Act! Speak! Build!

On the heals of Collegiate Challenge, which we in Saline County affectionately coined Habitat's March Madness. Habitat's youth students in Youth United, a chapter of Habitat for Humanity that mobilizes youth, participated in Habitat for Humanity's Act! Speak! Build! Week. A week dedicated to advocating for decent, affordable housing by engaging elected officials and their community to eradicate poverty housing.

Bringing awareness to poverty housing was the theme of the week, Youth United students brought awareness to their local churches and schools about poverty housing in Saline County. The Mayor's Youth Council got involved in advocating and raising awareness by "stickering" the lunch room with Habitat for Humanity stickers and promoting the SleepOut. Throughout the week, Youth United students took to social media outlets to bring awareness and advocate to eliminate poverty housing. They tweeted elected officials statistics about local poverty issues, and tweeted US Congress members to sign on to Rep. Lewis' Colleague letter to advocate for foreign poverty issues. The students used Instagram and Facebook to promote events throughout the week.

The week kicked off with a Chick-fil-A Fundraiser Night. While we are still awaiting the monetary results from Chick-fil-A, the evening was triumphant because Youth United students were able to bring awareness to Saline County residents about local poverty housing issues as they served Chick-fil-A customers. Benton Middle School students participated in a Penny Wars contest, which raised $362.43, and donated all of the money to the Youth United 2014 Build. Act! Speak! Build! Week culminated with a SleepOut event, which took place on the Courthouse Lawn, a perfect setting in the middle of downtown Benton to raise awareness and advocate to eradicate poverty housing in Saline County. Local officials were invited to observe the SleepOut, which commenced with check presentation ceremony.
State Farm, a corporate sponsor for Habitat for Humanity youth programs donated $10,000 toward the 2014 Youth United Build. After the check presentation, the students began building houses out of cardboard boxes. The evening was filled with games, crafts, Zumba, and a drive-in movie on the Courthouse Lawn. Although the evening turned slightly chilly, the twenty-two students had fun and were able to truly grasp the reality of poverty housing conditions. The SleepOut ended with a Pancake Breakfast, which raised $520.00. As of right now, Youth United students were able to raise a total of $11,058.43; all proceeds will go to the 2014 Youth United Build.

March Madness

Habitat has survived March Madness, and no Louisville wasn't at the top of our bracket! Collegiate Challenge has culminated leaving Habitat and Saline County a little richer. Saline County welcomed four Collegiate Challenge groups throughout the month of March and broke ground on Habitat for Humanity of Saline County's 54th and 55th house. Round one went to Stonehill College from Massachusetts. Stonehill broke ground on house 54, which will be for an elderly couple. They also picked up trash on Market St. as a way to beautify the streets of Saline County, and they still found time to do a little Harlem Shake. The entertainment didn't stop with Stonehill; as Habitat welcomed Western Kentucky University and the University of New Hampshire, Little Rock's KSSN 96 caught wind of Collegiate Challenge and had to find out what it was all about. KSSN 96's morning show personality Bob Robbins broadcast live from Partnership Village to bring awareness about poverty housing in Saline County, as well as, commend Collegiate Challenge students who selflessly give up their Spring Break to spend an "Alternative Spring Break" with Habitat.
After the morning show, KSSN 96's crew stuck around to volunteer on the construction site. Not only did WKU and UNH broke ground on house 55, which will be for a single mom and her daughter, they also helped count cars at a local school zone intersections in hopes that a stop light could be installed at the busy cross walks. Finally, Habitat welcome St. Jude Catholic Church youth students from Louisiana, who regenerated the Habitat crew with their energetic personalities. St. Jude brought a little taste of Louisiana to Partnership Village as they prepared a much appreciated Jambalaya dinner for the residents of Partnership Village. St. Jude continued work on houses 54 and 55, and was able to completely weather proof house 54. Although the madness is over, we do miss our newly gained friends, and are incredibly thankful for their generous time. We look forward to Collegiate Challenge 2014!

KSSN 96 Live From Partnership Village

They say happy thoughts don't build houses, but volunteers do and KSSN 96 agrees!

