habitat builderwww.sgvhabitat.org

a publication of San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity August 2008

Four hundred guests helped raise $85,000 for affordable housing on June 14th at the SGV Habitat for Humanity “Raising the Roof” gala. The event was held at the spectacu-lar grounds of the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena on a beautiful and balmy summer evening.

Guests feasted on delicious Tuscan Italian food. Silent and live auctions were strongly competitive and exciting, and raised a large amount of money to help build more afford-able homes. Very enjoyable entertainment was provided by “The Three Waiters,” who pretended to be real waiters and sang familiar songs from operas and musicals.

Honorary Chairs for the event were Pasadena’s Mayor Bill Bogaard and his wife Claire. The Honorary Committee was comprised of Mark Azizi, the Reverend Ed Bacon, Elisa Callow, Bill and Brenda Galloway, Richard Koshalek, David and Janet Lazier, Joan McCarthy, Assemblymember Anthony

Inside: Giving • Meet the Frausto Family • Best of Pasadena Award

Portantino, Betty Sandford, Thomas Suess, Anil Verma, and Tom Verti. The master of ceremonies was former Glendale Mayor Larry Zarian.

We give very special thanks to Glendale Galleria for being the Signature Sponsor for this gala. Thanks are also extend-ed to The Walt Disney Company, Citi, Community National Bank, and Transwestern for their supporting sponsorships. Congratulations and great appreciation go to SGV Habitat for Humanity Board Member Cynthia Heydt who chaired the Gala Committee.

Gala Committee members who contributed to the success of this fundraising event were: Donna Baker, Jamie Berridy, Jan-ie Fain, Ljiljana Grozdanic, Charlotte Hogan, Yasmine Khalil, Janet LaFevre, Eva Malhotra, Kelly McCune, J.P. O’Connor, Nina Perry, Peggy Spear, Juanita St. John, Marilyn Waters, and Sonja Yates.

Successfully “Raising the Roof”

Board of Directors:Claus Agger-NielsenJan C. BerentsenMichael T. DavittTom DoudAnn DoughertyGeorge GarfieldDonald W. GoodmanCindy HeydtDaric LeeDeborah A. LovelandJohn Mac LeanCarol MartinJudd ReasJanelle WilliamsHoward Woo

Staff: Executive Director Sonja L. Yates Accountant Sayaka OtaOffice Manager Catalina Velez Volunteer Coordinator Jan Robinson Special Projects Coordinator Linda HammesBuilders Surplus Store Manager Bill Anderson BSS Driver Ricky Brownlee Sales David Hill

Newsletter Editor Michael Schutz

San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity770 N. Fair Oaks AvenuePasadena, California 91103Phone: (626) 792-3838Fax: (626) 792-7006www.sgvhabitat.org

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Giving

Shop & Give

Ralphs – Link your Ralphs Club card to SGV Habitat for Humanity. Every time you shop at Ralphs they will donate a percent-age of your purchase to our work. Enroll at www.RALPHS.com, click the “Community Contribution” link, click on “Participant” and enter 82343 (NPO Number) for Habi-tat for Humanity – San Gabriel Valley. You must renew your commitment each year so if you were previously enrolled, please en-roll again.

Albertsons – Link your Albertsons Club card to SGV Habitat for Humanity. Every time you shop at Albertsons they will do-nate a percentage of your purchase to our work. To register your card call 1-877- 932-7948 and select Habitat for Humanity San Gabriel Valley (#49000113440). The eScrip program– eScrip is a hassle-free way to support our work. The program

and merchant partners have come together to create a system that rewards customer loyalty by contributing a percentage of pur-

chases to SGV Habitat for Humanity. When you register (link) your debit or credit cards with eScrip and shop at merchant partners such as Macy’s, OfficeMax, Vons, Eddie

Bauer, Baja Fresh, Carl’s Jr., Claim Jumper, and many more, you will help raise funds for SGV Habitat for Humanity. For a com-plete list of merchant partners and informa-tion on how you can register, go to www.escrip.com, click “sign-up,” and designate San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity to receive contributions (our Group ID is 500004323).

SGV Habitat Humanity can earn 10% of purchase amounts on thousands of par-ticipating products at eScrip partner stores from August 6th through September 9th. It is easy to take part. Look for participating products marked with a yellow school bus at the store. There are over 3,000 participat-ing products to choose from in this 10% promotion. Be sure to use your eScrip Club Card when you make purchases. If you are already registered with eScrip, a 10% con-tribution will be automatically donated to your group. If not, you can still participate by purchasing qualified items from Septem-ber 11 to October 15, saving your register receipts, and mailing them to SGV Habitat for Humanity.

