Thank you to all our volunteers!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and as we gather with family and friends, there are many things we give thanks for before sharing in the traditional meal of the season. One blessing we are very thankful for is each and　every volunteer who has given their time and talent to aid in our fight against poverty housing. There is no greater gesture than the giving of our own personal time to stop and help others. At Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County, we do not take donated time for granted. 


The Wednesday Crew breaking for bread at noon

We are truly blessed and humbled to count on hundreds of generous, dedicated, selfless, hard-working volunteers. We appreciate each one of you - whether you are a member of our Wednesday Crew, Saturday Crew Lead, office or ReStore volunteer, student from a local high school or college, member of the corporate world, construction journeyman, sales associate at a local retailer, local business person, or anything else in between. You are all second to none, and you are the main reason this Habitat affiliate has enjoyed 30 years of success.

Thank you for your dedication, thank you for your time and thank you for your compassion!　

May you all enjoy a blessed, bountiful and peaceful Thanksgiving.　

Follow us on Instagram!

As most of you savvy readers have discovered, Instagram is one of the newer social media tools used to share snapshots of that one special, funny, exciting or heart-warming moment you want everybody to see.

THE Verizon Crew

In keeping up with the Joneses, we are proud to announce that Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County now has it's own Instagram account.  You can find us by tapping on the star symbol (bottom of the page, second icon from the left), followed by a tap on the magnifying glass (upper page, right side).  Then, under "Users" type in "habitat_venturacounty", tap on "follow" and that's it!  You can begin to enjoy our photos and now, thanks to an Instagram software update, 15 second videos. 

 

Make sure you follow us for great photos and videos!  And don't forget to smile for our camera.....

It's All About Thanks

I can never say thank you enough to all the volunteers, consultants, professionals and everyday folk that I have had the fortune of meeting while on the job.  We are truly blessed to have so many caring folks who have an interest in our work and in supporting our affiliate.

With that said, special thanks are in order for the 2 gentlemen pictured below.

This is Tito, our Site Supervisor (pictured on the left) and Juan Carlo, photographer extraordinaire for the VC Star (pictured on the right).  Tito is a bulldog and a go-getter and will not stop until the job is done.  Tito's can-do spirit is contagious and we are lucky to have him.  Thank you for being a member of our team.  I don't know much about photography except for the term "point and shoot".  But what I do know is that Juan Carlo is an artist.  His down-to earth style and sensibility are reflected in his work and we are very fortunate to have him capture life happening on our jobsites for the many readers of the VC Star.  Thank you for helping tell our story and for your support!

Landscape with a cause - The Surfrider Foundation

Last Saturday, volunteers installed an "Ocean Friendly Garden" (OFG) at the site of the home our affiliate repaired.  Not to shower our own selves with praise or anything, but the home preservation turned out wonderful, thanks to the City of Ventura, the Westside Community, OFG and ALL the volunteers that came out in full force to assist another deserving homeowner.

The folks from OFG have a really cool philosophy about water retention and we couldn't be more thrilled for the opportunity to have partnered with them on this home preservation project.  There is a true science to looking beautiful and being environmentally friendly.  We are grateful to Morrie, Laura, Tyrone, Paul and Jill for spearheading an exceptional effort that lead to a stunning result!

Last, but certainly not least, I would like to give a special shout out to Lori from the Westside Community Council (WCC) and to the WCC itself for treating volunteers to coffee and morning goodies from Django's.  Thank you Lori and the WCC!  If you are ever in Ventura's Westside, make sure you visit Maureen at Django's.  Their coffee and pastries are simply amazing!

St. Bonaventure High School Sets an Example to Follow

Last Saturday February 2nd, we officially started our Neighborhood Revitalization work in Ventura's Westside.  This is an important undertaking for the affiliate since it encompasses a broader scope of activity as compared to our Preserve a Home program.  But without getting into specifics about community development and home rehab services, I do want to mention our first volunteer group, St. Bonaventure High School, did an absolutely outstanding job on this first day.

This hard-working group of youngsters cleared out an entire backyard and nearly filled this trash bin in less than 4 hours. 

That, is just simply outstanding.  Many thanks to the fine young men and women from St. Bonny's and their coordinator, Katherine Kistler, for their fine efforts and for spending their Saturday with Habitat.