Sandhills Habitat E-newsletter

Update from Our Director

Grateful for the Community Participation in the 2023 Focus Groups

Habitat for Humanity International staff was on hand in January to assist our affiliate in gathering community feedback to help guide the next 3-5 years of building and repairing homes. We were afforded this opportunity through the Capacity Build grant, which allowed us to expand our Aging in Place program by creating a full-time position dedicated to managing the program.

As a Capacity Build grant recipient, we had to display our ability to serve many more families by hiring a person for this high-impact role. We report our progress every quarter and meet with our staff contact each month. The Capacity Build team selects two affiliates each year to help with strategic planning, and when invited to be one of them, we excitedly accepted! Tami Page, our liaison to the program, flew in on Sunday evening and hit the ground running. She began tallying survey results immediately, with hundreds of responses to a brief survey about our current work and potential future work from our community, along with specific surveys from our board and staff members. Thank you for participating.

On Monday, the interviews began right away! Mitch Rhodes (Director for Habitat for Humanity, North Carolina) accompanied Tami on Monday. Together, they interviewed key contacts from FirstHealth, the Town of Southern Pines, the Village of Pinehurst, our Homebuyer Selection Team members, and many volunteers at our winter lunch and recognition program. On Tuesday, they met with Sandhills Community College representatives, hardcore construction volunteers, ReStore volunteers, the Town of Aberdeen, First Bank, and Moore County Schools representatives.

Also on Tuesday two focus groups open to the public – one at Aberdeen Lake Park and the other at The Center in West Southern Pines were held. Additional discussions on Wednesday at Penick Village rounded out a week that included drop-ins from elected officials interested in hearing more about how Habitat can serve as a key partner. The discussions provided great ideas and insight into how our community would like housing addressed.

After a few days of digging into the affiliate's policies, procedures, and data, Tami wrapped up the week with a Saturday morning presentation to the staff and board. She praised our community partnerships and volunteer network, which helps us build affordable homes for the area workforce and allows us to do repairs for our citizens to age in place. She provided recommendations as part of our strategic planning including doing more critical home repairs through our Aging in Place, multi-unit housing, condos, and tiny homes.

As the community grows, land needs increase in an already competitive market. We will continue building innovative solutions and look forward to sharing some very exciting news with you soon!

Amie N. Fraley

Executive Director

Habitat Volunteer Lunch a HUGE Success!

Beautiful Day with an Excellent Turn Out!

Like many events planned in early December, Habitat had to change our "Holiday" Volunteer Luncheon Celebration to a "Winter" celebration because of the power outage. We were fortunate that CCNC was able to accommodate us in January, and almost all of our guests were able to reschedule. BIG THANK YOU to Tom & Kathy Beddow for sponsoring us at CCNC, which waived the room rental. Most agreed that it was nice to meet in a semi-formal atmosphere. The food was fantastic, and the entertainment by hardcore construction volunteer Scott Grote & Company created a cozy ambiance. Thank you to everyone who made this possible by sponsoring a lunch for our hardcore volunteers!

Hardcore volunteers, (defined as volunteers with over 50 hours of service), from the ReStore and construction site were recognized for their contributions with gifts and certificates. We were fortunate to have several volunteers from our Faith Relations, Women Build, Art & Collectibles, and Honey-Doer groups who also serve as the backbone of our fundraising, outreach, and operations.

Bob Stewart & Sandra Thomas

Women Build Committee

Art & Collectibles Committee

Habitat is proud to offer the widest selection of volunteer opportunities in the county, and we strive to custom-fit the best experience for each of our volunteers. If you are interested in a rewarding volunteer position, please go to our website at sandhillshabitat.org, push the BIG BLUE volunteer button, set up an account, and look through the opportunities.

Homeowners in the Spotlight

Meet the Proud Homeowners who have paid off their mortgage!

A highlight of our volunteer lunch was celebrating two of our homeowners. Robenia Reaves and Cecila Dickerson also had a good reason to celebrate with Habitat. These family partners have paid off there mortgages! Habitat homeowner partners put in sweat equity to build and repair their homes and purchase their homes through an affordable mortgage. These homeowners have provided stability, educational opportunities and generational wealth for their family through the Habitat Home Program.

Meet Brenda and Delvagus Ivey

Brenda and Delvagus Ivey, Jr. are proud parents pictured with their youngest child, Delvagus, III, at his 2022 graduation from Pine Crest High School. He is now an “A” student at Sandhills Community College studying computer technology. Grown daughters Kieyona and Taitanna are out of the home. Kieyona recently had a baby, the Ivey’s first grandchild, a beautiful infant girl whose name is Sage.

