Look What They're Saying About Us

Habitat for Humanity store sells gently used or new items

Published 10:59 am Tuesday, May 3, 2016

By Jordan Gerard

AUSTIN — Habitat for Humanity ReStores can be a hidden gem for people looking to make do-it-yourself projects or looking for that one piece of furniture to complete a room.

The Freeborn/Mower County ReStore moved in December 2014 to the Sterling Shopping Center, which increased the number and variety of donations it receives.

“We were in a warehouse (by Packer Arena), we didn’t have a lot of those things,” ReStore manager Lynn Nuckolls said. “Now we’re in a part of town where a lot of people know about us.”

ReStore had its start when Habitat for Humanity would receive a lot of gifts in kind, such as manufacturers donating unwanted doors as well as doors or other excess materials donated by people, so they started selling them, Nuckolls said.

Once Habitat for Humanity saw it was becoming a trend, they decided to brand it with the ReStore name and start a support group for other stores.

The support group is the “brain power” finding out which methods work best and then relaying them to the other stores. Individual stores send in reports on how they’re doing, and the support group compiles them together and then guides the stores through the best ways to market. They even have ready-made templates so all stores need to do is insert their name and location.

“Any question you have, they’ll find an answer,” Nuckolls said.

Everything in the ReStore is donated and generally comes in gently used or new condition. “Everything” can be defined as furniture, such as couches, chairs and dining tables, household goods and accessories like decorations or plates, building materials, appliances and most items in between.

“Every ReStore is very different because every ReStore sells what’s donated to them,” Nuckolls said. “You go to one ReStore and it’s nothing but building supplies. We’ve learned from year to year what people are going to buy and what they aren’t going to buy. ”

The most unique item donated to them are ... To read more of this interesting article, simply click on Habitat for Humanity store sells gently used or new items .

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33rd Habitat for Humanity home completed in Mower County

By Jordan Gerard

Published 10:20 am Friday, April 29, 2016

‘We dedicate this house’

A family of four has a new place to call home in Austin.

Gabait Nagid, wife Nasra Damin and their two children, Sabreen and Saber, recently helped complete their new 2,500-square-foot Habitat for Humanity home, along with help from the Riverland Community College carpentry program.

“We’re really excited,” Damin said. “The students and people did a beautiful thing. It’s a beautiful home.”

The four-bedroom, two-bathroom home will move the family out of its current housing, a small Albert Lea apartment. The family will move into the home in June.

Freeborn/Mower Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Brigitte Fisher said they are thrilled for the family to move into this house.

“We’re so excited for this family and through the new lives they’re going to create here,” Fisher said.

Habitat for Humanity wasn’t alone in building the 33rd home.

After realizing some of their dedicated volunteer force was growing older and not able to commit the work it takes to build a house, they called on Riverland’s carpentry program to help them, Fisher said.

“When Brigitte approached us and said, ‘Hey, will you help us out with trying to build this house?’ We thought about it for two seconds and said absolutely,” Matt Bissonette, dean of trade and industry, said. “… Because we are a community college and this is about the community and this was a perfect opportunity for us to give back to the community.”

He said their faculty got the opportunity to figure out how to work with a service organization, their students got to build a house, and a family received a beautiful home.

“We’re proud to be part of that effort,” Bissonette said. “We hope to do it again next year.”

Fisher added volunteers and family members were on site working alongside the carpentry students. Instructors Tom Wilker and Walt Alms...

To read this article from the Austin Daily Herald , simply click on 33rd Habitat for Humanity home completed in Mower County.

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Valspar Provides $2.5 Million to Support 51 Local Habitat for Humanity Organizations

Valspar's National Neighborhood Week set for May 9 - 14, 2016

PR Newswire

MINNEAPOLIS, April 28, 2016

MINNEAPOLIS, April 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Valspar has provided $2.5 million in cash and product donations to support 51 local Habitat for Humanity organizations in 16 states as part of Valspar's National Neighborhood Week, May 9 – 14, 2016. Every Valspar site in the United States will be activating volunteer teams during National Neighborhood Week to work on Habitat home builds and A Brush With Kindness projects.

