This year, Habitat for Humanity of Merced County will be building four, yes count ‘em, 4 houses. We have three separate lots in south Merced on which to build. One of the locations is a large lot which will be split so that two houses can be built on it.

Needless to say, this sort of increase in activity for our affiliate will tax our current resources. We will need a much larger building crew, we will need more volunteers to provide for support activities and we will need a large influx of donations….in the form of money, building products and services, and many, many other things. Here are just some of our current needs:

Each Habitat house is built with a specific family who will move in upon completion. In keeping with Habitat guidelines, each family must demonstrate need, be financially eligible, have a decent credit history (Habitat holds the mortgage and must be paid back in order to fund future projects), must have sufficient income to make the house payments and they must be willing to give at least 500 hours of their time and energy to the building process.

We are planning a Family Application Workshop for April 19, 2008 at the O‘Banion Learning Center at 401 Lesher Drive, Merced. If you know of a family that might be qualified, please encourage them to 1) contact HfH of Merced County at 726-0850 and 2) attend the upcoming workshop to learn everything they need to know to determine whether they qualify and to begin the application process if they do.

If you or someone you know would like to swing a hammer, put up dry wall, paint, help with plumbing or do just about anything else related to house construction, HfH of Merced County welcomes you with open arms. We have a very specific window of time in which to complete our four new dwellings and that means that we need to augment our building crew. Please call 726-0850 if you would like to volunteer.

Every Habitat for Humanity affiliate needs income in order to build houses. Many affiliates open a Restore to provide a reliable income stream. A Restore is a retail store that stocks donated construction materials and everything else in the way of home building supplies. When someone decides to remodel, any materials that are in good condition and could be re-used by someone else can be given to Habitat to stock the Restore. The Restore then offers those items to the general public for a 50% or more discount. The sales revenue is plowed back in to Habitat projects. Reusing construction materials is big business in today’s recycling sensitive environment. HfH of Merced needs a location or help with the cost of renting space , any and all reasonable donations and volunteers to man the store during business hours. Again, if you can offer help in this area, the magic number is 726-0850.