The Ground Blessing for Kristie's Family will be Sunday, March 25, at 2 pm in the Rigden Farm Subdivision. Ten Presbyterian churches in the Fort Collins area are again joining to sponsor and build a Fort Collins Habitat for Humanity home for a deserving family. The churches plan to complete construction later this summer. Participating churches include Buckhorn Presbyterian, Christ Fellowship, Cornerstone Presbyterian, First Presbyterian, Grace Church, Harmony Presbyterian, LaPorte Presbyterian, The Gathering at Windsor, Timnath Presbyterian, and Westminster Presbyterian.

Kristie's family eagerly anticipates becoming part of a neighborhood where they will have the opportunity to make a long-term investment in their community. Having been chosen as the next PresBuild II sponsorship recipient, Kristie looks forward to working with numerous Presbyterian churches who will help make her dream of homeownership a reality.

 "Being selected as a Partner Family allows me to fulfill a dream, a dream I thought was out of my reach. I am very proud to be part of this extraordinary endeavor. These churches are not only building a house where my daughter and I can build our future, they are building our home. We are filled with hope, gratitude and encouragement." 

I can tell you that I wasn't too disappointed to learn that the popular TV Show, "Extreme Home Makeover," a huge television hit, has been canceled. Because of that show, many people have gotten the impression that Habitat for Humanity just gives its houses away. I can tell you right now, we're not the "Move that bus" people.

One of the reasons the Fort Collins community supports Habitat is because we are not a give-away program. Habitat families work hard to build their homes, pay a monthly mortgage payment and, ultimately, they become successful homeowners. And unlike on the TV show, our homeowners aren't spirited to Disneyland while local contractors "transform" their home or build them a new one. Habitat families work right along side faithful and dedicated volunteers and get to experience every detail that goes into the construction of their future home.

Families invest 300 hours of sweat-equity for a single-parent family, and 500 hours for a dual-parent family. That may not sound like a lot, but our families also must be employed to qualify for and afford that mortgage payment. Because they hold down full-time jobs, their only time to work on their homes is on Saturday. It often takes a full year of Saturdays to satisfy their sweat equity requirement. They also attend a 13-week financial literacy course held in the evenings.

Are you under the impression that we serve extremely low-income families? We serve low-income families, for sure, but they must be able to afford the mortgage and have a good credit history. We serve families earning between 35 percent and 60 percent of the Area Median Income. This means Habitat families have an income of between $26,845 and $46,020 for a family of four.

The reason families can afford to purchase a home through Habitat is because we charge no interest. We are a Christian organization and follow the Christian principle that we don't make money - even in the form of interest - off those less fortunate. The Habitat success stories would astound you. I wish everyone would have the opportunity to sit across a table from our amazing families and hear how owning their home has changed their lives.

Because we are a "grass-roots" organization, we raise the money to build right here in our community. Habitat raises the money to fund the home before it even begins building because Habitat ultimately becomes the lender at the closing table. And building homes in Fort Collins isn't inexpensive. The cost to build our small, simple homes is $185,000.

Right now, we are looking for our next Habitat homeowners. Put on your thinking cap. Do you know of anyone who might be the perfect candidate? Go to the website www.fortcollinshabitat.org, to get all the information on applying or call our Family Services Coordinator, Theresa Bain, at 488-2605. Prospective homeowners must attend one of two orientations and have their completed applications in by Feb. 10.

Although we're not moving buses, we sure are changing lives.

Candace S. Mayo is executive director of Fort Collins Habitat for Humanity.

From the Fort Collins Coloradoan: http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012201230307

On October 16, 2011 at 2:00 PM, volunteers, Habitat for Humanity representatives, Thrivent Financial representatives and members, and, of course, the excited partner family gathered at 3115 Chase Drive, Unit C to honor the hard work, the generous financial backing and the community support that made this home possible.

The homebuyers, Michelle and her three children, were more than a little eager to move into their new home. They have completed over 300 hours of "sweat equity" helping to build the home, a basic tenet of Habitat for Humanity. They will repay the no-profit mortgage over a period of 30 years, illustrating Habitat for Humanity's objective to give families a "hand up" rather than a "hand out."

At the dedication, Michelle told the crowd, "I am glad to live in a neighborhood that will allow my children to trick-or-treat for Halloween and make new friends."

The new home, located at 3115 Chase Drive, Unit C, is a result of a partnership between Habitat for Humanity International and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Called Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity, this partnership has resulted in more than 2,500 decent, affordable homes across the country and around the world since 2005.

Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity program is such a blessing to local Habitat Affiliates across the country and is especially appreciated here in Fort Collins," said Candace Mayo, Executive Director.  "Through this amazing partnership, we have built four homes in our Rigden Farm Community and created permanently affordable housing. It has been a fantastic partnership."

The total six-year commitment from Thrivent Financial now surpasses $150 million. Thanks to its 2.6 million members who own financial products with the organization, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is able to contribute to the improvement of communities like Fort Collins. Thrivent Financial contributed 55 percent of the house costs a total of $87,725 for this home,and is also engaging local volunteers who are members of Thrivent Financial, members of area Lutheran churches and members of the community at large, to donate additional funds and volunteer their time to work alongside the partner families to build these homes.

To learn more, visit www.thriventbuilds.com.  Check out more photos from the dedication!

The U.S. Green Building Council has approved the certification of the LEED home at 3115 Chase Dr., Unit B in Fort Collins, Colo. This home, also known as the Rigden #7 home, was built by Fort Collins Habitat for Humanity and supported by the LEED for Homes Provider, EnergyLogic. 

This project received a "LEED Gold" rating. LEED Gold means that the home received between 75 and 89 LEED for Homes points. The rating system guarantees minimum levels of sustainable practice through 18 different prerequisites in eight credit categories. LEED for Homes LEED for Homes is an initiative designed to promote the transformation of the mainstream homebuilding industry toward more sustainable practices.

LEED for Homes targets the top 25% of new homes with best practice environmental features. A LEED-certified home is designed and constructed in accordance with the rigorous guidelines of the LEED for Homes green building certification program. 

LEED for Homes is a consensus-developed, third party-verified, voluntary rating system which promotes the design and construction of high-performance green homes. To acheive this standard, Fort Collins Habitat for Humanity partnered with HabitatPRO. HabitatPRO is a unique LEED Project Experience program that gives those seeking LEED accreditation an extraordinary opportunity to learn LEED by actually doing LEED. Learn more about HabitatPRO by clicking here.