World Humanitarian Day: People Helping People

August 19th is World Humanitarian Day; a day recognized by the United Nations to honor aid workers around the world who dedicate their lives to helping others. 

There is never a year without disasters, wars, and other harmful situations, but this year there seems to be an increased number. From the earthquake in Japan, tornadoes in the south, famine in the horn of Africa, unrest in the Middle East, 2011 has been filled with accounts of disaster and devastation. Today we remember and thank those who voluntarily put their lives in the middle of these situations to help in whatever ways are needed. According to the UN Secretary General; "This is also a day to examine our own lives and consider what more we can do to help -- to reach out to people enduring conflict, disaster and hardship.  Let those we honour today inspire us to start our own journey to make the world a better place and bring our human family more closely together."

So today we ask, what more can we do to help those in our own community who struggle with conflict, hardship, or from disasters? How can we better serve our family, friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens? And we thank all the aid workers around the world who help in countless ways.

People Helping People image via www.worldhumanitarianday.info

A Call for A Brush with Kindness Applicants

Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County invites local homeowners who need help maintaining their home to apply for our A Brush with Kindness home repair program.  A Brush with Kindness is a program that provides exterior home repairs for low-income homeowners struggling to maintain a decent and safe place to live.

A Brush with Kindness Homeowner Eligibility:

• Family income between 40-80% Area Median Income;
• Homes must be owner-occupied;
• Able-bodied homeowners must be willing to put in "sweat equity" hours and work alongside volunteers;
• Complete a Homeowner application: English, Spanish and return to Habitat for Humanity SSBC, PO Box 176, Goleta, CA 93116

Habitat had wonderful success with our past A Brush with Kindness projects in Carpinteria and Goleta and are looking for additional homeowners that we can connect with hardworking, energetic, and skilled volunteers who are eager to help.

ABWK homeowner Suzanne proudly showing off her completed home repair!

Volunteer appreciating

We have had a few volunteer celebrations in the past weeks. Habitat for Humanity relies on our wonderful volunteers to help on our home construction projects, in the Habitat ReStore, and during our A Brush with Kindness home repairs. Without our committed volunteers we would not be able to provide safe, decent and affordable housing. It is because of them that our mission is possible!

Here's a few pictures of the dedicated volunteers we're celebrated in July:

Dan has volunteered over 400 hours in the ReStore and can often be found sorting new inventory in the ReStore on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He's been a long time member of the "Thursday Crew" and we love his dedication and friendship.

 Celebrating another volunteer milestone with Gabby!

We had the pleasure of working with Rachel while she was home from UC Berkeley for the summer. She was a joy to have around the ReStore! Sadly for us, she's already headed back to school.

New ReStore inventory!

A lot of new inventory has passed through the ReStore's doors this week and we're here to share it with you.  View the whole inventory on the ReStore's flickr page.

What a difference 3 years makes!

In a little over a week the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Goleta will celebrate it's 3rd anniversary! We're pleased to say that the ReStore has been a great resource for our affiliate in that it generates income to supplement Habitat's operating costs, provides materials for our local construction projects, and allows us to provide families with a low-cost source for home-improvement supplies. 

Enjoy some photos from the ReStore's grand-opening celebration, held on August 8th, 2008.  We hardly recognize the place! It's amazing how much the ReStore changed in just 3 years.

And as always, if you're looking to donate used materials to the Habitat ReStore we accept donations during our open hours; Tuesday through Friday from 12 to 5pm and Saturday from 9am to 5pm. The ReStore also does donation pick-ups Tuesday through Friday mornings. Call 805-692-2226 to schedule a pick-up. And refer to our donation guidelines for specific information on items the ReStore accepts.