West Tallahatchie Habitat for Humanity

Dear Friends of West Tallahatchie Habitat,

It has been several months since you heard from us, but we want to say we are here and still building houses!  We were without a Habitat Coordinator for  8 months, but thanks to our Construction Supervisor, J.D. Smith, our Habitat Board Members and Habitat Homeowners, we were able to host 8 college work groups  who came and kept our project going.   We are happy to say we have finished house # 37, have #38 and 39 well on their way and will be pouring a slab for house # 40 this summer.

For 8 or 9 years we were able to have a Habitat Coordinator through the Americorps Program.  Three years ago the Americorps Program  stopped being funded in the Delta Area of Mississippi so if we want to have Habitat staff people, we have to find money to pay them.    Thanks to grants from the Joseph H. & Carol F. Reich Philanthropic Fund,  the Dominican Sisters of Hope, the Sisters of the Holy Names and many donors locally and from around the country, we are able to have money to pay our two staff people.

In order for the Habitat Project to keep growing and building, staff people are important.  From ordering supplies for the volunteer groups, to working with new homeowners, scheduling work groups,  keeping track of mortgage payments and donations, writing thank you notes,  and  being the “public face” of the Habitat Project, these people  wear many hats!

We are grateful to you our donors for helping us out with funds for staff people as well as building supplies.  We hope this newsletter will  let you see what we have been doing  over the past several months and we look forward to your continued support.  Together we are building houses in partnership with God’s people in need!

Gratefully,

Sister Maureen Delaney SNJM, Chairperson

West Tallahatchie Habitat for Humanity Board

As the weather begins to warm up and the sunshine pokes out from behind the clouds, we know Spring is right around the corner. I speak for many in the Delta telling you that we couldn’t be happier for the change in weather! After accumulating 4″ of snow two weeks ago that was preceded by frigid, cold temperatures, some southerners are wanting the summer heat. I, personally, love the Spring weather and am already dreading the humidity in the summer.

Just as the temperatures are warming up so is WTHFH. We are getting ready for the onslaught of volunteer groups coming this March to work on our 35thth new houses. We welcome four groups this Spring, back to back to back to back. The first volunteer group is coming all the way from Villanova St. Viator High School from Arlington Heights, IL. The groups will be insulating and hanging drywall in House 36 followed by mudding and sanding the drywall seams and corners with joint compound. Once that’s complete, we’ll start adding some color to the house by priming and painting! House 35 won’t be going untouched. Holy Names University will be gluing tile in the house so they can hang the interior and closet doors. It is guaranteed to be a whirlwind month of productivity, good memories, shared laughs and new friendships. It will be exciting to see how much work gets accomplished and how far we get on our two houses in 4 weeks time. and 36 University in Pennsylvania and they will be trailed by Holy Names University from Oakland, CA. Next up, we welcome George School from Pennsylvania as well and finish off the stretch with

I’ll keep you posted on our continued success and acheivement at West Tallahatchie Habitat for Humanity!

What better Christmas present could anyone ask for other than a new house?! Ok maybe a new car but West Tallahatchie Habitat for Humanity is in the business of building houses. And just this week we finished our newest rehab house and welcomed Ms. Yolanda Davis into the habitat family just in time for Christmas.

Santa came early to the Davis family this year! Yolanda couldn’t be more excited to celebrate the first of many Christmases this year in her new home. When Yolanda was told she could start moving in and spend that first night in her new home, you couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face.

The gas is hooked up, the electricity is on, the heater is cranking and the water is flowing! All good signs that the family loves their new place. The house dedication ceremony will take place December 21, 2010 at 4pm in Tutwiler, MS with special guests from the University of Chicago Medical school. If you live in the area, please come and join us for this joyous occasion.

From all of us at West Tallahatchie Habitat for Humanity, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Anyone interested in becoming West Tallahatchie Habitat for Humanity Affiliate Coordinator next year? My two year term with AmeriCorps ends at the end of July and we need someone with a passion for Habitat for Humanity who is willing to move down to Mississippi to run the affiliate.
You would be employed through AmeriCorps which has awesome benefits for college graduates or someone interested in going to college in the future.
Affiliate Coordinator is a full-time job but my cousin and I can both attest that it has been a wonderful experience. An experience of a lifetime! You would be coordinating volunteer groups, working in the office to make sure everything is kosher with Habitat for Humanity International and the state, working with homeowners and buying materials to build with. All of this while learning how to build a house!
Building with volunteer groups and getting an opportunity to meet new people from all over the country makes it all worth it.
If you’re interested or have further questions please contact me, Allison Patten, at wthabitat@yahoo.com or 662-345-6200. Thanks for your interest in West Tallahatchie Habitat for Humanity.
Keeping spreading the word of our good work!

A group of 22 individuals came all the way from La Canada, CA to West Tallahatchie Habitat for Humanity in Tutwiler, MS to make a difference and build a house for a family in need. They arrived with hammers in hand, high spirits, and a willingness to build.
In one week, October 18-22, they accomplished what takes many volunteer groups 2-3 weeks to do. They framed up an entire 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1,100 square ft house, pushed, set and nailed trusses on top of the frame and sheeted the house as well as the roof to create a barrier from the outside.
It’s hard work building a house, ask any of the 22 volunteers, but in the end, they would have kept working if it meant staying down in Mississippi and providing service to others.

This is what the slab looked like on Monday at the beginning of the week…

And here it was near completion without the wafer boards on the roof…

Hey readers and West Tallahatchie Habitat for Humanity enthusiasts!

I am finally getting onto the website and trying to update and make changes to it. My goal is to have a link connecting to a little blurb about my volunteer groups and possibly even put up all of the pictures that I took but not sure how I am going to swing that one yet. If you have any suggestions for me or information you would like me to include please just comment and let me know.

I appreciate even the simplest of comments like “hey, nice job!”, etc. so I know the website is functional, informative, and inspirational. Thanks all for your support! Hope to see you in Tutwiler soon!!!

Allison

WTHABITAT.ORG 2.0 is live! But it’s not quite finished yet. Please bear with us as we clean up some of the dust from our extensive remodel – but, in the meantime, enjoy the increased functionality (like online donations!) and new information that is already available.