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.”