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Habitat NEGA's Happenings | Building Hope, One Home At A Time |
| | Getting Involved With Habitat For Humanity of NE GA | We would like to say a big "Thank You" to Ethicon for coming to our Build Site this past August in support of Habitat For Humanity of NE GA during their "Planting Seeds of Change - Volunteer Week 2025"! A tremendous amount of work was accomplished and through their amazing efforts, House 82 had a solid foundation and the initial stages of framing were underway! At HFHNEGA, our Mission is to bring people together to build homes, communities and hope and we'd again like to say "Thank You" to Ethicon for supporting our Mission and, most of all, our Partner Families. | | HFHNEGA would like to also say “Thank You” to Tesnatee Gap Elementary School, Art Teacher Leann Fuller and the many TGAP students who took part in the Habitat tradition of painting, designing and writing messages of hope, faith and encouragement on the 2x4s that will make up the frame of a Habitat Home. Even though it was summer break, Leann Fuller and the TGAP students wanted to be a part of the process of one Partner Family’s journey to homeownership! Their beautiful work will be a forever part of the framework of a Habitat Home. Thank you again to Tesnatee Gap Elementary School for supporting Habitat, our Mission and - most of all, our Partner Families. | | Habitat For Humanity of NE GA is blessed for the generous support in receives from the communities we serve. In September, Luke Rushton of Harbin Lumber Company, Inc. stopped by the Build Site – unannounced. And, it goes without saying that it absolutely made Construction Manager, Ron Coker, and the volunteers on site's day when Luke Rushton gave the reason for his visit – a $10,000 donation towards our Rockford Creek Habitat Build Project! Without community support such as this, we would not be able to fulfill our Mission of bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope! Once again, thank you to Harbin Lumber Company for the very generous support of Habitat For Humanity of NE GA and, most of all, our Partner Families! | | |
HABITAT PARTNER FAMILY UPDATES
Habitat House #80 is no longer a Habitat House...it is the Cody Family’s Habitat HOME! Christina Cody’s path to Habitat Homeownership began in March of 2024 with HFHNEGA Partner Family Orientation, followed by Financial Literacy Workshops, putting in countless hours of sweat equity in the building of her own home and those of other Partner Families as well as securing a mortgage on her home. And, through perseverance, hard work and most of all - Faith, her journey to homeownership concluded in September with The Cody Family’s Home Dedication Ceremony and Mortgage Closing! Habitat For Humanity of NE GA wants to congratulate Christina Cody and Family on this great achievement and we wish them many, many joyous and blessed years to come in their new HOME!
| | | A Groundbreaking was held for House #82 in early July and then, on July 26th, a ceremony was held there to celebrate the Cattanach Partner Family on being selected for that Habitat Home. Nick, daughter Adaleigh, and son Hunter, have worked tirelessly within the Partner Family Program since joining in May of this year and everyone at Habitat – staff, Board and volunteers, are excited to announce that Habitat House 82 will become the Cattanach’s Home! Please join us in congratulating the Cattanach Family and welcoming them to the Rockford Creek Habitat Family! | | | |
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHTS
Everyone at HFHNEGA was sad to say “Good Bye” to Spencer Frady this past August. Spencer spent his summer working at the ReStore before starting his freshman year at Truett McConnell University in September. We wish him the very best of luck heading into this new chapter of his life, thank him for supporting Habitat over the summer and, finally, that it was a pleasure having him be a part of the Habitat team…we know he has amazing things to look forward to in his future!
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You can't do great things without great people and, also in September, the ReStore added two great people to their already amazing team; Tiffany Kinnarath and Gabrial Morales.
Tiffany has been in the Habitat Partner Family Program since March of 2024, moved into her Habitat Home this past June and has been an incredible supporter and advocate for HFHNEGA along the way. Gabrial will be helping out during the week in the donation drop off area as well as with donation pick-ups on the HFHNEGA box truck. HFHNEGA would like to thank both Tiffany and Gabrial for supporting our Mission, ReStore and, most of all, our other Partner Families!
