Habitat Breaks Ground on Two Houses in Hot Sulphur Springs:

On Saturday, May 5, 2007, Habitat broke ground for two houses located on lots "kitty corner" from one another in Hot Sulphur Springs. The families selected to receive these houses are Meredith Corder and her son Jesse and Craig and Kristen Hardman and their four children, Conor, Korianne, Matthew and Noah.

Meredith Corder and her son Jesse join board president Ted Kaplysh in turning over the first shovel of dirt for the foundation of their house.

On Saturday, May 5, 2007, Habitat broke ground for two houses located on lots "kitty corner" from one another in Hot Sulphur Springs. The families selected to receive these houses are Meredith Corder and her son Jesse and Craig and Kristen Hardman and their four children, Conor, Korianne, Matthew and Noah. Despite an on-going spring snow storm that had already dumped up to 8 inches of snow in Grand County, about 50 people braved the early May weather to discover that the storm had skipped over Hot Sulphur Springs. Our lots were a bit muddy but free of snow and the sun managed to peek through the clouds now and again. While a tent and heater donated by Grand County Weddings provided shelter and a bit of warmth, the excitement and enthusiasm of the day was really what warmed us all.

Our partner families were tremendously excited to put shovels to dirt and begin the process of building their new homes. Jesse Corder, the 10-year old son of Meredith Corder, didn't stop with just the ceremonial first shovel full of dirt. He bypassed the muffins, cake and cookies at the refreshment table to spend his time getting a head start on excavation of the foundation! The atmosphere was truly celebratory and positive. In addition to volunteers of many years standing, new volunteers came to the ground breaking and signed up to help with the building. Several former volunteers and board members also attended and signed on to work once again. If you would like to help build these houses, please contact our office at 970-887-9138 or send us an e-mail at grandhabitat@earthlink.net.

Conor and Mathew Hardman join their parents Craig and Kristen and sister Korianne in turning over the first shovel full of dirt while Noah, age 2, supervises.		Meredith Corder (left) and Kristen Hardman prepare to cut the congratulatory cake.
The efficiency of building two houses located in such close proximity will make it possible for two partner families to achieve their dreams of affordable housing much sooner than if we built each house separately. To finish these houses and make their dreams come true, we will need your help.

How Can You Help?

Please let us know if you can volunteer your time and expertise and/or donate building materials or tools. If your group would be interested in scheduling a special work day, please contact us.

Since the town of Hot Sulphur Springs cannot waive the tap fees for water and sewer connections for the lots, we have a critical need for cash donations to defray the cost of the tap fees as well as other infrastructure costs associated with these houses.

While we are busy building the Hot Sulphur Springs houses, we will be looking for additional land to continue our mission of providing decent, affordable housing in Grand County. If you have land to donate or to sell at reduced cost, please contact us.

What is the history of Habitat in Grand County?

Habitat for Humanity of Grand County was formed in 1999 as a non-profit, ecumenical organization with the stated goal of eliminating poverty housing in Grand County, Colorado. Habitat for Humanity is a Christian based organization which welcomes people of all faiths. We are a 501(c)(3) organization with tax exempt status.

Our mission is to provide simple, decent homeownership for lower income families of Grand County. The populations we serve have incomes between 25 - 50% of our area's median income. These families do not qualify for conventional home loans and would have very little hope of owning a home without help. Our partner families actively participate in building their homes and provide hundreds of hours of "sweat equity."

We rely heavily on volunteers and on community support that comes from local governments, businesses, churches, foundations and countless individuals. It is only through the labor of volunteers and donated or reduced cost materials provided by local businesses and trades people that we are able to build affordable housing.

To date we have completed five houses and have begun construction of our sixth and seventh homes. Four of our houses are in Granby, Colorado; another is located in Kremmling. We are building our sixth and seventh houses in Hot Sulphur Springs. All of our houses are the result of the generosity of our volunteers and donors who give so abundantly of their time, talents and resources.

If you would like to participate on any of Habitat's volunteer committees, please contact us or call our office at 970-887-9138.

How Do We Select a Habitat Partner Family?

