On November 14, 2006, Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia's Signature Event will be held at the exclusive Morton's Steakhouse of Philadelphia. The event will be a high profile evening with over 300 guests. 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 evening will include a silent auction, Morton's outstanding hors d'oeurves and wine, and some special guest presentations, hosted by Tamala Edwards of WPVI-TV/Channel 6 fame. Sponsors for this year's Homecoming Gala include: Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown, Patrick F. Monaghan Foundation, Thomson Scientific, Building Owners & Managers Association (BOMA), and Cozen O'Connor.

Many generous donors have contributed to this year's silent auction to be held at Morton's Steakhouse during our 2006 Homecoming Gala:

Other note-worthy contributions:

On October 19, 2006, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) will present its annual Awards for Design Excellence. Habitat Philadelphia was nominated by The Community Design Collaborative for our Green Affordable Philadelphia project of environmentally friendly homes, and was selected as one of this year’s winners.

"Every year, the Collaborative recognizes a project for excellence in design, volunteer-client collaboration, and community impact," says the Collaborative's Executive Director, Elizabeth K. Miller. "Habitat Philadelphia's work with the Collaborative to develop a conceptual design for new homes on Stiles Street will result in the development of Philadelphia’s first green, affordable housing."

Projects were judged on the following criteria:

• Design Excellence
• Community Impact
• Quality of Client/Volunteer Collaboration
• Visibility
• Project Realization

The 2006 Community Design Award will be presented as part of the AIA Philadelphia 2006 Awards for Design Excellence dinner and celebration on Thursday, October 19 at 5:30 p.m. at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. An exhibition tied to the competition is at the Rotunda at Liberty Place from October 9 through 22. Construction will begin with a ground breaking ceremony in early March 2007.