| | The Mission of each Habitat For Humanity is to strengthen communities through the building of safe, affordable housing. And, it is vital that neighboring Habitats - whether in adjacent counties or within the same state or region, work together to support each other and our shared purpose of service. This can be done through collaborative projects, the sharing of ideas and resources, as well as supporting each other's major events and fundraisers…just like HFHNEGA’s Construction Manager, Ron Coker. In September, Ron participated in Jackson County Habitat For Humanity's "Tour De Habitat Bike Ride"! This is one of Jackson County Habitat For Humanity’s biggest annual fundraisers and, Ron, was excited to be a part of this great event with a purpose. Pictured here is Ron Coker Jackson County Habitat’s Construction Manager - Guy Baker. | | |
Making An Impact – One Partner Family At A Time
From the volunteers who dedicate countless hours of their own personal time at the build site to anyone shopping or donating at the ReStore, and to the Habitat staff and Board members who work tirelessly to support and cultivate our organization’s Mission and to anyone else – churches, businesses, and other community organizations who are a part of and support what we do…all of it is for one specific purpose – our Partner Families. Nick Cattanach and his daughter Adaleigh can often be seen at the build site of their Habitat Home – and not just during Build Days or other Habitat events, but after everyone has left. Talking about where flowers and trees will be planted, measuring rooms to see what may go where and just spending time together in what will become their Habitat Home. Wonderful moments like this are why we all do what we do…and we can’t wait for The Cattanach Family’s Home Dedication Ceremony later this year!
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How You Can Make A Difference:
Volunteering: Want to take part in a project that strengthens your community while providing hope to local families in need of decent, affordable housing? If so, please consider volunteering at one of our Build Sites and help Habitat For Humanity of NE GA BUILD! For more information on volunteering, please visit: https://habitatnega.org/volunteer-2/
Or, email Brian Young - Executive Director at: director@habitatnega.org.
| | Donating To The ReStore: When cleaning, remodeling or moving, you often run into household items you no longer use, but are still in great condition. Whether it be items like the windows you just replaced, a living room group or an old refrigerator, consider donating it to Habitat's ReStore. And, if you can't drop it off, we'll pick it up! Our ReStore plays a critical role in supporting Habitat for Humanity’s mission of bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope. For more information regarding our ReStore, please visit: https://habitatnega.org/the-restore/ | Land: A big “Thank You” goes out to WRWH – 93.9, Now Habersham as well as WCHM- 94.3 for supporting Habitat of NE GA and helping us to get the word out that we are in dire need of land to build upon in the White and Habersham County Areas. Our Mission is to put God’s love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope. And, we can't fulfill our Mission to the Communities we serve without land to build upon. Please help support our Mission, our organization and - most importantly, the local families we partner with to identify available lots so that we can continue our Habitat Builds. To learn more or to share information on lots available, please email Brian Young – Executive Director at: director@habitanega.org. | |
“This Shirt Builds Houses”
Want an awesome t-shirt that supports a great cause? If so, you’ll want to get one of these “This Shirt Builds Houses” t-shirts and wear it proudly to show your support of Habitat’s Mission of bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope! And, not a single dollar is wasted as 100% of t-shirt sales go directly towards supporting our Habitat Home Builds. To purchase yours, please visit “Wildewood” or” Cool River Tubing & Adventures” in Helen. Or, you can purchase a "This Shirt Builds Houses" t-shirt directly at: https://square.link/u/Sqvo2GLA, or by coming by the Habitat Office located at 1085 Rocky Branch Rd, Clarkesville. T-shirts are $24.99 and are offered in heather military green and heather indigo blue. Also, quantities are limited so don't wait.
(T-shirts were sponsored by: Cool River Tubing and Adventures, Georgia Mountain Coaster and Wildewood, with 100% of all proceeds going directly towards Habitat For Humanity of NE GA!)
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The 47th Annual Hogpen Hillclimb and
Georgia Mountain Coaster 5k
The 47th Edition of this great race is just a few months away - January 17th, 2026, and everyone here at HFHNEGA is really getting excited about what is certain to be one of the greatest Hogpens ever! And, “Yes”, you read that right…we’d like to welcome and say a big “Thank You" to Georgia Mountain Coaster of Helen for being the 5k title sponsor for 2026, and for Cool River Tubing & Adventures and Wildewood for also being a primary sponsor of the 47th Edition of this event!
And, with January 2025’s Hogpen being one of the biggest in years with participants from all over the southeast taking part, we’re rolling out some new and exciting things to make the 2026 Edition even bigger; exciting pre-race activities, vendors, raffles and a silent action, and a rerouted 5k course taking racers throughout the city of Helen!
And, "Yes", Georgia's own little "Bavarian Village", Helen, will – of course, still be the starting point for both the 18k & 5k and the Hogpen Hillclimb is still going to run up to Hogpen Gap!
To register for the 47th Edition of this great event, please visit: www.runthehogpen.org or scan the QR Code provided on the flyer. Or, if you're interested in sponsoring the 47th Annual Hogpen and helping make it the biggest yet, please email, Brian Young - Executive Director at: director@habitatnega.org.
| And, finally, we’d like to thank those businesses and community groups who have already committed to supporting the 47th Edition of the Hogpen!!! | | | | | |