Bob Robins

Habitat for Humanity of Saline County had the privileged to spend their morning with the Little Rock country music station, KSSN 96. Regional radio star, Bob Robbins and the KSSN crew made their way to Partnership Village, Habitat's neighborhood, to host a remote broadcast. Bob interviewed various Collegiate Challenge students from Western Kentucky University and the University of New Hampshire, as well as, local Habitat volunteers and future Habitat homeowners. Not only did the KSSN crew bring awareness to Habitat for Humanity of Saline County, they also gave their afternoon to volunteer on the construction site. The KSSN crew and the Collegiate Challenge students are constructing Habitat for Humanity of Saline County's 54th and 55th home. Habitat for Humanity would like to thank Bob Robbins and Matt Cruz and the rest of the KSSN 96 crew for their support. If you would like more information on how to become a Habitat homeowner or how to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity of Saline County, visit our website www.habitatsalinecountyar.org.

Bernadine Walker

Joel Cotton UNH

Ben Phillips and Bryan Reaka WKU

Paul Hall

They aren't next door, but they are still your neighbors!

Sprucing Up Saline County

Spring break students spruce up Saline County streets. Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge students spent the morning being good neighbors and cleaning up the city streets. Stonehill College students have a motto, "They might not be next door, but they are still our neighbors." Saline County is far from next door, yet these college students dedicated their spring break to being good neighbors to Saline County. The 15 Stonehill students arrived Sunday night after a 24 hour drive from Massachusetts. They spent Monday and Tuesday at the Habitat construction site breaking ground and framing the 2013 Collegiate Challenge home, which will be a home for a Saline County family. They have also spent the week getting to know the neighbors in Partnership Village. They took a break from hammering to spruce up the community. Habitat's Associate Director, Amy Bennett turned the street cleaning event into a lively game by giving various littered items point values. The students worked in pairs of two as they diligently cleaned South Market St. After 5 hours of street cleaning and over 20 bags of trash collected, the residents of Partnership Village will now have a pristine scenic view on their way home.

It started with a truck load and ended truck load.

 

 

REALTORS® Making a Difference

This has been a moving week for Habitat for Humanity of Saline County. We have had the privileged to spend part of our week with members of the Arkansas REALTORS® Association, which is made up of Realtors from across the state.  The Arkansas REALTORS® Association's Non-profit organization, Hearts and Homes has partnered with Habitat for Humanity of Saline County to sponsor a build that will benefit a Saline County family in need of hand up. Hearts and Homes' goal is to partner with various Habitat for Humanity affiliates across the state to help end poverty housing in Arkansas. We are honored and privileged to begin their build in June. If you are interested in helping out at the construction site or donating to the build, please visit our website www.habitatsalinecountyar.org.

A World Where EVERYONE Deserves a Decent Place to Live

The need is great. The mission is simple. The solution is possible. And it all starts with you! You have the power to provide decent housing to those in need by partnering with Habitat for Humanity. Do more than just lift a hammer, help Habitat find qualified families who are in need of a "hand up not a hand out." Habitat partners with families in need by building houses and selling them through no-profit loans. Because houses are built principally by volunteers, mortgage payments are reasonable for families. Therefore, the door to a decent place to live has been opened to families who are typically unable to obtain conventional financing. Most homeowner families have an income that is between 30-50% of the median income in their area. Families are also required to invest hundreds of hours of "sweat equity" - spending time building their own home as well as other Habitat homes.

If you or someone you know is in need of a hand up, join us for our next Application Meetings February 28, at the Bryant Library, 201 Prickett, at 6:00pm and March 9 at Fountain Lake Club House, 3011 Congo Road, at 10:00 am

Qualification guidelines for Habitat for Humanity of Saline County:

1. Current resident of Saline County
2. Need for better housing: Income is at or below 50% of the median for the area.  Living in run down conditions or paying too much for rent.
3.  Ability to pay the monthly mortgage: Income must be enough to pay the mortgage payment, as well as, other living expenses.  Typically, 4 times the house payment of $350 per month.
4. Willingness to partner with Habitat: Willingness to complete Sweat Equity hours, monthly payments on time, and attend Habitat activities.

HUD Income Guidelines: To qualify, a family’s income must meet HUD Income Guidelines below.

Number in household	Minimum Gross Annual  Income	Maximum Gross Annual Income
1	$12,000	$21,750
2	$12,000	$24,850
3	$14,400	$27,950
4	$15,600	$31,050
5	$15,600	$33,550
6	$15,600	$36,050
7	$15,600	$38,550
8	$15,600	$41,000

For more information visit www.habitatsalineocuntyar.org

A Night with Pack 53

Investing in future builders was the theme of the night as Habitat of Saline County volunteered to help Wolf Den Pack 53 earn their tool badges. The evening kicked off with Habitat Tool Bingo, an activity designed to  introduce and give examples of how to use different tools. The wolf den also learned and practiced using a  Screwdriver and a Hammer. Finally, the evening ended with a Habitat craft.