Press Release

Habitat for Humanity of Orange County AmeriCorps Members Assist in Iowa Flood Recovery

500 AmeriCorps Members to Build 20 Homes during Habitat AmeriCorps Build-a-Thon

Santa Ana, CA, June 17, 2009--Nine AmeriCorps members from Habitat for Humanity of Orange County are joining more than 500 Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps*State, National AmeriCorps*, and AmeriCorps VISTA members and alumni this week as they help build 20 Habitat for Humanity houses in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as part of the annual Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps Build-A-Thon, June 14-20, 2009. These homes will be built in partnership with families affected by the floods that devastated much of Iowa in 2008.

"This Build-A-Thon is a powerful way to highlight the need for affordable housing for victims of the Iowa flooding while also celebrating the many contributions AmeriCorps members make to Habitat and other organizations in thousands of communities throughout the country every day," said Jonathan Reckford, CEO, Habitat for Humanity International. "We are so grateful to these hard-working AmeriCorps members for their commitment to eliminating poverty housing and we applaud them for their service."

The AmeriCorps members from Habitat for Humanity of Orange County will join other members and alumni from across the country to work in partnership with Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity and 20 low-income families. The 2009 Build-A-Thon celebrates 14 years of AmeriCorps members helping Habitat for Humanity affiliates and partner organizations build affordable houses and eliminate substandard housing.

"We are extremely proud of the nine young men and women who are serving their AmeriCorps year with us," said Sharon Ellis, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity of Orange County. "When all the AmeriCorps working with Habitat for Humanity gather together in Iowa, they will truly realize the powerful contribution they are making."

The first day of the Build-A-Thon marks the first anniversary of the day water from the Cedar River crested, leaving nearly ten square miles of Cedar Rapids under water. The need for affordable housing is especially great in the Cedar Rapids area, where nearly 4,000 homes were damaged by fast-rising water during last year's devastating floods. While 90 counties were declared federal disaster areas, Cedar Rapids was the most significantly affected region. Most of these homeowners did not have flood insurance.

The Habitat for Humanity of Orange County AmeriCorps members have worked hard for the affiliate and accomplished much over the past nine months. By the end of their short tenure with Habitat OC, these members will have completed and dedicated ten homes, and contributed to the completion of twelve additional homes.

By establishing new programs and resurrecting old ones, these talented individuals have become an important part of Habitat for Humanity of Orange County's staff, and their learning and hard work have extended far beyond the borders of Orange County. In October 2008, they attended a leadership conference in Talladega, Alabama, and in February 2009, they helped build homes for hurricane victims in New Orleans.

For more information about how you can get involved with Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, please visit www.habitatoc.org

Currently there are nine AmeriCorps members serving with Habitat for Humanity of Orange County. They began their service in August 2008 and will finish their volunteer service by the end of July 2009. Sarah Hagle and Sarah McGuire serve in the Volunteer Services Department and live in Rancho Santa Margarita. Annah Walters serves in the Family Services department and lives in Rancho Santa Margarita. Jennifer Grimm serves in the Family Services department and lives in Fullerton. Derek Barkalow and Fernando Pena serve in the Construction department and live in Rancho Santa Margarita. Amy Broadbent serves in the Construction department and lives in Huntington Beach. Kevin McPherson serves in the Construction department and lives in Irvine. Michelle Geldres serves in the Construction department and lives in Westminster.

Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built more than 300,000 houses worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1.5 million people. For more information, visit www.habitat.org

Since 1994, Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps*State and National, AmeriCorps*VISTA members have performed more than 5 million hours of service, engaged hundreds of thousands of volunteers and helped build more than 8,500 Habitat houses throughout the United States. For information about AmeriCorps programs, visit www.americorps.gov

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Each year, the Corporation engages four million Americans of all ages and backgrounds in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America programs. For more information, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov

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.

###