Habitat for Humanity—Bend
You are probably thinking, "I haven’t heard much about Habitat for Humanity in the past few months." I received this update and thought I would share it with you. Rich Rozic of Bend Area Habitat for Humanity sent this press release to me on the 26th of April:
Bend Habitat For Humanity Dedicates Their 28th Home
Bend Area Habitat for Humanity will celebrate the dedication of their latest duplex located on Full Moon Drive, Saturday May 8th at 11:00 am. This will be the 28th home that Bend Habitat and the community have built since its inception ten years ago.
This home is a two-story, totaling 1130 sq. ft. with two bedrooms and a bath and a half. Trina Nichols and her son Gerald are the new homeowners. Now that the Nichols family has completed their 400 hours of "sweat equity," they can move into their new home and begin paying off their 20-year no-interest mortgage. The cost of the home to the family is $49,500.
Since all Habitat homes are paid for through financial contributions and donated labor and services, the families’ monthly mortgage payments are used to support future home building projects in the Bend community. Bend Habitat for Humanity will continue to build homes for families in need, with the annual goal of five new homes in 1999. Please join us in volunteering on the job site to help our neighbors make their dream of home ownership come true.
Since 1989, the Bend community and Habitat have partnered to address the issue of affordable housing locally as well as globally. In the ten years of Bend Habitat’s operation, financial assistance from the Bend community has provided the support to build 52 homes internationally. That’s 80 families that now have a safe and secure home because the Bend community cares. The cost of housing a family overseas averages one-tenth the cost of building a house in the United States.
Please join us in celebrating the dedication of the Nichols home and, as we partner with the Bend community, addressing the need for affordable housing.
From A Child’s Dream Of A Playhouse Comes The Families Dream Of A Real Home
To meet the need for affordable housing in our community, members of Central Oregon Builders Association, Oregon Log Homes and Bend Area Habitat for Humanity have partnered in the building of three children’s playhouses to be raffled off at Bend Habitat’s Tenth Anniversary celebration August 7 of this year. The playhouses will be built during the COBA Home and Garden Show April 30th, at the new fairgrounds in Redmond, with the design and construction to be a competition between male and female volunteers from the construction community.
Heading up the women’s build will be Alison Bublitz, a local contractor in the Bend community. The women’s entry is sponsored by Miller Lumber and will be designed by local artist/designer, Portia Murphy. The men's playhouse will be sponsored by Parr Lumber and designed by local architect, Gabe Kubickek. The men’s build will be coordinated by local contractor Gerald Eischen. The playhouses will also be shown at this year’s COBA Tour of Homes during the end of July. The third playhouse is being built by Oregon Log Homes of Sisters and will be coordinated by local builder, Leon Petz.
A special thanks goes out to Bank of the Cascades for donating all printing costs of this year’s Habitat Raffle. Be on the lookout for the Habitat playhouses in the Bend Community during the summer months. For more information contact the Bend Habitat Office at 385-5387.
Habitat Breaks Ground For New Office
On Saturday, May 1st at 11:00 am, the Bend affiliate and Northwest Regional will celebrate the ground breaking of their new office to be located on the corner of Fourth Street and Seward. The two story, 2700 sq. ft. office building will be built with funds generated specifically for the office construction; no donations from the affiliate’s general building program will be used. With the construction of the new office, monies budgeted for rent can then be reinvested back into the community building program, allowing us to continue to address the issue of poverty housing in the Bend community. The celebration will focus not only on the new office but on the Bend Habitat founders and supporting businesses as well.
Since 1989, the Bend community has partnered with Habitat to help 28 families realize their dreams of owning their own homes. Included in this celebration will be all families of the Bend Habitat Program. Please celebrate with us as we partner with families in need, building homes, building families, building community.
I hope this news helps give you an idea of what is happening with Bend Area Habitat for Humanity.
Fred J. Becker, Architect's E-mail
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