Press Release

Habitat for Humanity of Orange County Lends a Hand to Yorba Linda Veterans Memorial Association

Habitat will loan tools to replace those stolen

Santa Ana, CA, January 16, 2009--Habitat for Humanity of Orange County has announced it will lend a hand to the Yorba Linda Veterans Memorial Association by loaning them tools after hearing that their tools were stolen last week. The tools, which were taken from the site, belonged to local contractor Gary Brattain, who has donated his time and tools to build the memorial as a tribute to his son who lost his life while serving in Iraq.

A dedicated group of volunteers, along with members of the community, have committed countless hours toward building a Veterans' Memorial in Yorba Linda that would honor our brave service men and women. The dedication is scheduled to happen in two months.

"When we heard that someone had taken the tools that Gary Brattain was using to build the Yorba Linda Veterans Memorial, we knew that we had to help," said Sharon Ellis, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity of Orange County. "We are a volunteer organization and we know how painful it is to have someone steal tools that are being used to do good work. Not only do we feel a special kinship with Mr. Brattain because he is a volunteer, but also because he is building a memorial to veterans. We, too, are working to honor veterans by building affordable homes for disabled veterans in Orange County. As soon as we heard about the theft of the tools, we simply had to step forward to help someone who is also working to honor our veterans."

About Habitat for Humanity of Orange County

Celebrating 20 years of changing lives and changing communities in Orange County. 130 houses built in Orange County
Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, headquartered in Santa Ana, CA, is dedicated to ending substandard housing and building strong communities in Orange County. Habitat uses non-government donations of funding, materials, professional services and volunteer labor to build simple, decent homes which are sold to qualified low-income families for a 1% down payment, closing costs, and a zero-interest mortgage. Mortgage payments are recycled to build more Habitat homes. Habitat families contribute 500 hours of "sweat equity" to the program by building their own home, helping another Habitat family build a home, or working in some other area of the Habitat organization. Habitat for Humanity families and volunteers have built 130 homes in Orange County since 1988, and are currently building eight homes in San Juan Capistrano.

27 homes to be built in San Juan Capistrano
Habitat for Humanity of Orange County’s Habitat for Heroes and Foundations for Families™ development of 27 homes at the end of Calle Rolando will be built in phases.  Framing for the first four homes began on July 2, 2008.  The second four homes were framed on October 3, 2008.  Funding for the land on which these homes are being built was donated by the City of San Juan Capistrano Redevelopment Agency.  Funds for building these homes have been generously donated by The HTN Foundation; Bank of America; the Orange County Realtors Partnership, which consists of the Orange County Association of REALTORS®, Laguna Board of REALTORS®, and Newport Beach Association of REALTORS®; an anonymous donor;  the Steve Tisch Foundation; Toshiba America Business Solutions; the Presbyterian Partnership; St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point; Hyundai Motor America; the Van Cleve Foundation; and more than a thousand other local donors.

300,000 houses built worldwide
Habitat for Humanity of Orange County is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, an ecumenical Christian housing ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat International has built more than 300,000 houses worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1.5 million people. Habitat for Humanity International is currently the 16th largest homebuilder in the United States, according to Builder OnLine magazine.

For more information about Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, please call (714) 434-6200 extension 229 or visit our Web site at habitatoc.org.

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