How We Spent Our Summer Vacation

The NEK Habitat Building Team and volunteers completed eight small projects this summer, ranging from a small mini-ramp, at no cost, to a new roof. 

Our completed summer projects are:
Carol in Newport  needed to remove a chimney which was causing her problems. Our crew carefully took down her chimney, block-by-block, and repaired her roof and siding. 

Bonnie in Lyndonville  needed a very small interior ramp to get into her shower. We used surplus material; no charge. 

Cheri in West Burke  needed siding on the back wall of  her house to match the siding on the other three sides. Carefully removing a collection of number plates which had served as partial siding, the crew installed the new siding and had enough left over to do a dormer.

Elizabeth in Barton  was losing her porch as it settled into the ground. Our crew jacked up the porch, replaced some supports and installed concrete bases, and replaced some floor boards. 

Lisa in Sutton  needed some new, energy saving windows in her trailer. We replaced seven windows. 

Janice in  Lyndonville takes in people in need of care.
Habitat volunteers Roger Brinn, Bob Gondar and Eileen Rossetti on the job in Lyndonville. 
She needed  a ramp to be  able to welcome Barbara. Habitat constructed a ramp with funding from the Vermont Center for Independent Living.

Eugene and Mable live in a small two-unit trailer park in Derby  on land which they rent. Working with the owner, Habitat built an extensive ramp with funding from the Vermont Center for Independent Living.
 
Victoria in Barnet needed a new roof. The Habitat committee suggested a new, green metal roof over her existing shingles.  

How did you spend your summer vacation?

 
 
NEK Habitat New Office 
Open House

459 Portland Street, Suite 2 
St. Johnsbury, VT 05819. 

November 8-10, 2016

You are invited to visit o ur new offices!  Stop in for a "tour" and some refreshments!
 
We will be open year around  on most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from  9:00 am-12 pm. 

Our contact information and phone number remain the same:

802-751-1212

 
The Ending that is a Beginning...

Almost five years ago exactly, we undertook to open a ReSale Store for the benefit of our NEK building fund.
    
We began by being open one Saturday morning a month in the old Ide Building in downtown St. Johnsbury, then moved into a lovely building in St. Johnsbury Center on Route 5 that we outgrew within two years. 

Ribbon-cutting in St. Johnsbury Center
In August 2014, we moved into the Green Mountain Mall, full of optimism for the store and its purpose.

For, you see, ReSale Stores, in the world of Habitat, need to mak e money for local building and repair projects. Secondary to this fundraising purpose, is an outlet for  recycling  and reducing trash in the landfills. We went one better: we also  offered both limited employment and unlimited volunteer opportunities .

At our height of our operations, we had a crew of about  30 folks who came in each month to help run the store, four managers who each worked several days a month and provided consistent  management, one office staff dedicated to homeowners and their requests, and a general manager over it all. 

All in all, in the five years we were open, volunteers donated over 6,000 work hours, and  we donated over $30,000 from our store sales to building projects. Hooray for our volunteers! Hooray for Habitat in the NEK!

As we approached our sixth year, with expenses rising, sales declining, and in-demand inventory unpredictable [everything is donated!] we reached a consensus to close the ReSale Store, move our business office out of the mall, and redirect our energies in new ways to support our mission. 

The hardest day at NEK Habitat was the day we made the decision to end store operations and then had to tell all of the staff. The next hardest day was telling our wonderful customers, and the last hardest day was handing in the keys.

The ending that is a beginning...

BU T ,  this ending is  also the beginning...of the next chapter of Habitat in the NEK. We've moved into a new office and, as always from the beginning , stand ready  t o help our neighbors improve their living conditions .

 
Upper Valley Habitat for Humanity in the Northeast Kingdom
2016 Steering Committee
 
Patricia Janssen
St. Johnsbury  
President
   
Tim McKay
Peacham
Vice-President
   
Merle  Haskins
St Johnsbury
Secretary
 
Beth Williams 
Danville
Treasurer
 
Rev. Jay Sprout
Barnet 
Susan  Aiken
St. Johnsbury

Dan Swainbank
Danville
 
Bruce Starbuck
Lyndonville

Rob Balivet
Danville