Habitat follows specific selection criteria when we select our partner families. For example, the family must have:

• Lived in Grand County for at least a year;
• An income of no more than 50% of the area's median family income ($37,950 for a family of three or more);
• Current housing conditions that are not adequate for the family's needs;
• The ability to pay a modest, no interest mortgage plus taxes and home owner's insurance; and
• The ability to contribute "sweat equity" toward the construction of the house.

"Sweat equity" simply means the family members contribute their time and efforts to building the home. The current requirement is that each family member over age 18 must contribute a minimum of 200 hours of work.

Habitat for Humanity of Grand County will be accepting applications for a partner family for our 8th home in late 2008.

If you would like to learn more about the partner family application process or nominate a potential partner family, please contact us or call our office at 970-887-9138.

Please help us make dreams of a home of their own a reality for needy and deserving families in Grand County. Join us as we build our next two houses in Hot Sulphur Springs. To volunteer your time, donate materials or help us with land acquisition, please contact us or call our office at 970-887-9138.

We need volunteers as:

• Board members - Board members meet monthly (currently on the third Thursday of the month). Our Executive Director manages the day-to-day operations of Habitat while the board serves in a governance capacity. Board members support Habitat in the community and assist with fundraising activities
• Construction volunteers - We generally work on our houses on Wednesdays and Saturdays. If you would like to know that your efforts have made a real difference in the life of a family, this one's for you. Please contact us or call our office (970-887-9138) if you would like to join us at the construction site. Volunteers must be at least 16 years old.
• Land acquisition - We need land for building our future homes. Please contact us if you have land to donate or sell at reduced cost or if you can help us track down land for acquisition.
• Habitat Hobble 2008 Coordinator - We need a volunteer to coordinate our 2008 Habitat Hobble scheduled for Saturday, June 14, 2008. Areas where we need help include registration, publicity, sponsorship, silent auction, course planning and race day events.
• Habitat Hobble 2008 Committee Chairs - We need volunteers to chair the various committees for our 2008 Habitat Hobble scheduled for June 2008. The committees include registration, publicity, sponsorship, silent auction, race day events, etc.
• Volunteer coordinator - We really need someone to maintain a database of volunteers (we provide the software) and identify volunteers to fill openings. The volunteer coordinator would also recruit new volunteers and help organize volunteer appreciation efforts.
• Data entry volunteers - We need some volunteers to help us transfer data to a new database for tracking volunteers and donors. No special knowledge is required other than general familiarity with typing information into a computer. We provide the computer and the instruction in how to use the software.

To volunteer your time, donate materials or help us with land acquisition, please contact us or call our office at 970-887-9138.

We have faced some rather extraordinary expenses for infrastructure costs (tap fees, utilities, etc.) as we began the challenge of building two houses simultaneously in Hot Sulphur Springs. Your generosity through cash donations will help us make these houses happen. Please click here to donate on-line or mail a check or money order to our office:

If you have land to donate or to sell at reduced cost for building Habitat houses, we would love to speak with you about your site and how Habitat families may benefit from your donation. Please contact us or call our office (970-887-9138).

If it can be used to build a house, we need it. We welcome your donation of new building materials. If you cannot donate the materials, can you provide them to us at reduced cost? Please contact us or call our office (970-887-9138) if you have new building materials to donate or provide at reduced cost.

To maximize our use of our very generous and energetic volunteers, we need lots of tools. We would love to speak with you about your contributing tools to our building efforts. Please contact us or call our office (970-887-9138) if you have tools to donate or provide at reduced cost.

We would love to have your work group, church group, community organization or group of friends or neighbors join us in helping to make the dream of affordable housing a reality. We welcome your group's skills and enthusiasm but ask that volunteers on the worksite be age 16 or older. Volunteers under age 16 can help us with landscaping once spring comes and the snows melt.

Please contact us or call our office (970-887-9138) if you and your group would like to plan a special work day or join us on one of our regular work days.

We will have regular work days on Wednesday and Saturday during the 2008 building season. Our goals are to complete our two houses (located in Hot Sulphur Springs) by early summer. If your business, church or organization would like to schedule a special team work day, we will be happy to arrange a time to fit your schedule.

Since many of our volunteers are available only during the summer months, we are in great need of volunteers who can work during the winter months. Please contact us or call our office (970-887-9138) to join us.