A builder who won’t take no for an answer – Providence Homes perseveres!

I recently talked to one of our Homes for Hope builders In Jacksonville, Florida – Sean Junker from Providence Homes.  He told me about a challenge he’d encountered with the project and how he planned to handle it.  Listen to this:

“We just got an update on the market value where our home for hope is located and the discovered that lot value really has decreased.  We have re-proposed a price for the lot to the bank to be more in line with the market and I am waiting on a response.  If they do not accept our offer than we will move the home to another lot in a different community that we are confident we will be able to sell swiftly.  One way or another we are going to get this home going!”

Sean Junker, President & COO of Providence Homes on the site of their upcoming Homes for Hope project.  A builder on raw land is a picture of a modern-day pioneer – one who sees it before it’s there!  Check out their team…

http://www.providencehomesinc.com/about-providence-homes.html

I told Sean how much we appreciated the Providence Homes team and their trade partners for persevering in the face of  any & every challenge!

Be part of the Homes for Hope team – Help us continue to build as the market makes it’s slow steady comeback.

Antares Homes – a Homes for Hope Champion!

Last year I met Ron Formby – President and CEO of Antares Homes (www.antareshomes.com) – and it began an Antares Homes-Homes for Hope partnership which will grow “large” into the future.  After sharing the vision of Homes for Hope and how many people could be lifted out of poverty from just one home, Ron said, “I’m in.”

“We are one of only a few builders in the local area that have grown during this economic downturn”, said Ron Formby, the owner of Antares Homes. “We are excited to give back through supporting Homes for Hope. The trade partners of Antares Homes really stepped up to donate both materials and labor to build this home and maximize the contribution to Homes for Hope and the work of HOPE  International. We are so excited to be involved with something that has this much impact.”  The proceeds of the home will help struggling entrepreneurs in the developing world get their families out of poverty.

Ron is one of only 300 professional builders nationwide to attain a Graduate Master Builder (GMB) designation, identifying him and his company as one of the building industry’s top professionals. Administered by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the GMB program is sponsored by the Greater Fort Worth Builders Association and the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas.

“Our star has been green for years,” says Ron Formby, Antares president. “Antares has been quietly setting world-class benchmarks for energy efficiency, air quality, and environmental responsibility, then setting them higher. That’s the Antares  “Beyond Green philosophy.”  Antares currently builds in communities located in cities of Burleson, Crowley, Forth Worth, Mansfield, Saginaw, Texas.

Contact Homes for Hope and find out how you can be part of transforming lives from poverty to self-sufficiency in some of the poorest places on earth.  It really works!

Homes for Hope homebuyers, the Cherry family, take ownership of their new Antares home, which netted $50,000 for Homes for Hope, providing loans for nearly 500 entrepreneurs.

A small investment – a great impact for good!

I’m sometimes asked what kind of businesses entrepreneurs have in poor parts of the world; what kind of businesses can really be helped by a $100.00 loan.  The answer is: whatever kind of businesses are needed for each community.  It’s cottage industry environment which supports the local community. 

For example, on a trip to the Dominican Republic I was blessed to visit several such.  Two very excited ladies joyfully brought me into their “stool-making shop”. They had taken five gallon cans, put foam on the top and wrapped them in fabric.  Then they sold them in the maketplace.  With a “micro-loan” from HOPE International, our Homes for Hope (H4H) partner, they expanded their business. The other ladies in the picture also got loans for their businesses and together they began to provide for their families and build their communities.  It just works! 

When our H4H friends realize just how small a loan (as low as $50.00!) can help transform a life, they are amazed.  A builder who recently agreed to build a home for hope told me that he’d been looking a long time for a way to help alleviate poverty in the world – but wanted something that really worked, that really helped people help themselves.  “This is the best thing I’ve seen as far as helping the poor,” he said.

Visit us at www.homesforhope.org and find out how you can help folks like these work their families out of poverty…for good!

Brentwood Builders Breaks ground in Mt. Joy, PA

Last week I was privileged to be part of a groundbreaking for a Home for Home in Mt. Joy. As is so often the case I was surrounded by people from the local building industry whohad caught the vision of just what a home for hope can mean for so many of those in need.

So how does it work? Homes for Hope works with builders and their trade partners to build ahome for hope – a project in which no one makes a profit and which both the builders and tradesdonate their profit and often their cost, to create net revenue for Homes for Hope. Homes forHope, working in partnership with HOPE International, takes the profits (in this case and estimated $100,000) and makes loans – as little as $100 – to stuggling entrepreneurs in places like Haiti, Congoand Afghanistan – to help them work their families out of poverty.
Clair Hostteter, Brentwood’s founder & president put it this way; “We’d be thinking about doingthis for a quite some time and it just seemed like this was the right time. And I’m amazed that somany of our trade partners are giving all or a good portion of labor, materials or their services tothe projetct. This represents the heart of our industry.”
This really is the building industry putting its best foot forward – men and women, just like you, giving what they do for a living to help others help themselves.
You can be a part of Homes for Hope – this is a “handup” for those in need and I hope you’ll consider being a part. Visit our website (www.homes4hope.org) to and join us today in bringing practical help to those most in need aroundthe world – be part of the movement which helps people work their way out of poverty – for good!
Half of the proceeds from this home for hope will go to help struggling entrepreneurs in Afghanistan.

