​On Friday, May 17, we were thrilled to break ground on our Spring Grove Heritage House. This is already a special home for Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area for several reasons. 

The Heritage Home is Habitat La Crosse’s 50th home. That means it will house one of 50 families that has been able to build strength, stability and self-reliance through homeownership. This house will become our first built in Spring Grove, MN. This is an opportunity to extend our service into rural communities, areas hugely affected by the affordable housing shortage but often overlooked in conversations surrounding the issue.
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It is not just the final product that will be full of firsts for Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area. The planning of the Spring Grove Heritage House has been a whole new process. Habitat La Crosse started this process after a high school class in Spring Grove was asked what their community needs most and they responded with a need for affordable housing. This class then helped to design the architectural plans for the home.  Then architect Miranda Moen helped put the students’ ideas into a buildable blue print. 

Habitat La Crosse and Spring Grove are building on this theme of involving the entire community in the Heritage Home. The Spring Grove community has come together in exciting ways to build support for this project. Community members have raised funds and generated excitement. This was clear in the large attendance for the ground breaking ceremony, despite poor weather. We can’t wait to see what else this community will do to support this home.
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If you want to learn more about Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area’s Spring Grove Heritage Home, or if you want to get involved, please visit our website: https://www.habitatlacrosse.org/spring-grove-heritage-house.html.

Last Saturday, April 27, Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area hosted our annual Neighbors Day volunteer event. Partnering with Friends of the Marsh, Neighbors Day helps the elderly and disabled get their yards ready for spring and clean up our beautiful marsh.

This year, Habitat La Crosse had a record number of recipients. Over 190 elderly and disabled recipients signed up to have their yards worked on by volunteers. The day began with hundreds of volunteers, making up over 40 teams, coming through the Myrick Park center to check in, receive their assignments and have some breakfast provided by Moka and Kwik Trip. Habitat La Crosse was able to partner with Friends of the Marsh this year, so we shared a check in and eating space for all of these wonderful volunteers. After figuring out where they’d be helping out, grabbing some food and checking out all the tools they’d need, the volunteer teams headed off the help the elderly and disabled.

Mid-morning, the snow started to fall, but this didn’t slow down Habitat La Crosse’s volunteers. In fact, Habitat staff drove around to take photos of the volunteers in action but had trouble because many locations they went to had already been completed by these amazing volunteers.

Because of the weather, a few teams were unable to make it, which meant that some homeowners were not going to receive help. When Habitat staff announced this during a lunch provided by North Country Steak Buffet, many teams that had only signed up for a half day generously took on even more projects in the snow so our recipients would receive the help they expected.
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In the end, despite the weather, Habitat La Crosse helped more elderly and disabled homeowners in La Crosse than any other Neighbors Day before. We are so grateful to all the volunteers and sponsors who made this incredible volunteer event possible. 

Last week, April 7 – April 14, was National Volunteer Week. While we at Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area celebrate our volunteers every day, we took this special week as a chance to truly highlight what their hard work and dedication mean to us. We did this with our annual Habitat La Crosse Volunteer Recognition Dinner.

Habitat La Crosse staff organized the dinner, held Monday, April 8. All volunteers were invited and enjoyed a delicious meal catered by Celebrations on the River. This included ReStore volunteers, office volunteers, construction volunteers, committee members and board members. As volunteers arrived, they were handed certificates to acknowledge the work they’ve done for Habitat in the past year.
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After everyone had time to mingle and find their seats, the ceremony began. Habitat La Crosse’s volunteer coordinator welcomed everyone. Next, awards were presented. First were some fun awards. Office volunteer Mary Greene won the “Rookie of the Year Award” for being the best newcomer. 

​Next, the board members whose terms are ending this year were recognized. These members are Tom Uphaus and Sarah Arendt-Beyer.

​Next, we moved on to our more formal awards. These winners were all chosen after staff reviewed nominations other staff and volunteers submitted. Tim Skinner won the June Kjome Volunteer Award. This award is named after Habitat La Crosse’s founder and recognizes the volunteer who best embodies the values of service, stewardship and good will that June Kjome herself represented. Tim was nominated for his far-reaching participation in Habitat’s events and campaigns and his sincere dedication to Habitat’s mission. 

