A Message from our Executive Director

We wish Michael J. Svezzese, Jr. a happy retirement! He is the CTE Trades and Industry Instructor at Harford Technical High School and he was the brainchild behind the creation of our "Habi-Tech" Program. He will be retiring at the end of the school year in June.

During the 2004/2005 school year, Mr. Svezzese proposed the idea of giving back to the community — while helping his students build valuable skills — in the form of a partnership with Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna. After the students worked on building their first "Habi-Tech" home, it was transported from the school to its final destination in Edgewood in May 2005, where Habitat volunteers completed it. A home dedication ceremony was held later that year in October.

By the 2010/2011 school year, Habitat Susquehanna had also formed a similar partnership with the Cecil County School of Technology.

Today, students work on a Habitat home for two years before it is transported to its final, permanent location. The current arrangement is to receive the Harford and Cecil "Habi-Tech" homes on alternating years.

The "Habi-Tech" Program is a perfect example of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education.

Working on these home projects under the guidance of school instructors teaches students across the trades programs — such as carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC — multiple aspects of home design and construction.

Building a Habitat home is a wonderful way to provide students with marketable construction skills, while bringing awareness to the important need for affordable housing in our local community.

Mr. Svezzese's vision created a blueprint for students to build affordable homes in our community and break down the barriers of accessibility to homeownership. Not only does the "Habi-Tech" Program address the housing crisis at the most basic level, it also gives high schoolers the opportunity to make a life-changing impact on others. He has set the benchmark that will guide us for years to come.

We thank you, Mr. Svezzese, for your 22 years of belief and investment in the "Habi-Tech" Program! You have left a legacy that has resulted in 11 Harford County and six Cecil County "Habi-Tech" houses built by students to date.

To watch a video interview with Mr. Svezzese about how he started the "Habi-Tech" Program, click here.

Pictured: Michael J. Svezzese, Jr., CTE Trades and Industry Instructor at Harford Technical High School.

Photo credit: Eric Bach Studio.

Yvonne Golczewski

NOTABLE DATES

June is National Homeownership Month. Affordable homeownership frees families and fosters the skills and confidence they need to invest in themselves and their communities.

Jun 5 & 6: Anniversary sale. The Aberdeen ReStore will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary with sales in the clothing section, building materials, and butcher block, as well as offering gift card giveaways. Visit the ReStore's Facebook page (@aberdeenrestore) for the latest updates.

Jun 19: Juneteenth. Habitat Susquehanna's Bel Air office is closed in observance of Juneteenth.

SAVE THE DATE

Jul 5: Seeking Walkers to Represent Habitat Susquehanna in Independence Day Parade. Habitat Susquehanna and the Bulle Rock Habitat for Humanity Club are partnering up to share the Habitat mission with a new audience! We will be participating in the Havre de Grace's Independence Day parade, to be held on July 5, and are seeking walkers who will represent each of the Habitat homes we have built/rehabbed to date. Contact Michele Louderback for details.

Sep 18: Sunset Cruise for a Cause. Our next event will be a fundraiser to help purchase the needed construction materials for students to build Habitat houses at their technical high schools. (Read A Message from our Executive Director for more details about the "Habi-Tech" Program and how it got started.)

The cruise is leaving from Chesapeake City, and the Cecil County School of Technology Principal, Dr. Nicole Parr, will be our guest speaker. WMAR's Kristy Breslin will be our emcee. Tickets and sponsorships are on sale now.

I want to purchase tickets/sponsorships to the Sunset Boat Cruise and/or make a donation to support the "Habi-Tech" Program

Home dedication ceremony for 139th Habitat house

At the end of May, Linh gathered with her family and friends; Habitat staff and volunteers; community and government representatives; and, other supporters as they celebrated her homeownership journey and the start of a new life with a decent, affordable place to live.

Linh's soon-to-be home in Aberdeen was rehabbed by many hands, including this year's Collegiate Challenge students who came from out of state in March to volunteer during their spring break.

A home dedication ceremony is when a family symbolically receives the keys to their new home that they will be purchasing through an affordable Habitat mortgage. The ceremony occurs after a home is completed but before the homebuyer closes on the house.

It offers the public an opportunity to tour the home before the homebuyer goes to settlement, which, in the case of Linh, will be in the next few weeks.

Linh (at right in pink top) is pictured in front of her future home with many of the Habitat Core Volunteers who worked on rehabbing the house.

Before partnering with Habitat Susquehanna, Linh was living with her two teenaged children and her mother in a two-bedroom apartment. She was unable to buy a home the traditional way because — as she explained in her application to our Homeownership Program — "No bank accepted my application because of my low income."

Hers will be the 139th decent, affordable house built or rehabbed by Habitat Susquehanna to date.

Students finishing their second year of building the Cecil "Habi-Tech" house

By the end of the school year in June, students will have finished their two-year effort of building a Habitat house at the Cecil County School of Technology. As with past "Habi-Tech" homes, the house will be moved in two parts by trailers to its final, permanent location — in this case, Booth Street, Elkton — where Habitat volunteers will complete it.

[VIDEO] Homeownership Program Manager Heather Gibson recently spoke with David Thorngate, CCST's Construction Trades Instructor, and one of his students (a senior), about the Habitat house they have been building there.

Looking for land and property donations

Finding decent, safe, affordable housing is not easy for Cecil and Harford County families. For Habitat Susquehanna, finding affordable land to build on is one of our greatest challenges.

Donate a home or land parcel and help us with the first step in the building process! By making a gift of real estate, the donation provides you with tax benefits while making a personal impact for local families.

Gifts of real estate include undeveloped land, residential rehab, etc. in Harford and Cecil Counties. We are looking for land large enough to build at least a single-family home.

A larger lot would possibly allow us to build multiple housing units, giving us the ability to help more than one family per build.

These lots would preferably be located within areas that are serviced by public water and sewer.

Contact Alison Vain, Acquisitions Manager, for details.

[VIDEO] We revisit a past Worksite Wednesday social media video with Heather Gibson, Homeownership Program Manager, and Alison Vain, Acquisitions Manager, discussing the importance of finding land and property to help us build or rehab future Habitat houses.

Staff news

We welcome Damien Smith who recently began working at Habitat Susquehanna as our new CFO.

He has both experience and a degree in accounting, as well as extensive experience in finance.

Habitat homeowner news

Each month, we like to feature those homeowners who celebrate milestone anniversaries (i.e., 1-, 5-, 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, 30-years) in their Habitat homes. We feel it is important to highlight the long-term success of affordable homeownership.

Kimberly: 20 years

Rhovonda: 20 years

Lisa: 15 years

Ruby: 5 years

Alemseged & Almaz: 5 years

Board news

Ben Graham (Board President) and Dan Sanborn will be finishing their terms with us this month. Ben served as a member of the Board of Directors for six years, and Dan for three. We offer them our deepest gratitude for their years of service and dedication, and their unwavering commitment to the mission of providing affordable homeownership opportunities to those in our local community. We thank them for being true champions of the belief that everyone deserves a place to call home!

Your old car can help build your community

Everyone deserves a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home. However, too many families across the country still face barriers to housing security. When you donate your old car, you make a difference and help fund affordable housing programs that empower families in Harford and Cecil Counties to build brighter futures.

Visit the Cars for Homes™

(CFH) website to learn more about this national vehicle donation program, or call 1-877-277-4344.

CLICK HERE to donate your car to Habitat

Sponsor Spotlights

Thank you to the following generous sponsors this month:

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