Why Do We Do it?
Here's Why! I received this email today from our local Habitat chapter.
"I want to tell you how exited I am because I was "dyeing" to give money to buy a house for a person out there who didn't have one."
Ellie, 9 years old
I was "dyeing" to give money. Ellie's words brought a smile as I opened the envelope containing her bright pink construction paper card, decorated with a rainbow and a pot of gold. With the certainty of a very wise person, Ellie told us she chose Habitat because we put our money to good use. This is a high honor from a nine year old of limited means.
Later, Ellie told me that when she lost her second tooth, she decided to save her tooth fairy money so she could buy a Habitat house. She added several years of birthday money to Hanukkah money. For her 9th birthday, she requested donations to Habitat instead of gifts. She even returned several gifts, so she could make sure there was enough money for a house.
Her gift totaled $924 - almost $1000!
Somehow, deep in her heart, Ellie already knows something very important. She knows how important it is to have a home. No doubt she comes from a beautiful, safe and comfortable home, with great parents. From this strong home base, she is already generous and caring.
I hope that you are "dyeing" to buy someone a house that doesn't have one. What a Christmas present that would be.
I know a family that is dying for a house. Javier (16) and Yesenia (10) and their mother, Adelina, live in an illegal basement apartment. Their only entry is the back door. After descending the rear steps, they enter through a red curtain. They have no door that locks, no privacy and no safety. In a fire, they couldn't escape through the small basement windows.
Their apartment is a single room with curtains as dividers. Floor joists are their ceiling. Concrete blocks are their walls. A donated carpet remnant covers the concrete floor. They unplug one appliance to use another since they have only a few outlets. Their kitchen is the landlord's laundry room with the sink, the washer and the stove and the dryer all in one space.
It hardly matters since the stove has only one working burner and the oven doesn't heat. Their stove hood is a jerry-rigged vent that is dangerous. They carry their laundry to the laundromat, since they are not allowed to use the one in their apartment. It is a dark, dreary, unsafe place. And they have the privilege of paying over $500 a month to live there.
What are you dying to buy this holiday season? A holiday toy to store for most of the year? The hot toy for your child, that will be set aside by summer? Another shirt or tie because you couldn't think of anything more inventive? As the ads fill the television and our mailboxes, I turn page after page and ask, "Why?" Why do we need all this stuff? What does it matter?
Buy a house. Or better yet, buy a road. Now that is a creative gift! You can actually buy a road this year. You don't have to leave home and fight the crowds. You don't have to worry about the size or color. You don't have to worry if they'll like it. We'll take care of all of that. Just send your gift to Habitat for Humanity and we'll make sure it's the right size and color. And I assure you that we will like it! And, we will gladly send a card to your loved one to let them know of your very inspired gift.
Your generous gift this year will open construction of 23 more homes with families like Javier and Yesenia. Without this road in place, we will not get building permits. We appreciate your support so we can pay for gravel and pipes and curbs needed prior to building houses.
Carter Crossing, our new subdivision, is set to begin and we need your help to be ready for our building season in 2007. Many house sponsors are already committed, but without the road, we cannot build the houses. Please be as generous as you can.
By the time you read this, Javier, Yesenia and Adelina will already live in their Habitat home. Javier will revel in not having to share his room with his mother and sister. Yesenia will think "pink" and how she can decorate her own beautiful space. And Adelina will be in heaven with a real kitchen, a stove that works and an attached laundry room she can use any time she wants.
After losing her second tooth, little Ellie asked her mom if she thought she'd have enough money to build a house after she lost all her teeth. "No honey", her mom replied, "You don't have that many teeth." Well, it's true that Ellie doesn't have that many teeth, but with your help, she, and you, can be part making dreams come true for a lot of families.
I hope that your Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa are filled with the peace of our Lord, wonderful dreams, happy times with your family and maybe even with a few fairies!
In partnership,
Julie Donovan
Executive Director
P.S. Please tell your children and grandchildren and nieces and nephews and neighbor kids about Ellie. They may have a few teeth to spare. And don't forget all those pearly whites in your mouth when you send your donation. You can mail your donation to us or visit our website at www.habitatlc.org/donate and make dreams come true.
