Life is good and Habitat for Humanity

Life is good. My in box is still not under control. We are having b-day party for Stu's brother today and my new business cards in my possession. Hoorah!!!

I did get mostly caught up on our business and personal books yesterday. Still haven't finished all the reconciliations for my favorite Habitat affiliate but progress has been made on that as well. I mostly work for them just so my friend Ro and I can have a reason to talk. I have done coaching for them for over five years. She has definitely transformed before my very eyes. What a beautiful person and outstanding servant she is and has been and I know will be.

Stu and I have either worked or volunteered for Habitat for Humanity for over 11 years. We even lived in Americus, Georgia for four years where the Habitat's international headquarters is. We don't work or volunteer full-time for them any longer but we often do project work for Habitat. Stu and I are considered the affiliate financial guru's. This year we volunteered for the team that worked on latest revision of the affiliate financial policy manual...I think that is revision number 4 we have participate on.

Back to outstanding servants. Stu and I have met MANY outstanding servants over our years of working with Habitat affiliates in the US and around the world. People who are not only dedicated to the Habitat mission but are dedicated community servants in their own communities. We have had the privilege of meeting some of the BEST community organizers and developers in the world. Stu even put together a course on community collaboration for HFH affiliates. I am hoping he gets that course out of moth balls and starts beating this drum again.

No more shacks...or ending substandard housing in the world is not about eating the elephant all at one time...it is about doing it one bite at a time. It is not even about Habitat solving the problem. It is about taking on one neighborhood or even a few square blocks of the worst housing in your community and finding other community minded churches, organizations and people to own that problem and the solution to the problem. That can be repair ministries, local code enforcement, government partnerships, low-income for-profit builders and a host of other groups and people that come together to declare...NO MORE SHACKS in their community...and then declare SUCCESS in one small area of the community and move on to the next.

Stu and I believe wholeheartedly in the mission of Habitat for Humanity and the GREATER cause of NO MORE SHACKS. Stu also wrote and presented a course for Habitat to help communities identify shacks. Identifing the remaining shacks (substandard housing) in Sumter County Georgia was Stu's first volunteer assignment with Habitat. The Habitat affiliate in Sumter County along with the help of Habitat International declared the end of substandard housing in that county in 2000. Stu's Mom Myrtle was at that build. She was one of the oldest volunteers there at 97 years old. She had a blast and made a lot of new, interesting friends.

More and more communities around the country are declaring their intention to end substandard housing in their communities. If you want someone to coach you on identifying the problem and/or on community collaboration, my husband Stu is the man for the job. We are not the in the trenches community servants that we have met along the way but we are both dedicated to the solution and can teach and coach you how to have NO MORE SHACKS in your community.

As Birmingham Habitat for Humanity says...I'm part of the solution...and so Stu and I are part of the solution.

In joyful partnership,

Cathy

cathy.the.teahcer@gmail.com