill a family’s dream of homeownership!
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Did you know a monthly gift donation can help local families year-round? That’s the power of The Carpenter’s Club, a group of dedicated donors whose reliable support helps Habitat LA plan future projects and Angelenos build legacies of hope for years to come.
What’s the best part of being in the Carpenter’s Club? Long-time supporter, James Mitzel says, “Habitat LA not only builds and upgrades homes for local families, they also provide an on-going support system to help families thrive in their new homes. This, in turn, requires on-going donations so Habitat can provide such steady support. That is why I have been a proud monthly supporter of Habitat for 30 years.”
Just $20 a month provides the door to a family’s dream home. Your giving can also go toward insulation to keep them warm and cozy during cool nights or other key elements of a safe and affordable home. Learn more about what your monthly donations can create HERE.
Carpenter’s Club members enjoy hassle-free automatic donations, invitations to exclusive events and special build days, and much more. Click here to join our Carpenter’s Club.
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Happy Birthday Habitat LA ReStore: Bellflower
Celebrating the 5th Anniversary of our Bellflower location!
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Since 2004, Habitat LA ReStores have saved over 13 million pounds of usable goods from landfills. When you donate to a ReStore, your items are given a second chance at life. Your new or gently used goods could help furnish a home—or become someone’s next craft project!
Funds generated from the sale of your generous donations directly support Habitat LA’s mission to build and preserve decent, sustainable, and affordable housing.
Want to donate? Call us at (424) 246-3637 or schedule your pickup or drop off online.
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OUR MISSION
Seeking to put God's love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope.
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OUR VISION
A world where everyone has a decent place to live.
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