Saint Michael Staging Website

habitat@ministry.stmichaelcary.org

Volunteers and Communications: Mike Dawson dawsonmm@gmail.com or 481-3624 Welcome to the Habitat for Humanity Ministry at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church As of today we have over 250 ministry members who have expressed interest in helping Habitat for Humanity (HFH) build new homes for those in need. St. Michael has partnered with the Wake county chapter of HFH to provide funding, as well as skilled and un-skilled volunteer labor for the construction of new homes. To date, St. Michael has co-sponsored 7 homes in Wake County. Our ministry welcomes new volunteers at all times to help in projects. We hope you will find this information about St. Michael Habitat for Humanity Ministry useful to you. If you have any questions you are welcome to send an email to habitat@ministry.stmichaelcary.org or call John Janeri 270-2020 What is Habitat? Habitat for Humanity is an ecumenical Christian housing ministry whose objectives are to eliminate poverty housing from the world by making safe, decent, energy efficient, and affordable housing a matter of conscience and faith in action. Since its founding by Millard and Linda Fuller in 1976, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 175,000 homes, providing over 750,000 people in over 3,000 communities with decent homes. Our local Habitat for Humanity affiliate (HFH of Wake County) has built over 300 homes since 1985 for deserving, low-income families. Its goal is to build 20 additional homes by the end of 2007. Habitat is a self-help organization. Homeowners will be working side by side with us during the construction. They will also be responsible for paying their mortgages. For more information about Wake County’s Habitat for Humanity please go to the website: http://www.habitatwake.org Do I need any experience? NO! You just need to be able to follow instructions and work with other people. Safety is our highest concern. We will give a safety talk when you arrive at the work site and instructions on how to do your task. If you feel uncomfortable with a task or tool, be sure to ask for help. Habitat provides training on construction tasks – do not worry if you don’t have skills or if you have difficulty learning at first. How old do you need to be to participate? All youth volunteers must be at least 16 year old to be on the work site. Volunteers less than 18 years old will need a Parental or Guardian Consent Form. You can get the consent from at: http://www.habitatwake.org/d/YouthVol_Habitat_ConsentForm_May07.pdf . Habiltat International is working with various affiliates to develop a youth volunteer program for students under the age of 16. What do I wear? Wear good work shoes - boots are best, no sandals or open-toed shoes will be allowed. Sneakers are fine. Wear clothes that can get dirty-you may get paint on your clothes even if you aren’t painting. Avoid loose fitting or baggy clothes. Work gloves are also a good idea. Where are we building homes? We recently completed a home in Raleigh and are waiting for another home to work on. We will update this page once we have a new home assigned to us. What is the schedule and the hours we need to be there? St. Michael volunteers are scheduled to work every second Saturday of the month from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. You are welcome to volunteer on other Saturdays as well, but you are asked to inform the Wake County Volunteer Coordinator, shanna.newell@habitatwake.org or 919-833-1999 x 223. You do not have to be there for the whole time; some people prefer to work in the mornings and others like to take the second half of the day. We normally need between 10-15 volunteers, however, Habitat usually back-fills with volunteers from other organizations. In case of questionable weather: We will not work in a heavy rain or in very wet conditions. If you are in doubt as to weather, volunteers can call HFH inclement weather hotline after 7:00 am @ 919-833-1999 x240. Do I need to bring tools? HFH supplies tools and equipment. But, many folks will often bring their own tool belt, hammer, speed square, and tape measure. In the hot months of summer, sunscreen and a hat are also a good idea. Many people also bring some safety glasses, a pencil, a utility knife, and items like that. On March 17th, which is the first volunteer day, we will need people to bring gloves, shoves, rakes, and wheel burrows. Do I need to bring Lunch? We have established lunch program where local businesses donate food and drinks for the volunteers on the second Saturday of the month. We normally have water available, but in case we run out, it is always a good idea to bring your own water bottle. Future Plans St. Michael's HFH ministry strives to provide better information on current and past projects. Look for updates and additional details regarding schedule and volunteer needs in the bulletin and on this webpage.