News
2009 Build:
Sandstone, MN (Pine County)
Family Selection Underway- and Volunteer Recruitment Underway! See Details Below.
THANK YOU RV CARE-A-VANNERS FOR COMING TO ECM Habitat!
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RV Care-A-Vanners are coming to Sandstone, MN from around the nation in June 2009 to assist local volunteers build homes for families in need. We warmly welcome and appreciate you! |
July 2008 Habitat Care-A-Vanners' RVs arrived in Onamia to build two homes. These hard-working dedicated crews with assistance from the community and families accomplished miracles in two weeks |
FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - "Thoughts on Divine Tenderness"
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Wayne Eller |
My dear friends, every child who gets tired at night should have a decent place to lay its precious head. Each building season more children of your struggling neighbors benefit from East Central Minnesota Habitat's program. We have now built homes for 79 little ones and their respective parents. Allow me to profile three families. Although the parents of all these children were hard working, the fruit of their labor did not allow them to escape their housing situation. The first of these is a wonderful family of eight children and their remarkable mother; all of which were living in a deplorable overcrowed housing situation that threatened their health. Their courageous mom, is a cancer survivor. Our second profile is of a family of four who lived in a mold infested house trailer with caving leaky ceilings and buckled floors. The third is a family with six children. Three of those children are autistic and two have cystic fibrosis with many special needs. The family's finances forced them to make do in a two bedroom house. God’s protective merciful compassion and tender Divine respect for children is clear and instructive throughout the Old and New Testaments. Perhaps you have a favorite verse that paints a mental image to demonstrate God’s Love for those in need of His grace. Allow me to share mine. It is the metaphor used by Jesus (Luke 13:34) as he drew upon the pastoral experience of his listeners and compared himself to a vigilant and instinctively protective mother hen. “…How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings,…” Habitat volunteers, donors, and those who support with their prayers have gathered these children under their protective wings to build them a safe decent affordable home; a place to lay down their cares and sleepy heads. |
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ECM HFH seeks grants and professional volunteer labor from community businesses and Organizations. Grant participation significantly contributs to the construction of decent, safe, and affordable homes for deserving families in East Central MN. And will allowing ECM Habitat to search for added opportunities to build additional homes in our service area.
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Pine City School Teens work on Habitat Work site!
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graduating teens from the Pine City Area school system constructed 8’x10’ storage sheds for the Braham, willow River, Mora, HINCKLEY, Pease and Onamia Habitat for Humanity homes. They finished the sheds and then worked on the Habitat houses under the watchful eye of their school instructors and advisors. the labor of these students and other volunteers will insure that the new homeowners will have an opportunity to live in a wonderful community and grow into all that God intends for them
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See more Photos on the youth activities page! Click Here |
HFH CELEBRATES THE COMPLETION OF NEW HABITAT HOMES
Eash late summer and/or early Autumn, ECM HFH hosts home dedications and open houses on behalf of the new Habitat partner families. Volunteers and neighbors joined to celebrate and congratulate the families.
Family Selection Criteria
Listed below is an outline of the basic family selection criteria. Please read through these initial criteria and decide if you feel you fall within these guidelines and are interested in partnering with Habitat. If you have any questions call our office toll free at 1-866-600-0288 or email us at chabitat@ecenet.com
FAMILY SELECTION GUIDELINES:
• You and your family must work a combined total of 250 hours (this labor is called “sweat equity”) on the building of your home. Once moved in, you must be a good steward of your home.
• A housing need: You must be currently living in inadequate, over-crowded, or substandard housing. Your income must be too low to secure conventional financing, but sufficient to make monthly payments required on a no-profit, no-interest ECM Habitat for Humanity mortgage.
• You must have lived in our five county service area for at least one year prior to the date on your application (counties include Pine, Mille Lacs, Kanabec, Isanti , and Chisago.)
• At the time of application, your combined family income cannot exceed the maximum in the following categories for your family.
Maximum Allowable Income
Counties |
1 to 4 Person(s) |
Five Persons |
Six Persons |
Seven Persons |
Eight Persons |
Chisago/Isanti |
37,657 |
40,688 |
43,688 |
46,719 |
49,719 |
Pine/Mille Lacs/Kanabec |
32,563 |
35,188 |
37,781 |
40,406 |
43,000 |
• If accepted $100 is required as a down payment before construction of your home begins. There will be a short time to save approximately $500 for closing costs and $500 for the purchase of Home Owner Insurance which must be paid at the closing on the mortgage (which will be when the construction of your home is complete).
• All person's to be potentially living in a Habitat house must be willing to have their name and photo used in publicity for our organization (publicity usually includes but is not exclusive to local newspapers, our Habitat newsletter, web-site and local radio stations).
CONTACT
US AT:
ECM Habitat for Humanity
PO Box 529 - 206 Ashland Street South
Cambridge MN 55008
E-MAIL: chabitat@ecenet.com
Volunteers requested to join us at one of these meetings
ECM Habitat for Humanity will host an open house date yet to be determined!
There will be a second open house date to be determined. Those interested in learning about Habitat's family selection process, volunteer opportunities, or just curious about Habitat for Humanity are invited to attend. Treats and coffee will be served.
For volunteers who get involved in building a Habitat house, it is very satisfying, rewarding and fun experience. Please join the meeting for more information. Click here for volunteer opportunities
Building experience is helpful but not necessary.
Habitat homes are not a giveaway program. The selected family will be very proud that they earn their ownership in part by their sweat equity labor and in part through monthly no interest house payments. Each family will work a minimum of 250 hours on their new home. They will make a house payment that will include their taxes and insurance just like every other homebuyer.
For many of our hard-working neighbors, the fruit of their labor does not allow them to escape sub-standard housing or poverty housing.