And sit back as you read our December newsletter on our home page at www.habitatlc.org
I was "dyeing" to give money. Ellie's words brought a smile as I opened the envelope containing her bright pink construction paper card, decorated with a rainbow and a pot of gold. With the certainty of a very wise person, Ellie told us she chose Habitat because we put our money to good use. This is a high honor from a nine year old of limited means.
Later, Ellie told me that when she lost her second tooth, she decided to save her tooth fairy money so she could buy a Habitat house. She added several years of birthday money to Hanukkah money. For her 9th birthday, she requested donations to Habitat instead of gifts. She even returned several gifts, so she could make sure there was enough money for a house.
Her gift totaled $924 - almost $1000!
Somehow, deep in her heart, Ellie already knows something very important. She knows how important it is to have a home. No doubt she comes from a beautiful, safe and comfortable home, with great parents. From this strong home base, she is already generous and caring.
I hope that you are "dyeing" to buy someone a house that doesn't have one. What a Christmas present that would be.
I know a family that is dying for a house. Javier (16) and Yesenia (10) and their mother, Adelina, live in an illegal basement apartment. Their only entry is the back door. After descending the rear steps, they enter through a red curtain. They have no door that locks, no privacy and no safety. In a fire, they couldn't escape through the small basement windows.
Their apartment is a single room with curtains as dividers. Floor joists are their ceiling. Concrete blocks are their walls. A donated carpet remnant covers the concrete floor. They unplug one appliance to use another since they have only a few outlets. Their kitchen is the landlord's laundry room with the sink, the washer and the stove and the dryer all in one space.
It hardly matters since the stove has only one working burner and the oven doesn't heat. Their stove hood is a jerry-rigged vent that is dangerous. They carry their laundry to the laundromat, since they are not allowed to use the one in their apartment. It is a dark, dreary, unsafe place. And they have the privilege of paying over $500 a month to live there.
What are you dying to buy this holiday season? A holiday toy to store for most of the year? The hot toy for your child, that will be set aside by summer? Another shirt or tie because you couldn't think of anything more inventive? As the ads fill the television and our mailboxes, I turn page after page and ask, "Why?" Why do we need all this stuff? What does it matter?
Buy a house. Or better yet, buy a road. Now that is a creative gift! You can actually buy a road this year. You don't have to leave home and fight the crowds. You don't have to worry about the size or color. You don't have to worry if they'll like it. We'll take care of all of that. Just send your gift to Habitat for Humanity and we'll make sure it's the right size and color. And I assure you that we will like it! And, we will gladly send a card to your loved one to let them know of your very inspired gift.
Your generous gift this year will open construction of 23 more homes with families like Javier and Yesenia. Without this road in place, we will not get building permits. We appreciate your support so we can pay for gravel and pipes and curbs needed prior to building houses.
Carter Crossing, our new subdivision, is set to begin and we need your help to be ready for our building season in 2007. Many house sponsors are already committed, but without the road, we cannot build the houses. Please be as generous as you can.
By the time you read this, Javier, Yesenia and Adelina will already live in their Habitat home. Javier will revel in not having to share his room with his mother and sister. Yesenia will think "pink" and how she can decorate her own beautiful space. And Adelina will be in heaven with a real kitchen, a stove that works and an attached laundry room she can use any time she wants.
After losing her second tooth, little Ellie asked her mom if she thought she'd have enough money to build a house after she lost all her teeth. "No honey", her mom replied, "You don't have that many teeth." Well, it's true that Ellie doesn't have that many teeth, but with your help, she, and you, can be part making dreams come true for a lot of families.
I hope that your Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa are filled with the peace of our Lord, wonderful dreams, happy times with your family and maybe even with a few fairies!
In partnership,
Julie Donovan
Executive Director
P.S. Please tell your children and grandchildren and nieces and nephews and neighbor kids about Ellie. They may have a few teeth to spare. And don't forget all those pearly whites in your mouth when you send your donation. You can mail your donation to us or visit our website at www.habitatlc.org/donate and make dreams come true.
And sit back as you read our December newsletter on our home page at www.habitatlc.org
Comments