Honoring Lives of Service

Bob Patterson Retires from Board of Directors

 

After the October 2012 Habitat for Humanity of East King County Board meeting, Bob Patterson will retire from the Board, nearly 25 years after he and Shirley Patterson founded the local Habitat Affiliate.

The EKC affiliate has built 119 new affordable homes, and repaired or preserved 8 additional homes, serving 139 hardworking, low-income families in our community. In the process, tens of thousands of volunteers worked side-by-side with partner families to fulfill their dream of homeownership.

Bob’s life of service did not begin with Habitat for Humanity.  Bob served his country as a U.S. Army paratrooper during World War II and battalion adjutant during the Korean War; he served this region as a school teacher, principal and school superintendent from 1953 to 1980; he served his community through his church and on the Carnation City Council and as Mayor from 1995 to 2000.

Shirley also served her community as a school teacher and then turned her attention to raising her family.  She has continued to serve the community through the PTA, her church, the senior center, and Hopelink.  Bob and Shirley got married in 1970 and raised their combined family of 6 children.  Four of those children are continuing in the family tradition of educating our youth as teachers.

Since 1988 and their founding of the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, Bob and Shirley have been the guiding force for this organization, inspiring Board members and staff, encouraging donors, motivating volunteers and helping families achieve stability.

Thank you, Bob and Shirley Patterson, for all that you have done to strengthen our community.

Families Received Keys to their New Homes on Oct. 6

Community leaders, habitat supporters and habitat partner

 families celebrated the special occasion together.

Renton, WA. October 12, 2012 – Habitat for Humanity of East King County hosted a Home Dedication Ceremony for six hardworking, low-income families on Saturday, October 6.

The air was filled with optimism and thoughtful appreciation as the crowd of nearly 100 community members gathered to rejoice in the celebration of dedicating six new homes to the Hassen-Abdu, Ali, Pascual, Idris-Ismael, Jama-Muse, and Ortiz families.

Phase 1, La Fortuna in Renton

Habitat EKC Executive Director, Tom Granger, led the program and thanked major funders and supporters of the development. Corporate sponsor representatives from Bank of America and PCL Construction Services, Inc. were in attendance, as well as City of Renton Councilmembers Marcie Palmer and Rich Zwicker.

Jawad Khaki, Imam for Ithna-Asheri Muslim Association of the Northwest, paid special tribute to World Habitat Day as he spoke to the crowd about Habitat’s impact on local community, interfaith coalitions, and their work internationally.



Imam Jawad Khaki speaking to crowd

“Habitat is an ecumenical Christian ministry that believes everyone deserves a decent, safe and affordable place to live,” said Granger. “That being said, we support families reach their dream of home ownership regardless of their race or religion and welcome volunteers and supporters of all backgrounds.”

The ceremony included Jewish, Muslim and Christian prayers. Imam Jawad Khaki, Rabbi Yohanna Kinberg of Temple B’nai Torah and Dave Sanford, Chair of Together We Build and Aldersgate United Methodist Church member, provided the blessings.

Each family gave thanks to Habitat and those who have helped make their dream of home ownership come true.

“I can’t even believe it, just to see how far we have come is amazing,” said Rafael, Habitat homeowner. His family of five was living in a run-down overcrowded, one-bedroom apartment where his children had to sleep on the floor, because they couldn't fit beds. “Now they will each have their own bedroom with their own bed, we are so thankful.”

A community potluck followed the ceremony, where guests feasted on delicious homemade dishes with recipes that originated from all over the world.

Click here to see more photos from the event.

For more information, contact Gena Guillen at gena@habitatekc.org.

Habitat Store Volunteer Highlight--Ipsica

Ipsica has been volunteering at the Habitat Store since February of 2012. Her technology and business background made her a perfect fit for our Data Entry volunteer needs.  

She was initially drawn to our organization because, as she puts it, “I believe in the cause that everybody should have a place to live. I want to help in any small manner that I can.” And help she does. It’s the little details like data entry that continue to allow us to reach out into our communities and neighborhoods.

