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May 6, 2021

The Talbot Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community

News News Notes

Every Woman Can Build: Habitat Choptank’s International Women Build Week

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Together, Lowe’s and Habitat for Humanity built International Women Build Week on a foundation of strength, resilience and perseverance. This year’s virtual events will kick off on International Women’s Day, March 8, and conclude on March 15.

Photo taken at Habitat Choptank’s 2015 Women Build.

Habitat and Lowe’s have partnered to provide tools for women to empower and educate themselves on skills used when repairing and restoring homes. By using the hashtag #BuildHer to share inspirational stories, experiences and ways to positively impact communities, Habitat and Lowe’s are uniting women for a central goal of encouraging and building each other up.

A global event, International Women Build Week focuses on raising awareness of the challenges women face in accessing safe, affordable housing. Women Build events provide the opportunity for women to take a proactive step in serving their communities as well as a terrific way to involve friends and family of all ages in crucial work with a lasting impact. While there will not be onsite build projects this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and there is no substitute for swinging a hammer, Habitat Choptank invites you to join them for their Virtual Women Build Week.

Mary Ellen Bauer, Habitat Choptank Board Member and Repair Crew volunteer shared the following about the women who inspire her to build: “Sandy Holicky, Terri Spence, Pam Martinson, and Sandy Wrightson are essential volunteers I have had the privilege of becoming friends with, while volunteering with the Home Repair Crew in Cambridge…They share endless hours of their time, unlimited supplies of tools, and have even purchased much needed equipment on job sites and donated them to Habitat. As an adult woman, these women are helping me to ground myself in my belief that sharing my time and my resources are so important for the betterment of this community.”

You can view Habitat Choptank’s DIY videos which will be shared via social media and on their website throughout Women Build Week. These videos will teach new skills that can be utilized at home on DIY projects and hopefully down the road on future Habitat builds. Video topics include installing flooring, fire safety tips, and watching a room be transformed with prep, paint, and wallpaper.

You can also show your support online. Share why you support Habitat Choptank on International Women’s Day using the #BuildHer hashtag and tag Habitat Choptank. You may also donate to Habitat Choptank in honor of an influential woman in your life and get a limited edition Women Build t-shirt! Please visit https://www.habitatchoptank.org for more information about how you can get involved.

About Habitat Choptank

Since 1992, Habitat Choptank has made home ownership possible for 90 families and has completed critical health and safety repairs in partnership with over 185 qualifying homeowners. At present, 9 homes are under construction in Dorchester and Talbot Counties. Income qualifying homebuyers are offered access to affordable mortgage financing in order to purchase a new construction or rehabbed home from the nonprofit’s project inventory. After completing “sweat equity” hours, attending pre-homeownership classes, and meeting debt reduction and savings goals, these individuals and families will purchase homes that they helped construct and assume the full responsibilities of homeownership including maintaining their home, paying property taxes and repaying their mortgage over 30 to 33 years. Habitat accepts applications for its homeownership and repair programs throughout the year. For more information, for information about the Habitat Choptank ReStore, to make a donation that benefits our local community, or volunteer, call 410-476- 3204 or visit www.HabitatChoptank.org.

About Lowe’s in the Community

Lowe’s has supported the communities where its associates live and work for more than 70 years. As a FORTUNE®50 home improvement company, Lowe’s is committed to creating safe, affordable housing and helping to develop the next generation of skilled trade experts through nonprofit partnerships. Across every community we serve, Lowe’s associates donate their time and expertise through the Lowe’s Heroes volunteer program. For the latest news, visit Newsroom.Lowes.com or follow @LowesMedia on Twitter.

Habitat Choptank Urges Supporters to Reach Out to Congress About the Critical Need for Affordable Homes

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Habitat Choptank will be reaching out to Congress members to urge them to invest in housing affordability.

Last week, Habitat for Humanity International hosted hundreds of local Habitat organizations and home affordability advocates for their annual legislative conference, held virtually for the first time: Habitat on the Hill 2021: For home, from home.

The three-day event, normally held in Washington, D.C., gave advocates an opportunity to convene with congressional leaders, address and discuss actionable solutions to the underlying policies and systems that hinder access to housing affordability, and rally with one another.