Contact Sayaka Ota at 626-792-3838 x 14 or accounting@sgvhabitat.org

if you have questions.Thank you for supporting

SGV Habitat for Humanity.

During the Monrovia Old Homes Tour this spring, an enterprising young lady named Emily Curley set up a lemonade stand in her front yard. She had a rather successful day selling a refreshing beverage to passersby. Emily sent a letter to realtor Donna Baker and enclosed the proceeds from her sales. In the letter, Emily said, “I

would like to give the money that I earned to Habitat for Humanity.”

Emily, we at SGV Habitat for Hu-manity say, “Thank you” for your hard work and generous spirit. Because of your gift, we are closer to our goal of building four new affordable homes on Sherman Avenue in your home town of Monrovia. We hope that a family who buys one of those homes has a little girl who will have her own room that you helped provide.

If you, like Emily, want to help pro-vide safe, decent, affordable homes for de-serving, hard-working low-income buyers, please use the enclosed envelope to mail your gift. Simply write “Sherman Cam-paign” on the memo line of your check, and it will join Emily’s gift in making the dream of homeownership possible.

Emily’s Gift

habitat builder page 3

The Frausto Family Loves their New Habitat Home“Dad ! I can see your breath! It’s freez-

ing in here!” exclaimed Christian, age

10, when the Frausto family of four lived

in a one-bedroom, one-bath rental unit

with no heat. The dad, Enrique, had to

sleep in the only bedroom since he had to

leave for work at 5:00 a.m. His wife, Ber-

tha, Christian, and Karissah, 16, shared

space on the cold, living room floor. For

ten years the family shared one closet

with all their “stuff” pouring out when

they opened it. Even though they lived

in a friendly neighborhood with an un-

derstanding landlord, that did not make

up for the bathroom floor that was cor-

roded from water damage. The dream

of owning their own home was a vision

that never faded.

In 2004 they applied for Habitat’s Gar-

dena Homes but did not qualify. Bertha

was so disappointed that she cried for

days. Enrique, a medical supply man-

ager, considered moving out of state if

they were unable to qualify for a Habitat

home. Their dream, their vision, became

stronger. They would not give up.

In 2005 they applied for the Palmer

Homes in Glendale. When they found

out they qualified for one of the three

bedroom, 1 1/2 bath houses,

Bertha cried again--this time

tears of joy. After months of

giving 500 sweat equity hours

of work, on September 15, 2007

they received the keys to a

dream come true. Enrique was

in awe and disbelief. He kept

repeating, “There’s a second

floor! I’m going to get lost!”

He had such pride and stated,

“I helped build our home and

made wonderful friends. I also learned

the ‘tricks of the trade’!”

Rent on their tiny, unheated apartment

was a hefty $750 a month – for very lit-

tle. Now their payment of $889 on their

much bigger, comfortably heated own

home includes the interest-free mortgage

to SGV Habitat for Humanity, property

taxes, insurance and homeowners asso-

ciation dues.

All Habitat homeowners pay an in-

terest-free loan in order to cement their

commitment to maintaining their home

and help fund construction of more

affordable homes. Homeowners asso-

ciations are set up to make sure repairs

and replacements are made, when need-

ed, to the “common area” of each hous-

ing development.

When they moved in, the family final-

ly had some privacy. It took Christian

some adjustment to be by himself and

separate from his mom in his own bed-

room. Both children found they could

concentrate better in their new, quiet

home while doing their homework.

The Frausto family never gave up and

are now living their dream. Their lives

have been transformed and changed for-

ever. Their gratitude to Habitat and to all

the volunteers who made their dream a

reality is immeasurable.

A Habitat home is a hand up,

not a hand-out!

San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity770 North Fair Oaks AvenuePasadena, California 91103

NONPROFIT ORG.US POSTAGE PAID

PASADENA, CAPERMIT NO. 224

Please e-mail us so we can update our e-mail address mailing list:info@sgvhabitat.org

Builders Surplus Store Wins Best of Pasadena Award

SGV Habitat for Humanity has been selected for the 2008 Best of Pasadena Award in the Building Materials category by the U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA). The USLBA “Best of Local Business” Award Program recognizes outstanding local busi-nesses throughout the country. Each year, the USLBA identifies companies it believes have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. USLBA honors companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community. Congratulations to Store Manager Bill Anderson and his great crew for this outstanding achievement!

There’s still time to take advantage of a great offer to help SGV Habitat for Humanity build more affordable homes. Burke Williams Spa is donating 20% of all gift card sales to SGV Habitat for Humanity. The gift cards never expire. This promotion only runs through August 31, 2008, so order your cards today.

To order a gift card online, visit www.burkewilliamsspa.com/sgvhabitat08.htm

REMINDER!