Tiny House Expedition Comes to Cabarrus County to Document Habitat Tiny House

Come meet Alexis Stephens and Christian Parsons of Tiny House Expedition and tour their Tiny House at the Habitat ReStore on Monday, July 13th from 10:30 am - Noon.

This filmmaker duo and ordinary couple are embarking on an extraordinary expedition across the nation in a tiny house on wheels. Their purpose is to document tiny house community building projects across the nation and tell the story of how each came into being, the people behind them and how they are making a difference in their communities.

They are in town to interview our staff and Tiny House homeowner as well as to document the home dedication. Don't miss this exciting opportunity to be a part of the Tiny House movement! Visit their website or Facebook page for more information and see Cabarrus County featured!
 

Dana Connor Richardson Memorial Scholarship Presented

Those in the photo from Left to right are: Kenya Jordan (mother), Lindsey Richardson, Janaesea Jordan (2015 recipient), Meredith Richardson, Brent Richardson, and Jaquesea Williamson (sister of recipient)

My mom is a great cook. She regularly takes mundane ingredients and turns them into healthy food that’s so tasty you ask for second helpings.   Me?  I’m still learning.  But I absorb the recipe better when I can SEE the dish being made.  I need to copy the steps.

That’s what we do every day.  Copy someone else.

We brush teeth after meals because someone showed us how.  We clean the windshield at the gas station because that’s what dad did.  We wear shirts tucked in or pulled out because our favorite celebrity wears them that way.   We absorb life lessons and habits unconsciously because we see them every day. 

Good habits and bad habits become ingrained pretty quickly.  It only takes six weeks for a behavior to become a habit.  That’s why it’s so difficult to break a bad habit.  You don’t get rid of a bad habit.  Instead, you learn a new, good, habit to take the place of the previous behavior.

On May 28^th the daughter of a Habitat for Humanity homeowner received the Dana Connor Richardson Memorial Scholarship.  Janaesea Jordan dreamed of a career as a registered nurse before her mom Kenya Jordan entered the Habitat program.  After watching her mom study financial literacy and acquire budgeting skills – what did Janaesea learn?  Observing Kenya on the construction site week after week, what lessons did the daughter take away?

Janaesea learned positive skills like home maintenance and the importance of taking care of what you have.   She absorbed new habits like saving money for future goals.  And perhaps most importantly, Janaesea discovered how to dream (and that dreams CAN come true.)

Dana Conner Richardson, the former Program Director for Habitat for Humanity Cabarrus County, was deeply committed to the elimination of poverty in Cabarrus County.  As the first college graduate from her family she strongly believed in higher education.  After Dana lost her battle with cancer, her family started the scholarship as a legacy to her beliefs and commitment to her community.

There is a fable about a father crab instructing the baby crab the proper way to walk.  The parent crab kept saying things like, “Why are you walking sideways?  Don’t you know you should walk straight?  Try to walk like me!”  The moral of the fable was that children learn more from example than by telling.

Kenya’s daughter will apply the lessons she learned from watching her mother realize the dream of home ownership to pursue her own educational aspirations.  She will study at Winston Salem State University beginning this fall.

  

Brent Richardson and his children, Meredith and Lindsey, renew Dana’s commitment to her community through the scholarship in her name, which is awarded annually to an immediate family member of a Habitat for Humanity Cabarrus County partner family to obtain education beyond high school. Learn more on our website.

A Mother's Love - Habitat House Dedication

When I was a kid I watched the Incredible Hulk on TV and was totally captivated when a mother lifted a car off her trapped son to save him.  It was illogical and unlikely that a simple human could lift a car and yet totally plausible that a mother’s love and determination could do the impossible for her child.

Last night I saw what a mother’s and Father’s love accomplished.  And it took my breath away.

I had the privilege of attending the dedication of Demekia Suleman’s Habitat for Humanity home.  If you’ve never experienced this – well you are missing out on a wonder. 

People spilled out of the house onto the porch.  There just wasn’t enough room inside for everyone who came to celebrate this moment.  Inside, Demekia stood quietly with her children, surrounded by friends, family, Habitat for Humanity staff and other volunteers.  Demekia was calm and beautiful as the dedication began.

One of the schools from the Collegiate Challenge gave her a wall hanging and Demekia began to smile.  Her smile grew wider as she received the Bible from Doug Stafford with the Habitat Board of Directors.  Demekia’s smile reached her ears when she received the keys to her home.  The whole room took a deep breath as Demekia accepted the little pieces of metal that mean she is a homeowner. 

Then Pastor Cecil Brown led us in the blessing of the house and well, I felt the Spirit move.  We were in the presence of something big, something beautiful, something incandescent. Love burst forth in that room in an explosion of pure joy.  Words fail.  Seriously.  Cannot do it justice.

Then Ms. Clodfelter with DAR presented Demeka with an American Flag and reminded her that this is Memorial Day Weekend so she could put her flag up – that – THAT was the moment it became real for Ms. Suleman. 

 She, Demekia Suleman, owns a home.  And she can fly a flag, have a barbecue, put up seasonal decorations, entertain family, and raise her children in a safe, clean, beautiful space that she worked for, sweated for, and prayed for.  Demekia’s smile never wavered even as tears filled her eyes (and a few others’ too).

It felt like Christmas morning when Santa brought your first bike.  It felt like a wedding day.  It felt like the birth of a child.  It felt like a miracle. 

This miracle came about because hundreds of people gave time, effort, and money in small and large amounts to a cause.  To Habitat for Humanity.  To a family.    

 I still believe a mother’s love can perform amazing feats of strength.  Last night I saw a mother and Father’s love lift a family and raise a house.

