Still riding the momentum

Habitat for Humanity Los Angeles is still riding the wave of momentum that the JCWP 2007 gave us, Even though the 2008 JCWP (Now called the Jimmy AND Rosalyn Carter Work Project) in the gulf is right around the corner! The San Pedro and Vermont Village homes should be completed by the end of February, when a block party is planned for the new residents and their neighbors! Stay tuned for more information about that! Also, if you want to be part of the next JRCWP, check out their site for more info.

We also found a great blog by one of the Jimmy Carter Work Project volunteers from Singapore! Check out her awesome blog and pictures here!

A Kid at Heart

Rosemary Le is an active volunteer from Home Depot, one of our wonderful JCWP sponsors, who is having a very productive day. She was working so hard that it took several attempts to approach her.

"I'm having so much fun! Today I am installing siding, I learned how to use the power scissors, a nail gun and the saw!"

As excited Rosemary is about power tools, she's way more excited about the playground she's been coordinating for the children of this neighborhood with Home Depot partner Kaboom.




"Oh I can't wait for it! On December 6 we'll be out here for a six-hour event to construct their playground! People from our stores will be volunteering as well as the kids in this neighborhood who are over 13. The coolest part is that a month ago we had a 'design day' where all the kids helped us design their playground. We are trying our best to incorporate their suggestions into the final design."

Rosemary was building on this day with the Gonzalez family who happen to have 6 kids - which we're positive will love the playground!

The Party always ends up in the Kitchen!

We wandered into the kitchen of a house on the Vermont site where we met Kevin Blackburn(Right) a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.

Kevin: This is my First JCWP, but I’ve built with other Habitat affiliates. I’m really excited to be here. We have 15 employees participating from San Francisco and another 18 from Citi National which is our partner. Together we have donated $300,000 to this project. This is such a blessing, it’s great to be able to do this, We are volunteers, but this is better than working for a living!

Then Kevin’s friend and collegue Dwight Alexander(Left) joined in. This is Dwights 12th Habitat Build and his first time volunteering at a Jimmy Carter Work Project. Dwight was eager to share his thoughts about volunteering with Habitat.

Dwight: 1 out of 4 Habitat homes has been built with the help of Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco! I think Key Day is the Best!

The two agreed that watching a family get the keys to their new home is always the best part!

Kevin: We have done a lot of openings, I’m a softy, I always cry!

Dwight and Kevin both suggested reasons to volunteer and how they plan to remain involved with Habitat For Humanity after the JCWP.

Dwight: We both have kids that are almost teenagers, and we were just talking about how when they’re old enough we want to involve them, make it a family event!

Kevin: I would suggest anybody do this, if you take a week of your vacation time, or another week, this is an opportunity that will change your life!

Shomari Davis is electrified by his JCWP experience

This is Shomari Davis’ first JCWP and his first time building with Habitat for Humanity. “I always wanted to get involved before, but I was always late!” he said. “This is a ground-breaking project, I’m proud to be here.”

Shomari works at IBEW, and his team has been putting all of the electricity and solar panels throughout the new homes. “The teamwork is phenomenal,” he said. “The volunteers are helping so much, putting the solar panels together so when we install them, everything is ready to go.”

Installing the electricity has allowed Shomari to meet quite a few of the Partner families. “I’ve talked to one family about the process and she was really excited, scared, but knew that she was headed in the right direction. I want to meet more of them.”

Shomari is surprised at the good feeling and the energy that everybody is bringing out. “The Collaborations are awesome. Knowing that you are doing something for people is awesome! Seeing the President come out as well as other people is so exciting.” Shomari was most surprised at his own feelings of gratification. “You are helping people, but you are also helping yourself.”

L.A. City Councilwoman Janice Hahn shares personal story with Carter Family

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn has been instrumental in bringing the Jimmy Carter Work Project here. "When I heard that they were looking for a site for this year's JCWP, I wrote a letter reminding the Carters of their long history with the Hahn family, and how honored we would be to have them in Los Angeles," Hahn Said.