Through the Cost of Home campaign, Habitat for Humanity’s first U.S. advocacy campaign, Habitat Choptank has joined local Habitat organizations across the U.S. to help tackle the exacerbated housing stability and affordability challenges in our communities. Over 18 million U.S. households were paying half or more of their income on housing before the COVID-19 pandemic. Home affordability challenges have only been further exacerbated by COVID-19. Habitat on the Hill focused heavily on historic and systemic racism in housing policy, and how the pandemic’s economic disparities have created a critical need for immediate and long-term housing relief.

Habitat Choptank will reach out to members of Congress to urge them to invest in housing affordability as part of any future economic recovery and infrastructure measure by prioritizing foreclosure prevention, neighborhood revitalization and housing production for low-income homeowners. These investments are critical for preventing major losses in homeownership and in wealth for communities of color, as well as expanding access to new affordable homes for all.

You can join Habitat Choptank and hundreds of housing advocates in calling on Congress to invest in housing affordability and neighborhood revitalization. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated existing needs, so the time to act is now.

For more information about what Habitat for Humanity Choptank is doing in our local community, to make a donation, for information on the Habitat Choptank ReStore, or to volunteer, call 410-476-3204 or visit www.HabitatChoptank.org.

About Habitat Choptank

Since 1992, Habitat Choptank has made home ownership possible for 90 families and has completed critical health and safety repairs in partnership with over 185 qualifying homeowners. At present, 9 homes are under construction in Dorchester and Talbot Counties. Income qualifying homebuyers are offered access to affordable mortgage financing in order to purchase a new construction or rehabbed home from the nonprofit’s project inventory.  After completing “sweat equity” hours, attending pre-homeownership classes, and meeting debt reduction and savings goals, these individuals and families will purchase homes that they helped construct and assume the full responsibilities of homeownership including maintaining their home, paying property taxes and repaying their mortgage over 30 to 33 years. Habitat accepts applications for its homeownership and repair programs throughout the year. For more information, for information about the Habitat Choptank ReStore, to make a donation that benefits our local community, or volunteer, call 410-476-3204 or visit www.HabitatChoptank.org.

Modular Habitat Home Delivered in St. Michaels

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Future Habitat homeowner, Shay, waves as the modular home she will move into with her family arrives in St. Michaels.

The last three of the seven Habitat Choptank homes in the Brooks Lane neighborhood will be modular homes built to the specifications of a Habitat home. The first of these homes arrived in the Brooks Lane neighborhood on Friday, January 29th. After its safe installation on a very cold and windy day, work quickly began on the front porch and the interior of the home through the use of local contractors. The two remaining modular homes on Brooks Lane are expected to arrive later this month.

Prior to the pandemic, Habitat Choptank had plans to explore the use of modular housing in order to continue to meet the need for affordable housing in Dorchester and Talbot Counties. These homes are not only durable and cost-effective but can be built in under six months as opposed to a stick build with the use of volunteers which takes 12 months. This approach has been ideal for current times when fewer volunteers have been available due to COVID-19 precautions. Moving forward, Habitat Choptank plans to utilize modular housing in both Talbot and Dorchester County when it is feasible to do so. However, there will still be lots of work for current, future, and returning volunteers — from the construction of porches to the siding on each home.

To keep everyone as safe as possible and based on national recommendations from Habitat for Humanity International, Habitat for Humanity Choptank has limited the use of volunteers on job sites since last year. Habitat Choptank was able to continue work in the Brooks Lane neighborhood through the use of contractors and their staff team (as allowed by federal and state requirements). To date, four of the seven homes are completed.

In late December, homebuyer Shavonte Greene and her two boys were able to move into their safe and affordable home. She was the fourth and most recent Habitat homebuyer to move into the neighborhood; her home was a “Faith Build” home, supported by churches and other people of faith in the community.

Habitat for Humanity Choptank celebrated the groundbreaking of the seven-home neighborhood in September of 2018. This project would not have been possible without the generous donation of property by the Dodson family; the additional support provided by the estate of Robert and Beverly Wolffe; and the collaboration among Habitat Choptank and Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development, Maryland’s Affordable Housing Trust, Bay 100 Churches, Talbot County, and the Town of St. Michaels.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, more than 18 million U.S. households were paying half or more of their income on a place to live. Now, as the significant economic impacts of COVID-19 continue to unfold, the number of families struggling to make ends meet is only growing. In this moment of global crisis, Habitat Choptank’s work to ensure that everyone has a chance at a brighter future in a safe and affordable home is needed now more than ever.

For more information, to make a donation that benefits our local community, or volunteer, call 410-476-3204 or visit www.HabitatChoptank.org.