Carlton One Year Later

One year after receiving the incredible news that our offer to purchase the Carlton Mobile Home Park was accepted, residents are thriving and taking new ownership of their community. 

A dozen community members immediately stepped up to participate on a Resident Advisory Council to guide property management and redevelopment decisions. Their active engagement over the last year in partnership with Habitat has driven improvements for some of their most pressing needs, including: 

• Pruning dangerous tree limbs threatening mobile home safety;
• Installing solar lights to illuminate extremely dark roads; 
• Correcting dangerous, corroded electrical boxes and failing meters in partnership with Dominion, and,
• Updating water meters for more accurate readings.

What the residents are saying:

“We are excited to see the residents of Carlton rising to lead change in their community,” says Habitat President and CEO Dan Rosensweig. “It’s super inspiring to witness a group of neighbors coming together as one, working cooperatively and thoughtfully to identify, prioritize and solve problems.”

Back-to-School Bash at Southwood

The Southwood Community hosted its annual Back-to-School Bash in partnership with Albemarle County Public Schools this month. Students, parents, educators and many community partners turned out for this exciting event, supercharging students for their back-to-school endeavors. 

“This year’s annual Back-to-School Bash event was a fantastic success. We had around 250 neighbors in attendance, and they were able to come out and have a good time with each other while gearing up for back-to-school,” says Mich Estrada, Associate Director of Community Engagement for Habitat. “This is what community is all about!” 

Donor Feature: Joe and Sally Gieck

Boost Habitat Mission through

Donor Advised Fund

Joe and Sally Gieck are true advocates for Habitat and for the value of Donor Advised Funds (DAFs). When they established their DAF nearly 20 years ago, Joe and Sally realized an immediate tax benefit. But, as Joe shares, the true value of this giving vehicle is the ability for the invested funds to grow over time and provide even more resources for the Giecks to invest in their favorite nonprofits. 

When asked why Habitat is among the organizations he and Sally support through their DAF, Joe said, “My basic philanthropic interest is in helping people help themselves. This is probably one of the best organizations doing that.” 



He also loves the tangible nature of Habitat’s work: “You can see the house going up. You can see how people are in there working…[and] the expressions on [Homebuyers’] face[s] and how proud they are having risen to this level.” 

Joe and Sally Gieck in their Montana home

“The DAF is a very useful tool for us,” he continued. “The fund can [grow] over the course of a year, based on whatever the market is doing. It’s an opportunity for us to give more - perhaps more money than we had planned.” 

Already have a DAF and want to donate to Habitat? Go to cvillehabitat.org and click on “Give now from your Donor Advised Fund” in the upper right corner. 

Interested in learning more about how you can become a DAF donor with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville? Contact Kelly Eplee at 434-953-5249.

Did You Know: 

• August is “Make-a-Will” Month? If Habitat is in your will, let us know (keplee@cvillehabitat.org)!
• Thursday, October 9th is DAF Day! Mark your calendar to join the rising tide of donors who contribute to non-profits on this day via DAF! 

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville | 434-293-9066