Hahn has spent the week building side by side with people from all over the world as well as with new members of her council district. She spent Monday building with new homeowner Cassandra Torres, and shared how she was inspired by all of the women she met that day. Hahn has been a Habitat for Humanity volunteer since 1983, and this is her first Jimmy Carter Work Project. When the JCWP came to Los Angeles the first time, her father held her council seat and he was there.

"My father was the LA county campaign chair when he [Carter] ran for office. My dad and he became good friends after he was elected. When he was running, my Dad showed him around Watts." Hahn Shared a very personal family story that brought tears to our eyes when we heard it.

"After they became friends, he invited my dad to come onto AirForceOne. It's every politicians dream to be fly on AirForceOne. He asked my dad, 'Why don't you fly with me from Kansas City to D.C.' and my dad looked at the date and it was my parents 31st wedding anniversary. My dad had his secretary call back and politely decline with the information that it was his anniversary. Jimmy Carter's office immediately called back and said 'Bring your wife.' And when they boarded AirForceOne President Carter gave my mom Roses."

"Tuesday Night we had dinner in San Pedro and sat at a table beside the Carters, and we went over to take a quick picture with them, and he said on one condition that I get to have a picture alone with your mother. And he said to my mom I want you to know how much your family has meant to ours throughout the years. It was really nice for him to say that to my mom, he is a wonderful man."

Hahn's amazing stories of the relationship her family has with the Carter's only makes her involvement with the JCWP 2007 more special for her. She is constantly telling everybody how grateful she is for their hard work, and her final note was, "This is not a burden or a chore, this is going to change your life!"

A Brush With Kindness Gives a Home a Facelift

Donna Russell is a hard working mother of three, who moved into her house in 1978. She raised her family there, and all now attend college. One recently graduated from California State University, another is at UCLA and her son is in school to be a computer engineer. Donna is proud of her children, and is now eager to devote some time to her house.

Her house is 77 years old, and when she heard at a local neighborhood meeting that she could give her house some much needed repair, she jumped at the opportunity. She hoped that she had a chance to receive some help from A Brush With Kindness, and she seemed thrilled to have everybody there working on her home.

“Everything is wrong with it. There were at least 20 things wrong with the house from the plumbing on up. I had no back door, and they replaced it, they’ve replaced broken windows, I have an old furnace that hasn’t worked in at least 15 years, and they are even looking at that to see if they can get it working!” she said. Donna can’t wait to give back to Habitat for Humanity and help those like her. “The time that the volunteers put in is really heartwarming,” she said, “I wish I was retired so I could do this more often!”

When he's done on the roof, he'll start on the Flowers!

“I love meeting so many new people with common interests.”

Ryan is the dept. manager of Lawn and Garden for Lowe’s Long Beach and it’s his first JCWP. It’s a lot bigger than he thought it would be but he’s having a great time. He’s been painting, cleaning and framing windows since he’s been here.

With some construction experience, he says it’s been nice to share his knowledge with others who are building for the first time. “Seeing people out there with no building experience is great! From simple to complex, they are all doing it.”

When Ryan told his mom he’s been nominated to be one of the Lowe’s volunteers here this year, she was thrilled. “She started telling me that I’d see President Carter and all about the build, she knew more about it than I did and she was so happy! It got me really excited.”

Ryan is already planning to build with Habitat as often as he can locally…guess he’s got Habititis too.

Miss World Proves She's Got Major Skills

Former Miss World and Bollywood Celebrity, Diana Hayden, first found us during last year’s JCWP in her native India. When the beauty queen walked onto the build site, no one dreamed she’d be as capable and enthusiastic a builder as she is!

This year’s JCWP is Diana’s fifth build, she’s built locally in L.A., the Gulf and Africa, and she says her favorite place to be on top of the home roofing! She’ll be here all week working hard and spending time with the families.

“Each family is so amazing. They are why we do this. Why else would we wake up at 5:45 am and brave the L.A. traffic to get here? I am completely energized by this experience and the faces of each of the families.”

Today Diana is painting, roofing and sawing and next she’s going to learn how to operate a nail gun. She’s totally pumped. “Today I taught a man to use a power saw!”

Diana will be here all week shaming the daylights out of the male volunteers!

JCWP Los Angeles news story!

Here is a recent news story on abc7.com. Check out the story by clicking the link below!
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=5732315