Tim Hansen won the Al Lien Volunteer Award. Al Lien, for whom this award is named, faithful served Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area for over a decade, helping construct the first twenty-three houses built by the Affiliate.
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The Al Lien Volunteer of the Year Award is given out to those in his honor each year to an individual who embodies the values to service, stewardship, and good will which Mr. Lien exemplified through his service to this Affiliate and throughout his life. Tim was nominated because of his extensive experience, his willingness to help his fellow volunteers and his passion for building for Habitat La Crosse. 

​Habitat La Crosse staff were so excited to recognize all the hard work our volunteers have done in the past year to help us expand our services and build even more homes, communities and hope. If you’re interested in volunteering with us, email volunteer@habitatlacrosse.org to learn how you can help. 

Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area has an excellent community partner in Thrivent Financial. As an organization and through the members it serves, Thrivent supports Habitat La Crosse’s mission to build homes, communities and hope.

Thrivent provides financial services and guidance to its members. Some of these services are philanthropic in nature, and those can be used to support Habitat La Crosse. One of these is Thrivent Action teams. Each Thrivent member is able to apply for up to two Action Teams each year. An Action Team encourages members to strengthen and give back to their communities. These teams provide up to $250 for members to create fundraising activities for philanthropic reasons. This money can help fund volunteer events, purchase the materials needed for a fundraiser, purchase materials for an already planned fundraiser, purchase meals for volunteers at a nonprofit and more.

In the past, Thrivent members have used Action Team money to buy lunches for Habitat La Crosse volunteers on the job site and to provide materials needed for a Habitat La Crosse fundraiser, to name two examples. Both Thrivent and Habitat La Crosse have tons of examples of ways these Action Teams can be used. These range from very little effort to very involved. Either way, they can help build homes, communities and hope.

Thrivent Choice Dollars are another way for Thrivent members to help Habitat for Humanity La Crosse area. Certain Thrivent members are allotted a certain number of Choice Dollars to allocate each year. These are not dollars that come out of the individual’s pocket. Instead, they are gifted to the individual’s chosen nonprofit from Thrivent. And Habitat La Crosse is one of the nonprofits members can choose. This is an even easier way to give back and help build homes, communities and hope.

Thrivent gives its members several ways to live generously. Additionally, Thrivent as an organization is a generous partner for Habitat for Humanity. Thrivent Financial partners with Habitat affiliates to bring church members and people across communities together to help build more homes. These include individual Faith Builds and even Thrivent homes, which are built when Thrivent funds a portion of the home building costs for a Habitat family.
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Thrivent Financial has many employees and members who support Habitat La Crosse through volunteering, sitting on committees and donating. Are you a Thrivent member? Learn how you can help us build more homes, communities and hope today by speaking with your Thrivent representative.
 

​Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area made a huge announcement at our Raise the Roof concert January 12. In addition to the raffle prizes being drawn for that night, there was a special, larger raffle prize to be unveiled. Habitat Executive Director Kahya Fox announced during the concert that a refurbished 1953 Chevy truck had been donated to the organization to be raffled. 

To help spread the word about the truck, and so more people can see it, we have already had several ticket stops at local businesses. B.A. Burrito Co., Fayze’s, and Cabin Coffee have already hosted us, and we will be holding stops at Rudy’s Drive-In when the warmer weather lets them open for the season.

In addition to ticket stops, the tickets are being sold at various local businesses and at the Habitat La Crosse ReStore. These include B.A. Burrito locations, Pearl Street Brewery and the Briar Patch. They were also sold at the 45th Annual Custom Auto Show held at the La Crosse center earlier this month. Even with the less than ideal weather, almost 400 tickets were sold just that weekend.
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Only 2000 tickets total are being sold to increase the likelihood that buyers could win. A chance to win a $40,000 truck for just $25 a ticket, or five for $100, seems like a no-brainer. What’s more, each ticket sale helps us build more homes, communities and hope! And each ticket includes four coupons to local businesses: a cup of coffee from Cabin Coffee; a cookie or bar from Fayze’s; free chips and queso with the purchase of an entrée from B.A. Burrito; and $5 off a $20 purchase at Rudy’s Drive-In. ​
The raffle runs through June 29. On that day, Habitat La Crosse will hold the raffle drawing during our ReNEW La Crosse Neighborhoods block party. Ticket holders do not have to be present to win.
The truck raffle is very exciting for everyone here at Habitat La Crosse, and we encourage the whole community to buy a ticket or 10 while they are still available. What better way to win than by helping us build homes, communities and hope! 