In her free time, Ipsica enjoys watching movies, listening to music, singing, reading, exploring places, going on cruises, and small DIY projects. She gets a first-hand look at some of the quirky items that are donated at the Store—inspiration for those DIY and Pinterest projects!

To others considering volunteering, Ipsica says: “I love volunteering here, it is an awesome place. Molly and Curtis are amazing. Anybody who volunteers will enjoy their work.”

You are amazing, Ipsica! And thank you for all that you do.

Interested in Volunteering at the Store? Click here to sign up online!

Six Deserving Families Will Receive Keys to Their New Homes from Habitat for Humanity

Six hardworking, low-income families will soon receive keys to their new homes in Renton, Washington. Habitat for Humanity of East King County is hosting a home dedication ceremony for these families in the La Fortuna neighborhood in Renton on Saturday, October 6.

Local elected officials, Habitat supporters and families will gather at 2 p.m. to dedicate houses for the Hassen-Abdu, Ali, Diego-Andres, Idris-Ismael, Jama-Muse, and Ortiz families. A community potluck will follow the ceremony. The address is 17286 127^th Ave SE, Renton, WA. 98058.

All of the families have completed their 500 hours of sweat equity on the construction of their home or their neighbors’.  They have also completed their homeowner trainings, such as budgeting and home repair.

One of the hardworking families anxiously awaiting move-in day is the Idris-Ismael family. Idris works as a hospital assistant and his wife works as a part time nursing assistant at a local nursing home. “My wife and I have had so many worries thinking about our four children sleeping in one small tiny room together, knowing that we couldn’t afford to rent a larger place to live,” said Idris. Thanks to Habitat, we can afford to provide our children with a safe home, and we can focus on their education and reaching future goals.”

The dedication ceremony will not only celebrate the completion of the homes, but also honor World Habitat Day. Habitat for Humanity’s theme for World Habitat Day 2012, “Many Homes, One Community,” highlights the vital role that decent, affordable housing plays in community stabilization and development. The focus is on the importance of homeownership in a neighborhood’s progress.

Beginning on Monday, Oct. 1, 2012, and continuing throughout October and November, Habitat for Humanity and affiliated organizations will host hundreds of local events — from builds and flash mobs to parades, contests, housing forums and everything in between — to draw attention to the need for safe, decent, affordable shelter for all.

La Fortuna is a collaborative community effort built with contributions from Washington State, King County, the City of Renton, several faith based organizations, corporations, thousands of community volunteers and generous donors who help make homeownership possible for low income families.

Home Dedication Ceremony on October 6, 2012

Please join us as we welcome six deserving families into their new homes in our Habitat neighborhood of La Fortuna, in Renton.

Saturday, October 6

Beginning at 2 p.m.

A community potluck will follow the dedication ceremony. You are welcome to bring a dish to share.

17286 127th AVE SE
Renton, WA 98058

For directions, click here.

Please RSVP here or to Gena Guillen at gena@habitatekc.org
For more information call 425.869.6007

 

Support World Habitat Day on October 1st!

In 1985, the United Nations declared the first Monday in October to be World Habitat Day to
recognize the vast housing need in cities around the world.

World Habitat Day is a special opportunity for Habitat for Humanity to call on individuals and
organizations to help us address poverty housing and create housing solutions with families in
urgent need of them. We urge you to consider how you can help strengthen our communities.

Take action:
 
• Visit habitat.org, where you can register to become an online advocate and receive alerts
about how you can speak up for those whose housing plights so often go unheard.
 
• Make a donation in honor of World Habitat Day
 
• Connect with us! Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. #worldhabitatday
 
• Attend our Home Dedication Ceremony and learn how Habitat impacts the families it serves.

Garage Sale to Benefit Habitat EKC

Faith United Methodist Church is hosting their 13th Annual Garage Sale to benefit Habitat for Humanity of East King County.

Friday, Sept. 28 & Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012
from 8:30am to 4:00pm

Faith United Methodist Church
3924 Issaquah-Pine Lake Road
Issaquah WA, 98029

All proceeds will go toward new home building projects!

Click here for more information.