When she applied for a Habitat house, Brenda was a manager at Chick Fil-a, where she worked for 18 years. Currently, she is a bank teller at First Bank, a job she loves. When Brenda left Chick Fil-a, her husband went to work there.

Brenda says she was so blessed to get this house in Aberdeen. She was previously assigned a lot in Carthage and said she prayed for a house in Aberdeen, and those prayers were answered. She especially remembers Freida Powers (volunteer extraordinaire) who taught her to paint, cook and speak in front of people. She also is grateful to Sue McKenzie who was the” amazing construction manager” on her house. She appreciated Nancy Devine (finance director) who was so kind to her and Mr. Rocco (hard core construction volunteer) who made the work fun.

Ever grateful for the Habitat experience, Brenda said, “Habitat is NOT A HANDOUT. These homeowners must work to get that home and pay for it. They deserve the home.” Well stated, Brenda!!

It's Gala Season...

Please makes sure to Save the Date for Habitat!

Saturday, April 1st at 6:00 pm at Pinehurst Country Club

Tickets available at Habitatgala.org

The Habitat Gala and Auction is our annual signature fundraising event and celebration. We will celebrate selling 300 affordable homes for families who don’t qualify for a traditional mortgage. In years past, the Gala has promptly sold out with our supporters enjoying a gourmet dinner, a silent and live auction followed by DJ and Dancing. Please get your tickets today, we want to see you there!

Do you have any auction item you would like to donate? Perhaps a VRBO property you would like to share? We would be happy to promote you or your business as a Habitat partner at the gala! Contact Amie at (910) 295-1934.

January Faith Relations Meeting Notes

Community Presbyterian Church

The Rev. Meg Vail blessed the meal and shared thoughts on Habitat’s mission based on her experiences with Habitat before coming to Pinehurst. In brief, she saw the Spirit at work in a group of 20 or so teens. They worked on a build assembling components for another Habitat home. As we have all experienced, they also appreciated the spirit of the homeowners in progress with whom they worked.

Dan Joslin then set the theme for the meeting with words on inspiration, referencing Pastor Jabe Largen’s insights into life’s difficulties. As we prepare for our 2023 Apostles Build, Dan recalled inspiring words spoken by Rev. Vickie Smith at our 2022 Pastors Day. He then acknowledged and agreed with Pastor David Priddy that the most effective appeal is when the Holy Spirit moves us to act. Dan tied it all together by suggesting that it is probably true that most Habitat homeowners have experienced more than their share of life’s difficulties but remain inspired to move forward. And most are inspired within their church community.

Amie Fraley followed with details about this year's build. Our homeowner, Shana, is employee at St. Joseph of the Pines and her home will be located at 200 Hatley Street in Aberdeen. The build will kick off on Thursday, March 16th with Pastor's Day and will include 12 local pastors eager to show their support for the local mission that can be served throughout the year.

Our next Lunch and Learn Faith Relations meeting will be on March 15th at noon at Southern Pines First Baptist Church. See you there, and many thanks for your “inspired faith in Habitat’s mission.”

March Faith Relations Meeting

Save the Date for our Faith Relations Meeting on Wednesday, March 15th at 12:00 at Southern Pines First Baptist Church. We are looking for community partners and volunteers to advocate for affordable housing.

PLEASE RSVP

Contact our Faith Coordinator

Post Holiday Sales

The ReStore reaped the benefits of slightly used home goods you donated after the holidays. January is one of the best months for ReStore sales, and this year did not disappoint. We’ve had great January sales doing over $30,000 every week! Next up, think Habitat for your spring cleaning and decluttering!

Hot Sales on Patio Furniture

The owners of the up and coming arcade and bar in downtown Southern Pines purchased $4,389 worth of patio furniture to utilize in their facility. They purchased bistro tables, benches, arm chairs, coffee tables and dining tables. Cue Rec Room Bar + Arcade is a new dog-friendly and family-friendly bar/arcade/hangout spot that’ll feature dozens of retro arcade games and zero cartoon mice. Rec Room Bar + Arcade is slated to open in early 2022!

There is still plenty of patio furniture to go around but hurry before the warmer weather comes and selections become limited.

New premium quality aluminum frame with bamboo! Have a look...

Patio Furniture Available