"Valspar is committed to doing its part to transform neighborhoods through its partnership with Habitat for Humanity ," said Gary E. Hendrickson, Valspar Chairman and CEO. "As a founding partner of the neighborhood revitalization program, A Brush With Kindness, Valspar helps families, seniors and veterans living in homes that are in need of a new coat of paint and minor repairs. Many low-income families live in challenging circumstances and struggle to maintain their homes. The A Brush With Kindness program brightens the lives of families and restores pride throughout neighborhoods."

The Valspar Foundation provided funding and a dollar-for-dollar match to the annual employee giving totaling $600,000 in financial support to local Habitat organizations in communities where Valspar operates. In addition to donating the paint for the volunteer projects, Valspar has donated paint to 60 local Habitat for Humanity ReStores . The ReStores are home improvement outlets open to the public and all revenue supports Habitat's work building, rehabbing and repairing homes for low-income families, seniors and veterans. The market value of the product donation is over $1.9 million.

Valspar's National Neighborhood Week is providing support to the following local Habitat organizations:

Alabama:

Greater Birmingham Habitat for Humanity

California:

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento

Florida:

Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County, in Clearwater

Georgia:

Athens Area Habitat for Humanity
Augusta/CSRA Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity of Newton County, in Covington

Illinois:

Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity

DuPage Habitat for Humanity, in Wheaton
Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity, in Montgomery
Habitat for Humanity Chicago
Habitat for Humanity Chicago South Suburbs, in Hazel Crest
Habitat for Humanity of Kankakee County
Habitat for Humanity Lake County, in Waukegan
Habitat for Humanity of McHenry County
Habitat for Humanity Northern Fox Valley, in Elgin
Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity
Will County Habitat for Humanity, in Joliet

Iowa:

Quad Cities Habitat for Humanity, in Davenport

Kentucky:

Bowling Green/Warren County Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity of Metro Louisville

Maryland:

Washington County Habitat for Humanity, in Hagerstown

Michigan:

Habitat for Humanity of Kent County, in Grand Rapids
Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County, in Pontiac

Minnesota:

Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity, in Saint Cloud
Habitat for Humanity of Douglas County, in Alexandria
Habitat for Humanity Freeborn/ Mower, in Austin
Habitat for Humanity South Central Minnesota, in Mankato
Habitat for Humanity of West Central Minnesota, in Willmar
Habitat for Humanity Winona-Fillmore Counties, in Winona
Itasca County Habitat for Humanity, in Grand Rapids
Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity, in Moorhead
Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity, in Brainerd
Northwoods Habitat for Humanity, in Bemidji
Redwood River Habitat for Humanity, in Marshall
Rochester Area Habitat for Humanity
Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity

North Carolina:

Chatham Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte
Habitat for Humanity of High Point, Archdale and Trinity
Our Towns of North Mecklenburg – Iredell, in Cornelius

New Hampshire:

Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity, in Lawrence

Ohio:

Habitat for Humanity of Summit County, in Akron

Pennsylvania:

Habitat for Humanity of Beaver County, in Beaver Falls
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Pittsburgh
Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity

Texas:

Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity
Garland Area Habitat for Humanity

Wisconsin:

Dane County Habitat for Humanity, in Madison
Habitat for Humanity of Waukesha County
St. Croix Valley Habitat for Humanity

Valspar: If it matters, we're on it.®

Valspar is a global leader in the coatings industry providing customers with innovative, high-quality products and value-added services. Our 11,000 employees worldwide deliver advanced coatings solutions with best-in-class appearance, performance, protection and sustainability to customers in more than 100 countries. Valspar offers a broad range of superior coatings products for the consumer market, and highly-engineered solutions for the construction, industrial, packaging and transportation markets. Founded in 1806, Valspar is headquartered in Minneapolis. Valspar's reported net sales in fiscal 2015 were $4.4 billion and its shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: VAL). For more information, visit www.valspar.com and follow @valspar on Twitter.