Last month, some of Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area’s ReStore management staff and our salvage specialist put on a recycling training for volunteers and other staff. They were sure to host the educational session on a day when there would not be shoppers in the store so everyone could focus on the important topic at hand.

Habitat La Crosse ReStore manager Steve started the training with an overview of at-home recycling. Many attendees were surprised to learn some of the most common misconceptions surrounding what can and cannot be recycled. For example, many Americans feel good about tossing their disposable coffee cups, takeout containers, yogurt cups and intact plastic bags in their blue bins. These items actually contaminate the recyclable materials that may be in the bin.

This phenomenon is known as “wish-cycling,” or aspirational recycling. It is great that so many people want to make a difference. But we have to know our stuff so we don’t end up doing more harm than good.

The biggest takeaway from this part of the session was how important it is to make sure you know what is and is not recyclable in your municipality and city. From there, pay attention to what you’re throwing where!

Next up, our construction specialist Adam took over to teach everyone a bit more about metals. He showed everyone the sorting room where many metal-composed items donated to the ReStore are taken to be dismantled. He highlighted the different bins for different kinds of metal. One reason for this separation is that different metals reap different prices when recycled. Adam also instructed volunteers and staff on safety best practices when dealing with metals in order to reduce risk when dismantling items.

Attendees then learned how to identify various types of metals using magnets, files and wiring. There was even a quiz at the end—some Habitat staff did not do as well as others!
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Everyone at Habitat La Crosse is happy that our ReStore and construction staff were thoughtful enough to put this training together. Recycling, along with reducing and reusing, is a crucial way to keep our community, and the services we provide, sustainable. And don’t forget that you’re helping, too, when you donate to and shop at the ReStore!

​This Valentine’s Day, Habitat La Crosse held its 47th home dedication. We wanted to spread the love that allowed us to build a forever home for this family with the community that made it possible. 

Last Thursday, Habitat La Crosse staff and volunteers joined community members to welcome See and Yee Thao into their Habitat home. The mother and son pair will soon be moving into to a rehabbed home that took a lot of work from volunteers and support from donors and sponsors.

​The Thaos and their family cooked a huge spread of food for dedication attendees to enjoy. There was sticky rice, fried rice, eggrolls, fruit and more. And guests couldn’t stay away!

​Our theme, “You Helped Build the Love,” was carried through to the celebratory cake, which was a hit particularly with the younger guests. 

​Habitat board president Alan Eber welcomed the family into their forever home. He reminded listeners that the gift of a safe, affordable, decent home is why Habitat does what it does. Eber emphasized how important sponsors, donors and volunteers are to this process. 

Executive Director Kahya Fox presented See Thao with her new keys, after explaining what an involved process this home rehabilitation was. We could not build more homes without our incredible and dedicated volunteers.
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Some of these Habitat La Crosse construction and ReStore volunteers joined us for the dedication. Al Pedrazoli, a regular construction volunteer, spoke to the hard work that went into making this house a home. He recalls being a little daunted during his first visit to the house. But the work of construction staff and volunteers like him made it all beautiful. 

Then came the official ribbon cutting. After 350 hours of volunteering in the ReStore and on the job site, See Thao cut the ribbon and became a Habitat homeowner.
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Home dedications help remind us all why Habitat works so hard to recruit volunteers, business partners and community donors to further our mission. The ability to present a safe, decent, affordable home to a partner family is a tangible way to see the deep and crucial impact of what we do. Congratulations to the Thao family, and welcome home! 

​On Tuesday, Feb. 5, Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area celebrated our longest ReStore volunteer’s 6000th volunteer hour. Emmie Rosson has been volunteering with us since a week before our ReStore opened in 2006. 

Emmie is in the ReStore each week, chatting with other volunteers, customers and staff and picking up any extra work she sees that will improve the store. She does this because she loves the ReStore, Habitat La Crosse and the people with whom she works.
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At the pizza party celebrating all her hours of hard work, she couldn’t stress enough what a great place to volunteer the ReStore is. She has never heard a volunteer say a negative thing about the environment. Emmie referred to the “Why I Volunteer” posters hung up on the break room wall, emphasizing that people wouldn’t return day after day if they didn’t love it here. ​

Emmie’s passion for the ReStore doesn’t stop with her. She has been actively recruiting more volunteers since she started helping at Habitat La Crosse. From friends and family to ReStore customers at the register, Emmie has successfully brought in several awesome volunteers to help Habitat build more homes, communities and hope.
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At Habitat La Crosse, we are incredibly grateful for our volunteers like Emmie. We could not do anything we do for the community without them! 

Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area has been very busy the past few weeks. In fact, a lot of our big events happened on the same day.

Saturday, Jan. 12 started with an Individual Build Day. This is one of our regular volunteer events. It can sometimes be intimidating to step on to a build site for the first time, especially without a group to support you. Individual Build Day helps bridge this gap. Anyone can sign up for this volunteer day, and our construction staff and regular volunteers will help show them how it’s done. We have several Individual Build Days planned for 2019. Learn more and sign up here.

While these incredible individuals were working on a family’s new forever home, Habitat La Crosse staff were busy serving (and tasting!) chili at Beer By Bike Brigade’s 2019 Chili Slam. This is a philanthropic event put on by the organization. Local businesses make a batch of chili, and attendees vote on their favorite flavors. There were tons of spicy tastes to test. 

​After all of our chili had been eaten, we had a couple of hours to prepare for our annual Raise the Roof benefit concert at Pearl Street Brewery. We set up the stage, VIP area and raffle prizes as the bands arrived. The evening kicked off with Matt Monsoor for our VIP hour. People snacked on Pogy’s catering and grabbed their On Three Printing & Design commemorative t-shirts while Monsoor sang. Then as the night went on and more guests arrived, Rhythmic Justice, The Executives, Tugg and Heatbox played. Guests danced throughout the evening, drinking beer and having their portraits drawn. 

Raffle prizes were on display throughout the evening. Guests could buy tickets and put them into jars for specific prizes. We raised over $700 through this effort.
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The biggest event of the evening was when Habitat La Crosse revealed that we will be raffling off a restored 1953 Chevy truck valued at $40,000. Tickets are only $25 or five for $100. You can learn more about this on our website and social media pages. 

A week after this jam-packed weekend, we hosted our first Veterans Build of 2019, part of our new Habitat for Heroes program. Eleven veterans volunteered their time to join us on the job site, helping to build a family’s forever home. Habitat for Heroes aims to use volunteerism to provide our community’s veterans with opportunities to socialize and continue giving back after their remarkable service. The ultimate goal is to build a home for a local veteran and their family. This will be a home for a veteran built by veterans. To learn more and sign up for our 2019 Veterans Build Days, click here.
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2019 has already been a successful year for Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area. We can’t wait to let you know what else is in store for us. 

​On Dec. 13, Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area celebrated our first ever twin home dedications. In collaboration with Couleecap and the City of La Crosse, Habitat La Crosse built twin homes on the corner of 5th Avenue and Mississippi Street in La Crosse. Hosting these two dedications simultaneously is in following with how the families have built alongside each other throughout the process. 

​​The Bright and Russell families were selected during the same application cycle. They also upheld the same work ethic in completing their required sweat equity hours and the same willingness to partner with Habitat La Crosse at every opportunity. They could be found in the ReStore, on a job site or at a special event almost any day while their homes were being completed. And they were definitely huge parts of having these homes completed as soon as they were. 

​The children in these families were almost never missing at Habitat La Crosse events, bringing more fun along with them. Brenten, Jenna Bright’s son, even gave tours of his new home during a block party held in the fall. He also donated his own $10 to the All Hands In Capital Campaign at its launch party in October. All family members were involved in Habitat happenings in preparation for their move-ins.
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Unsurprisingly, both families completed their 350 sweat equity hours quite quickly. This way, we were able to dedicate their homes, and they were able to move in, just in time for the holidays. 

The dedications were heart-warming, with Habitat La Crosse staff, board members and volunteers all present along with community members. Another Habitat family that lives in the area stopped by to give their congratulations. Another neighbor joined the celebration, but that’s not all. When our executive director opened the floor for comments, he spoke about how the neighborhood has changed for the better since Habitat La Crosse has been there.

“It’s been unbelievable the change that has happened…more kids, more lights, more homes. If you ever need anything, come down and say hello,” he said to the families.
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Everyone here at Habitat La Crosse has been thrilled to see the Bright and Russell families on their journey to these forever homes. Speaking about the impact Habitat has had on her life, Jenna Bright said, “Without them I don’t know where I would be. They give you the hope you need.”