Mary Beth Griffin, Habitat for Humanity of Cabarrus County

Annual Breakfast 2014

"The Children of Habitat" 

                     

Your support Changes more than an address!

The Board and staff of Habitat For Humanty Cabarrus County invite you to attend

our Annual Breakfast, featuring

"The Children of Habitat"

 

Thursday, October 2, 2014

7:30am - 9:00am

Concord First Assembly

The Village, Suite 15
280 Concord Pkwy, North Concord, NC 28027

As we conclude our 25th year of service in Cabarrus County, Habitat Cabarrus is proud to report that with your support we have served 763 individuals, including 392 children since 1989 with affordable housing solutions.  come learn about what a difference your support has made, in particular in the lives of children.

 

Please RSVP by September 18th
You can RSVP online here

704-786-4001| katiepage@habitatcabarrus.org

www.habitatcabarrus.org| PO BOx 1502, Concord, NC 28025

Charity Spotlight Night

The Kannapolis Intimidators are hosting a Charity Spotlight Night in which Habitat Cabarrus is participating.

 

The date is Friday, July 18th.  Tickets cost $5 and we will receive 50% of every voucher that is redeemed at the box office the night of the game.

You can buy tickets at our office in downtown Concord, @ 8 Church Street SE

Come and enjoy a baseball game and support your local Habitat affiliate!

Thrivent Partners with Habitat

Thrivent Financial partners with Habitat for Humanity to help improve neighborhoods across the Carolinas’

The North Carolina offices of Thrivent Financial and Habitat for Humanity Affiliates in the NC cities of Albemarle, Boone, Charlotte, Concord, Cornelius, Greensboro, Hickory, Matthews, Monroe, New Bern, Raleigh, Southern Pines, Southport, Statesville, Wilmington, and Winston-Salem are planning events to help homeowners spruce up their home and neighborhoods through a unique partnership program called Thrivent Builds Repairs.

The program called, Thrivent Builds Repairs Carolinas’ Spring Fix-Up, will enhance the level of home ownership and quality of life for individuals in an organized region-wise way. Volunteers, Habitat Affiliates and Thrivent Financial Representatives in NC will come together throughout April and May for these 30+ exterior repair projects. Thrivent’s investment in NC will be in excess of  $75,000. Thrivent will sponsor another 20+ projects will take place in SC in May and June. Thrivent Builds Repairs launched across the country in 2012 and concentrates on upgrading existing homes through exterior projects like installing accessibility ramps, exterior painting, weatherization, porch repair or light landscaping.

Locally, Habitat for Humanity Cabarrus County will partner with Thrivent Financial to complete two repairs in Cabarrus County in May in addition to a new home build this spring in Concord, NC. This home will be part of the affiliate’s 25^th Anniversary Build-a-thon, where 3 new homes will be constructed on adjacent lots in the Logan Community of Concord, NC.  

Thrivent Financial’s relationship with Habitat for Humanity brings the financial, volunteer and advocacy resources of Thrivent Financial together with the affordable housing construction leadership of hundreds of local Habitat for Humanity affiliates. Commenting on the success of the Thrivent Builds Repairs program, Beverly Grant-Turner, Community Engagement Leader, adds “This new program provides us with more options to serve our community. Upgrading existing homes not only makes the homes safer and more efficient, it also cultivates community pride.”

“The Thrivent Builds alliance is helping North Carolina Habitat increase the number of families served in our community,” said Christine Odom, Executive Director, of the NC statewide Habitat organization. “We are so grateful for Thrivent’s support of our efforts to provide homes in partnership with families in need of simple, decent and affordable housing.”

Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity is a multi-year, $200,000,000 dollar partnership between Thrivent Financial and Habitat for Humanity International. Thrivent Builds is designed to involve Thrivent members and Christians in helping provide a “hand up” to people in need of affordable housing, offering them a path to greater economic independence. Excluding government funding, Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity is Habitat's largest single source of funding, constructing more than 2,700 homes in the U.S. and around the world since 2005. For more information, visit ThriventBuilds.com.

Thrivent Financial is a not-for-profit, Fortune 500 financial services membership organization helping approximately 2.5 million members achieve financial security and give back to their communities. Thrivent Financial and its affiliates offer a broad range of financial products and services.  As a Christian based, not-for-profit organization, Thrivent Financial creates and supports national outreach programs and activities that help congregations, schools, charitable organizations and individuals in need. For more information, visit Thrivent.com. Also, you can find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Habitat for Humanity International is a global nonprofit Christian housing organization that seeks to put God’s love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope. Since 1976, Habitat has served more than 500,000 families by welcoming people of all races, religions and nationalities to construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions.

For more information on local Habitat happenings, to donate or to volunteer, please visit www.habitatcabarrus.org or follow ushttps://www.facebook.com/habitatcabarruscounty.

Shack-a-Thon 2013

Habitat Cabarrus Youth United will be holding its annual Shack-a-Thon on October 11th & 12th at the Covenant Classical School

3200 Patrick Henry Dr. NW

Concord, NC 28027

8pm- 8am

What is Shack-a-Thon? It is a fundraiser designed like a lock-in that includes participants

- Learning about Habitat Cabarrus and housing issues

- Working with friends to build a shack from cardboard and other materials

(Shacks will be judged in several categories)

- Playing games and trivia 

- Dinner and breakfast will be provided

Proceeds go directly toward our 2014 Youth United/ Collegiate Challenge home in Cabarrus County. 

Participants must raise at least $25

For more information or if you are planning on participating you can download our Shack-a-Thon participant packet