Oktoberfest is here, and Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area is happy to be part of the festivities. Thursday evening we were able to take part in the Torchlight Parade.

​Our float theme this year is “Building Sustainable Communities.” To fit this theme, we designed a small community to fit our float. Our community includes a community center, a grocery store, a post office and of course a home, the center of our work here at Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area. We are also featuring the Woofs and Roofs doghouses designed for our competition earlier this year. These will be available for auction soon, so be on the lookout.

​In designing our float and planning for the parades this year, we partnered with the Coulee Region Humane Society and La Crosse Urban Stormwater Group. This allowed us to have extra help from two-legged and four-legged friends. 

The Stormwater Group provided the greenery for our community. Plants, trees and water cleanliness are a vital part of every community, and Habitat is committed to environmentally friendly homebuilding and reusing.
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Most of those who walked along with our staff and the Stormwater Group were partner families and their friends. This meant we had tons of little hands to pass out candy. It is so nice to see our Habitat families being so involved in our community activities! 

Our float also served to announce our upcoming Raise the Roof concert, which will be held Saturday, January 12. Look out for more details soon, and mark your calendars in the meantime.
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We had a great time at the Torchlight Parade, and we are thrilled to be in the Maple Leaf Parade tomorrow. Look out for our float, and enjoy Oktoberfest! 

​On Saturday, Sept. 15, Habitat for Humanity La Crosse Area was able to be part of PALM + PINE Yoga’s first birthday celebration. 

Earlier in the summer, the yoga studio let the community vote on a local nonprofit to benefit from the fundraising they planned to do to celebrate their successful first year here. We were thrilled when Habitat La Crosse was selected. Our collaboration in preparation for the event was full of enthusiasm and went very smoothly. Everyone involved was passionate about the opportunity to celebrate community.

PALM + PINE offered three donation-based classes during the event. They graciously donated all the funds thus raised to Habitat La Crosse to support our efforts in building homes, communities and hope. Additionally, they designed a stylish shirt for the event and sent a quarter of its sales back to building homes.
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On the day of the event, two members of the Habitat La Crosse team were able to take a yoga class led by one of the event’s main planners. This was an excellent start to a day that only became better. The turnout was terrific, as members of the La Crosse community opened their hearts and donated generously to our cause all the while celebrating a welcoming gathering place for gratitude and kindness. Some of us sported the cute and comfortable shirts throughout the day, and we were even joined by a very young yogi. 

Around lunchtime, Taco Town joined Habitat La Crosse and PALM + PINE to add some fuel to the party. Soon after, the Makers’ Market began. Local businesses displayed and sold their unique wares, a further indication of the greatness this community has to share.
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By the end of the day, Habitat La Crosse raised almost $500 to help us build homes, communities and hope. We are so thankful to PALM + PINE, Taco Town, the contributing local businesses and all the individuals who joined us in yoga and community. 

​At the end of August, in honor of our back to school month, we held a Facebook contest asking our followers to comment the name of a college student in their lives to win a prize straight from the ReStore.
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We were pleased to see a high level of participation. People in our community are greatly supportive of students and their education. We could only pick one winner, though. That winner was Lexie Bartz. 

​Lexie is starting her junior year at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. She studies environmental science and is a member of the Organic Growers Club.

Lexie’s mom nominated her for this drawing and described her as passionate about what she is studying, “our little tree hugger.” The ReStore gifted her two coffee mugs and a pin board all ready for her favorite photos and other memorabilia. Her mom will be flying out this weekend, perfect timing for Lexie to receive her gifts!
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Watch our Facebook page for future contests and drawings! 

​In the past couple of weeks, we were able to participate in activity fairs on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Viterbo campuses.

At the Viterbo Welcome Back Bash, we set up a table in their Mathy center surrounded by other local businesses and on-campus organizations. New students and other community businesses alike stopped by to talk to us and learn about what we are doing. We were able to learn about many of the opportunities for service and engagement that Viterbo students will have throughout their academic careers. It was so great to see so many members of the La Crosse area come together to present options for work and volunteering to these students, as well. We even had the chance to make our own trail mix!
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We were also part of University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Sample the City and Volunteer Fair. Our table was one of many on the university’s student union lawn. It was a beautiful day, and it felt like fall with just a slight chill. We were able to see all of the community engagement available to students in our area. A huge number of students signed up to learn more and help us build homes, communities and hope. One student stopped by and said his family lives in a Habitat home. It is incredible to see how this work comes full circle!