On November 14, 2006, Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia's Signature Event was held at the exclusive Morton's Steakhouse of Philadelphia. This high profile evening boasted over 250 guests, a silent auction, Morton's fabulous hors d'oeurves and wine, and some special presentations, hosted by Tamala Edwards of WPVI-TV/Channel 6. The Gala is our 2nd annual celebration of our partner families that have "come home" this year and the partner sponsors that have helped to bring them there.

The silent auction raised around $20,000 with items such as a golf outing at The Maidstone Club in Long Island, NY, original lithographs by artists like Chagall, Picasso, and Dali, sports tickets, and much more. Habitat Philadelphia is thankful for a successful and enjoyable evening during which over $87,000 were raised to help continue its mission to build hope in Philadelphia.

Thanks to a previously unaffiliated donor, Habitat Philadelphia recently came into possession of a South Philadelphia row home in need of rehabilitation. Ms. Godrey lived on 5th Street just above Shunk Street until she passed away in 2005. Unknown to us, she had willed her home to Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia so that a low-income family could enjoy the stability of homeownership.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has partnered again with Habitat Philadelphia to sponsor this home as part of "Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity." Thrivent Builds is a four-year, $100 million commitment bringing Thrivent Financial and Habitat together with families in need to build simple, decent housing in communities across the nation, and, in fact, around the world.

As part of the Thrivent Builds sponsorship for building the property at 2542 South 5th Street, 50% of the volunteers working on the site will need to belong to a Lutheran church fellowship. If your church is interested in participating in this project, please contact our volunteer coordinator at volunteer@habitatphiladelphia.org.

To donate a family property, you may contact 215- 765-6000.

The Faith Relations Committee of HFH Philadelphia has an idea for you -- invite us to your Mission Fair! Many congregations have such an event once or twice a year to acquaint their membership with local mission/ministry opportunities. We would enjoy becoming involved with you. We want to help you put your faith into action.

Give us a call at the HFH office or send an email to faith@habitatphiladelphia.org if you have interest in this idea.

Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia’s Women’s Build Program is offering an eight-week construction training course for women ages 18 and older. Participants will be taught the basics of construction tools and the technical elements of home building under the instruction of Lauren Mariani, carpenter with McCoubrey/Overholser Inc. and former Habitat Philadelphia AmeriCorps construction assistant.

For eight consecutive Saturdays beginning January 13th, 2007, from 10am to noon, Women’s Build Construction sessions will be held at Habitat headquarters, 1829 N 19th St. in Philadelphia (near Temple University). Women will learn to use hand and power tools as well as acquire basic framing knowledge. Other sessions will include instruction in roofing, insulation, drywall, painting, flooring and finish carpentry. The eighth and final session will be an opportunity for women to put their new skills to use on a Habitat Build site that will be staffed by women only for that day.

The cost to participate in the 7-week program is $250 with options for individual sessions. All proceeds will benefit Habitat Philadelphia’s mission of providing simple affordable housing for low income persons in Philadelphia. To register for a class or to find out more about Women’s Build, visit our website, or contact Larisa Forest at 215-765-6000 x17 or larisar@habitatphiladelphia.org.

The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) held its third annual “Sacrifice to Save” Event, with this year’s proceeds earmarked for Habitat Philadelphia. Students, faculty, administration, and employees sacrificed something of their choice for two weeks, donating the accumulated value of that sacrifice to Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia to help build simple, decent, affordable housing in their hometown.

Sponsored by PCOM’s Student Government Association, the event started this year with a “Cupcake Kickoff”, held on Wednesday, November 1st at the campus’ Evans Lobby (the main building’s entrance). Participants pledged to sacrifice something, estimated the amount they hoped to donate from it, and received a cupcake. The event concluded at noon on Wednesday, November 15th with a small ceremony in which all proceeds were presented to Habitat Philadelphia, Executive Director Timothy Block.

“It is surprising how significant a student’s donation of two weeks-worth of Starbucks coffee trips can be to an organization like ours!” said Tim Block, Habitat Philadelphia’s Executive Director. All in all, $5,155 were raised to help Philadelphia's Housing Crisis.

Join us for a new house dedication on December 2, 2006 at 3:00 PM. We will celebrate with Dawn Davis and her family as she moves into her new home on N. Wanamaker Street. Contact the Habitat Philadelphia office if you are interested in attending...215-765-6000.