Additional Information

2007 Habitat Blitz

During a two-week blitz build in Pontiac June 15-30, 2007, our church partnered with the South Oakland Circle of Faith and Troy Interfaith Group to build our ninth Habitat home. Our church raised $35,000 toward the total construction costs of $70,000. Our partner family was Kerry Turnipseed and his two kids.

Habitats for All Fund Raiser

Photos

2006 Habitat Blitz Build

During a two-week blitz build in Pontiac June 17-30, 2006, our church once again partnered with the South Oakland Circle of Faith (a group of twelve local churches of all denominations) to build our eighth Habitat home. Our church raised $30,000 toward the total construction costs of $65,000.

Michael King, the 2006 home owner we worked with, said at the 2007 Lenten Dinner that it was amazing to "see how God's plan comes together."

2005 Habitat Blitz - Jimmy Carter Work Project

"A home built with love." With tears in her eyes and a huge smile on her face, these were the words Toni Petty used to describe her new Habitat home -- built and funded entirely by the FUMC Birmingham congregation. Yes, you the reader were a part of a truly remarkable event in the life of our church, creating a new home in Pontiac for Toni and her three children, offering a "hand-up" to a hard-working, Christian family, and once again demonstrating your unwavering commitment to helping others in the community.

More than 300 volunteers helped build the home at 285 Rockwell in Pontiac, a feat accomplished in just two weeks' time. But the actual "build" is only part of the story. It took almost an entire year of committee work to coordinate the details, recruit the volunteers, and raise the $65,000 needed to build this home, one of 237 built in Michigan in June during the Jimmy Carter Work Project (JCWP).

Needless to say, it would be impossible to list every one of the individuals who helped with this endeavor. But here is a partial list of those areas that required tireless leadership and the support of hundreds of volunteers:

House Leadership: on site every day, completely in charge of the build
Crew Leadership: indispensable lieutenants for each House Leader
Hospitality: coordinating all sign-ups, meals, logistics; full lunch for 280
Site Host: making everyone feel welcome; finding everyone a task
International: coordinating transportation for international volunteers
Drivers: for shuttles, vans, cars running all day to/from work sites
Promotion: special T-shirt design, distributed to all volunteers
Photography: for FUMC website; creation of slide show
First aid: always needed even though nothing more than scrapes this year
Fundraising: groups, circles, youth, ministers, individuals …..everybody!

To see the entire process in photos, from the ground-breaking to the final dedication, in chronological order, see the photos of the blitz build.

For two full weeks, in 90-plus degree weather, sometimes 12-14 hours a day, the members of FUMC Birmingham volunteered their time, shared their commitment to mission and outreach, and created "A HOME BUILT WITH LOVE." From Toni Petty and her family, from Jimmy Carter and the JCWP organization, and from all of us on the Habitat Committee,

THANK YOU!!

Partner Families

Through our efforts over the past ten years, 14 adults and 27 children already have new homes they can call their own. Many of these families came from substandard housing where they had to pay high rents for leaky roofs and broken plumbing or depended on relatives in overcrowded conditions to keep a roof over their head. The families for our previous "Circle of Faith" homes:

2008: Mary Cannon
2007: Kerry Turnipseed and his two children - Pontiac
2006: Michael and Nicole King and their two children - Pontiac
2005: Toni Petty and her three children - Pontiac
2004: Tamara Rush and her three children - Pontiac
2003: Alan and Nancy Markland and their four children - Royal Oak Township
2002: Andre and Malinda Young and their four children - Royal Oak Township
2001: Stacey Black and her daughter - Royal Oak Township
2000: Gemia and Shay Gilmore and their six children - Southfield
1999: Theresa Mayberry and her two children – Ferndale

Golden Hammer Award

In 2001, our church began presenting the Golden Hammer award to outstanding Habitat volunteers.

The Golden Hammer is awarded to one who exemplifies the spirit and philosophy of Habitat for Humanity and Christ's call to action. This person dedicates hours of service to help build affordable, decent housing for those in need. This individual shows the light of Christ through their actions and words of encouragement, and expresses a contagious spirit that leads others to join the Habitat for Humanity team. He/she truly epitomizes our mission statement to change the world one family at a time. Recipients of this award have been:

2007: Andy Schueler and Jan Peabody-Kratt
2006: Bob Dona and Jim Miller
2005: Jon Skinner, Bob Pierce, Donna Sutton, and Julie Eggleston
2005: Rev. William A. Ritter
2004: Tom Russell and Gary Kratt
2003: Bob White and Mitch Manahan
2002: David Cox and Larry Zien
2001: Susan Greenhalgh and Dan Ralston

Habitat ReStore

The Habitat ReStore, located at the new HFHOC office at 150 Osmun in Pontiac, accepts donations of new and good quality used building materials and supplies from home remodeling projects and commercial/retail donations. If donated materials cannot be used directly in construction projects, ReStore offers them to the public at discounted prices.

Your donations and your purchases help support the Habitat mission of eliminating poverty housing in our area.

Check out the ReStore website for more details.

Did you know....

62% of Habitat home owners are single women in their late 20s and early 30s?
They have two or three children?
The majority of them get married in a few years, and these new families tend to stay together?
Once a family moves into a Habitat house, the following things happen?
67% get a better job.
50% experience less family conflict.
25% of the children get better grades.
25% see an improvement in family health.

“Habitat is a win/win/win/win deal for everybody involved.
It’s a win for the homeowner partners.
It’s a win for the volunteer partners.
It’s a win for the donor partners.
And it’s a win for the community, the nation, and the world.
How many opportunities in life can boast that?”
-Millard Fuller, Founder of Habitat for Humanity International

Want to know more about Habitat for Humanity?

How much do you know about Habitat for Humanity?

When was the first HFH house built, and for which family?
If Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter did not start HFH, who did?
Did the founders of HFH really give away their assets of over a million dollars before working with others to start HFH?

The answers to these and other questions about Habitat can be found in our church's library. Look for one of the many books written by Millard Fuller.

When our church started building Habitat for Humanity houses in 1999, our former Senior Pastor Bill Ritter's sermon entitled A Field at Anathoth discussed the project. Dr. Cheatham's sermon Can You Make the Buttons Even? includes the story of Millard Fuller and the founding of Habitat for Humanity.

Answers

Habitat for Humanity built its first house in 1969, at Koinonia Farm in Georgia, for Emma and Bo Johnson's family

Habitat for Humanity was founded by Clarence Jordan and Linda and Millard Fuller.

Yes, the Fullers gave away their assets of over a million dollars.