Christ the Servant Lutheran Church in Louisville, the first Apostles’ Build partner church for the Flatirons HFH Coal Creek build in Lafayette, is holding the 4^th Annual Steve Cox Memorial Golf Tournament to raise funds for it’s community mission projects on September 19^th at Coal Creek golf course in Louisville.  Community service was a passion of Pastor Steve’s and so they continue to find ways to better serve our community in his honor.  Over 50% of the funds raised during this tournament will be going directly to support our Apostles’ Build Partnership with Flatirons HFH.

This Tournament is open to the public.  If you, or someone you know, would be interested in playing, and supporting Flatirons HFH, you are more than welcome to join us!  More information and a link to the on line registration form may be found at https://ctslc.ctsmemberconnect.net/home-ctrl.do.

Join us as we celebrate a significant milestone in history for Flatirons Habitat for Humanity. 
On Saturday August 29^th at 3:00 p.m. we will dedicate the 50^th home constructed in our service area.  Tour our new 4-plex building settled at the base of the flatirons in the beautiful north Boulder Harmony Haven neighborhood and meet the new home owners, the builders, the volunteers and supporters whose passion has made this build possible.  We don’t just provide keys to a house: we partner to transform families’ lives.

WHEN: August 21, 2009, 5:30pm to 9:30pm
WHERE: The Millennium Harvest House, 1345 28th St., Boulder, CO 80302 (28th & Arapahoe St.)

While other young lovers spend their honeymoons sleeping on the beach and feasting in romantic restaurants, a Philadelphia couple chose to celebrate their marriage by building decks and painting walls for a family in need. The “Honeyteering” couple, Meghan Courtney and fiancé Rich Shaner state “When we were starting to plan our honeymoon, we know being at a beach or similar all week just isn’t us! Boulder is one of our favorite places where we may actually end up living down the road so we started to look there. Besides Rocky Mountain National Park, we got excited at our idea of helping build a house for another family right at the time we are starting to build our life together as a married couple! We are very much looking forward to this and could not feel more welcomed after the great correspondence with Erin Teague, Volunteer Coordinator at Flatirons Habitat for Humanity.”

Flatirons Habitat for Humanity’s volunteers are a significant force in fulfilling their mission. “Our volunteers experience a strong sense of cohesiveness during a build. There is an amazing feeling of unity when an individual and/or team is working towards a greater cause”, Erin Teague, Volunteer Coordinator at Flatirons Habitat for Humanity. Habitat has a wide variety of volunteer opportunities available from fundraising to hands on building. “Team Build’ is a great opportunity to bring a staff together by collaboration and bonding on a home build. Flatirons Habitat offers team builds that accommodate 10 – 15 people for a day of building on one of our homes and also provides all the training, tools, and lunch. Volunteers can also mentor families trying to break the cycle of poverty through the “Bridges out of Poverty” program.

 Larry and Melody Masters are providing a GIK of labor to spray paint Bldg C’s exterior.  Larry is a professional painter and in addition to that his wife and himself have created the Paint Belt Pro Bucket that makes is easier and safer to paint, especially on ladders.  On Friday, they will be filming volunteers using their donated Paint Belt Pro product that is going to be turned over to Cool Tools on the DIY Network, and the footage could air on TV.   

 Since we’re all celebrities, we will have to complete one of their release forms.  One of the perks of being a celeb!  I need an agent fast!

 Kim

Last week we accomplished a lot.  Focusing on insulation, we were able to spray foam, install cellulose, and install fiberglass batts.  The best remedy: a cold shower.  Are you itchy?

This week we’ll be focusing on painting Building C’s exterior, completing insulation, and if we pass the insulation inspection, start drywall.  

 Whooo rahhh!

Evan’s parents sit as calmly as they can in the grass by the playground.  John is a firefighter for Boulder Rural. His wife, Erin, is a former AmeriCorps intern, who is now the Volunteer Coordinator at Flatirons Habitat. 

 More than one person at Habitat has mentioned first how adorable Evan is, and second, how grown up he seems to be.  When he was three, Evan was riding with his mom through Boulder when he noticed a guy holding a sign and asked what it said.

 Erin read the cardboard sign for her son:  ANYTHING HELPS GOD BLESS.

 The next couple minutes in the car were spent explaining how some people have houses, and some people don’t, and that man probably didn’t.  “Evan doesn’t think in terms of separation between people,” Erin says.  The next big thing Evan said in the car that day was that someone should build the men with signs some homes.

 Evan is now five, and goes to afternoon kindergarten at Foothills Elementary School.  It seems perfect that Evan has always wanted to give people homes, and Erin works at the very place that builds homes for people who need them.  Even John’s previous work as a carpenter and his current job as a firefighter contribute to the family theme of building and protecting the homes of others.

 Erin spoke with FHFH and found the perfect volunteer opportunity — Evan could volunteer for Flatirons Habitat at their Farmer’s Market booth, handing out brochures and balloons.  He can’t quite tie the balloons yet, but he does a good job blowing them up. 

 “I wanna help persons who don’t have homes so they can have a cozy spot to have,” he says.  His parents agreed to let him help out because they are raising him to actively help people like the man with his cardboard signs.

 by Michelle Graham

Michelle Snyder never prayed for anything so much in her entire life.  Life before Habitat consisted of living in a mobile home that was in poor condition and she was concerned about how long she and her family could live there safely. At the time, her family included three children; a teen-aged son and daughter and an elementary-aged son with special needs.  Michelle heard that Flatirons Habitat was looking for families to live in new Habitat community to be built in Broomfield called Emerald Hill.  Like a lot of others in her situation, Michelle didn’t think she would qualify.  “I thought Habitat was just for poor people,” she says.  “Not a lot of people are educated on what it’s really about.”

She prayed and applied.  She filled out piles of paperwork and went through a financial review.  Six months later she got a call from Flatirons Habitat telling her that her family had been selected and they would begin building soon.

Michelle’s life sped up.  She was a single mom working full-time as a server and attending Metropolitan State College working on her undergraduate degree in biological science.  She was so moved by her experience with Habitat volunteers, that she changed her major to human service work and graduated with her degree from the University of Phoenix after she moved into her new home.

Today, Michelle and her youngest son, now in high school, have lived in their Habitat home in Broomfield for five years.  She continues to work full-time at the Village Inn and volunteers often for Flatirons Habitat and at her church, Flatirons Community Church.  Her recent volunteer activities include joining FHfH’s board of directors and recently took a two week humanitarian trip to Afghanistan with members of her church, to support the immediate and long term needs of the people there who are affected by decades of war.