Sandhills Habitat E-newsletter

Update from Our Director

2023 Gala and Auction Celebration

As the confetti settled on April 1st from the fabulous evening at Pinehurst Country Club, we knew it had been a fantastic event. The room's energy was electric, and the enthusiasm and generosity of our donors made it clear we had succeeded in funding an additional home in our upcoming schedule. In the following days, we realized that this incredible committee led a record-breaking event with net proceeds of over $225,000 that will be used directly in our mission of funding affordable housing in the Sandhills. We especially thank Gala Chair Karen Dulmage, Past Chair Diane Wilson, and the 2024 Gala Chair Kim Sutton. These women led a committee of volunteers with a heart for building homes by throwing an exceptional party.

Karen, Dulmage, Diane Wilson, Kim Sutton, Rose Young, Bri Vincent, Carrie Foster, and Lori West

The tremendous community of the Sandhills is the key to why our small, rural affiliate is exceeding the production goals of many of our counterparts in much larger towns and cities in North Carolina and across the US. Our announcement at the gala of our recent 100+ acre land purchase in Aberdeen for a future mixed-income neighborhood was made possible by the support of those who believe everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. We are striving to make it possible for more of our local workforce also to be able to live in this community they help to make so extraordinary. Thank you for believing in this mission with us – we look forward to seeing you at the next Habitat Gala Saturday, April 27th, 2024, at Pinehurst Country Club!

Habitat purchases over 100 acres for mixed-income development.

Many thanks to everyone who helped make this a successful, record-breaking event. Special thanks to David Sinclair Photography. Prints can be ordered at

www.davidnsinclairphotography.com

Peace and Grace,

Amie N. Fraley

Executive Director

Dedication, Dedication, Dedication,

and more Dedication!

Dedication and passion for our mission help build affordable housing in the Sandhills; no one knows that better than our Homebuyer partners. It's not always easy but always rewarding to our supporters, volunteers, and donors when we dedicate a home to a new family.

This spring we had several families close, or soon to close, on their homes with a guaranteed affordable mortgage which means everyone was doing double time. Talk about "sweat equity" and perseverance! Many thanks to our heroes, Christy Brewster, Homeowner Services Coordinator; Bob Friesen, Attorney/Partner at Robbins May & Rich LLP; FirstBank; and Janet Lowry, Mortgage Coordinator

Wall Family

104 Ellenton Avenue

Hamlet

March 1st

Carey/ Valentin Family

213 Clark Street

Carthage

March 10th

Ingram Family

1179 New Hampshire Avenue

Southern Pines

March 25th

Thomas Family

121 Chisholm Street

Aberdeen

March 31st

Bower Family

473 Brianna Lane

Raeford

April 5th

Larson Family

910 Currie Street

Carthage

May 10th

McDonald Family

107 Brantley Avenue

Carthage

May 11th

Limited Space Available for Hole Sponsors

Visit our Website to Sponsor or Register

Pastor's Build Day

200 Hatley Street

Pastors Day began with an emotional statement of appreciation by Shana Easterling the HIP for this Apostles Build. We then did our circle of introduction and thus got to make new friends. The connections among several of the pastors was interesting. It seems that many of them run through Eagle Springs Baptist Church. We asked the Rev. Vickie Smith of The Village Chapel to "pray us in." Her words set the tone of thankfulness among all of us that we were able on that day to be of service to our Lord

April Faith Relations Meeting

Save the Date for our Faith Relations Meeting on Wednesday, May 17th at 12:00 at Freedom Baptist Church 987 N US Hwy 1 in Rockingham. We are looking for community partners and volunteers to advocate for affordable housing.

PLEASE RSVP

Contact our Faith Coordinator

From the Construction Crew

Spring has sprung in the Sandhills! We are blessed to have the greatest leaders, staff, volunteers, HIPS, and the construction crew. That, combined with the perfect spring weather, makes building with Habitat For Humanity of the NC Sandhills a fun springtime activity. Now that you finished cleaning up after pollen season, we are ready to host you at the job site!

Our current job sites for volunteers are in Aberdeen, on Hatley Street. We have four homes planned here, including our latest 'tiny home.' We partnered again this year with Sandhills Community College to help make this house a home and spread the knowledge of construction to the next generation of tradespersons. We welcome you to walk down the street and check it out the next time you volunteer with the construction crew. Adam is doing a fantastic job building and teaching the students!

209 Hatley St - Tiny Home partnership with SCC

Our Apostles Build is at 200 Hatley Street and will be the future home for Ms. Shana Easterling. Shana works here in Moore County at St. Joseph of the Pines. Thanks to the incredible support from our local faith community and mother nature, we are progressing rapidly! Framing, roofing, and all kinds of work continue as we race to finish drying in the home. Matt is excited to see Dan's smiling face and all of our wonderful volunteers as he leads us onto the next construction phase. Hatley Street is a great job site to get some sun but with plenty of shade. This site is our 314th home and an excellent kickoff for our Hatley Habitat community of future homeowners!

200 Hatley St - Ms. Shana Easterling

Our Veterans Build is just across the street at 201 Hatley Street and will be the future home for Mr. Phillip Dorsey. He completed his 300 hours of sweat equity last month on Fellowship Way and is excited about walls up and rough framing during May! Philip works at Enterprise Car Rental and Sandhills Community College. We are so thankful to Philip for his military service and all the support from our community to make this Veterans Build special. So many great projects are coming up for volunteers to participate in and learn carpentry skills from our expert construction staff. Philip and the team cannot wait to see your smiling faces!

201 Hatley St - Mr. Philip Dorsey

Ed continues to stay busy with Hoke and Richmond County home builds and is integral to spreading homeownership beyond our Moore County mission. With his leadership, 107 Brantley Ave in Hamlet was completed for Ms. Clara McDonald. Clara is an incredible woman who met her 300 hours in record-breaking time.

Rick and Jim have been busy coordinating and completing our 'aging in place repairs' and being 'utility players' for the team to fill critical roles. These are great projects for volunteers who enjoy the sense of accomplishment from completing a much-needed repair in a single day or two. This results in existing homeowners in our community extending their time comfortably living in their homes.

Our next Richmond County build will kick off on September 14th with the Richmond County Days of Caring, a 3-day event and a fantastic opportunity for Richmond County HIPS and volunteers to join us on the build site. Any groups wishing to join us can contact the volunteer coordinator (volunteer@sandhillshabitat.org). This home will be at 107 Ellenton Ave in Hamlet and is for Ms. Teanna Davis - another hard-working single mom in the Army Reserves who works full time at Walmart.

We want to thank all of our volunteers - from hardcore, special build groups, construction enthusiasts, and all supporters for making this spring an exciting time to be a part of the Habitat mission. We could not continue to provide safe and affordable housing to our community without everyone's support. Thank you, and we look forward to soaking up the beautiful Sandhills NC springtime sunshine with you soon!

Addressing the Workforce Housing Crisis

53% of the Moore County workforce commutes here daily from surrounding counties. Our affiliate can bridge the gap in affordable housing by building homes here and where our extraordinary workforce lives! Affordable workforce housing is a local and state issue that we encourage you to contact and discuss with your elected officials. NC Senate Bill 317, "Addressing the Workforce Housing Crisis," was introduced in March 2023 and aimed to provide affordable housing to education, healthcare, first responders, and veterans as real estate prices continue to rise. Please continue to discuss this issue with our elected leaders so that Habitat for Humanity can continue to provide a hand-up for these essential workers. (for more information, please see NC Senate Bill 317)