We are still here!
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