Texas Builder announces 2nd Home For Hope

I was excited during a recent visit with Steve Brooks, CEO of Grand Homes out of Dallas,
Texas. Last year Steve and the Grand Homes team completed their first Home for Hope
and generated over $150,000 for Homes for Hope (H4H) to help over 1,500 families out of
poverty in some of the poorest places in Africa in partnership with HOPE International.
This H4H project will be built in one of Grand Homes subdivision in McKinney Texas and is
scheduled to break ground in late August.
Steve told me that he and his team trade partners were very excited to be working with
Homes for Hope in support of the great work of HOPE International to help people work
their way out of poverty in some of the poorest places in the world.
It is truly amazing how this mission is catching the imagination of men and women in
the building industry throughout the country. And it is even more remarkable that it is
happening even as the building industry continues to navigate its way through one of the
toughest economies in recent history. But that typifies the character of members of the
American building industry – people who “find a way” no matter what the challenge.

1st photo: Steve Brook and Mike Lennon seal the model on Grand Homes 2nd Home For Hope! 2nd Photo: Steve Brooks in front of a Grand Homes in McKinney texas, the location of this H4H project.

Homes for Hope is grateful for the partnership with Grand Homes, a nationally recognized,
award-winning leader in the home building industry, exclusively in the Dallas-Fort Worth
Metroplex and looks forward to gathering momentum with other homebuilders in north
Texas region.
Please contact us to find out how you can be part of the Homes for Hope team in your area
of the country. There are many ways to help in our quest to give people a “hand up” to help
them find lives of hope and promise through their own efforts. A noble effort we can all be
proud of…

The “WHY” behind what we do!

Greetings!  Mike Lennon here… I recently visited the Dominican Republic with a group who were interested in the Home for Hope mission to help alleviate poverty among some of the world’s poorest – people who just want the opportunity to work to leave the ravages of poverty behind.  And I was struck during my visit by the children – who like children around the world, start life with hope and joy and a sense of wonder.  They don’t know that they live in poverty.  It’s not until they get older and have to fend for themselves that they realize that life for them will be mostly about survival.

But as I spent time with them I all at once realized, “wow, the help we are bringing their parents – the capital that will help them build businesses – will mean that these kids will never have to know the poverty their parents have known – the hand-to-mouth living that so many in the developing world live with their entire lives!”  And I thought again – what if we could catch the imagination of the American Building Industry family – I mean on a massive scale – what would that look like?

It would mean simply that tens of thousands of kids like these you see me with here would grow into all that God intended them to become.  And we – builders and trade partners – would have a HUGE part in making that a reality for tens of thousands of children – from the Dominican Republic – to Afghanistan – to the Republic of Congo and beyond!

At a time when we, in our own country, are experiencing economic challenges we haven’t seen for generations, we know what it is to fight to make ends meet, and no matter how desperate, we are a resilient people – especially those of us in the building industry.  We find a way…to survive and to thrive.  And we can “pay it forward”; the proceeds of just one Home for Hope can help lift thousands out of poverty for good!

Won’t you consider joining the Homes for Hope team in a truly noble quest to reach beyond our borders into some of the toughest places in the world – to bring opportunity to those most in need?  Remember the kids.  To find out more please visit us at www.homes4hope.org.

“We live life at the highest level when we give the best we have for those most in need.”

One builders reaction to seeing micro finance in action

I recently joined John and Lisa Fox, John’s two brothers and four others from Foxbuilt, Inc., a Harrisburg, PA-based homebuilder, on a “vision trip” to the Dominican Republic. The purpose was for the Foxbuilt team to see the impact that Homes for Hope (H4H) is making in helping people escape the ravages of poverty. The team spent time with entrepreneurs working their way out of poverty thanks to small loans funded by the Homes for Hope program. John spoke for the team when he described the experience.
“It was amazing to see how much can happen to transform lives with such a small loan. We visited HOPE International clients in order to see who the funds from our upcoming Homes for Hope project would impact the poor. We were blessed and impressed. These micro-loans are making a dramatic difference in the lives of thousands of people simply looking for a hand-up, a chance to work to support their families.”

A Home for Hope: The Foxbuilt team has decided to break ground on its first homes for hope project on August 2nd with a goal of being done in six weeks. The house is scheduled to be in the Parade of Homes sponsored by the Harrisburg Homebuilders Association. And wonderfully, the home is a “pre-sale” which means a buyer has already committed to the purchase the property. A community celebration will be held to recognize the efforts of all those “giving back” so others can have hope for new lives. To learn more about Foxbuilt Homes, click here.

John told me that the home is expected to generate $150,000 for Homes for Hope and the work of HOPE International, that means 1,500 $100 loans – and at five in a family – 7,500 people will leave poverty behind…in places like China, Romania, Afghanistan and the Dominican Republic. Homes for Hope is extremely grateful and proud of our new partnership with Foxbuilt, Inc. They are “giving back” at a time when many people are “pulling back”. My hearty congratulations to their team for a pioneering effort! Thousands will break the cycle of poverty because of their passion and commitment.
To find out more about homes for hope – visit our website: www.homes4hope.org.

Providence Homes puts Florida back on Map

Providence Homes just broke ground on its fourth Homes for Hope (H4H) project.   My friend, Sean Junker (holding the shovel below) is leading the effort on the team’s fourth Homes for Hope project in six years.  With the proceeds of this home, Providence will eclipse the $250,000 mark of funds generated for H4H.  About the heart Sean and the Providence team put into this, I can’t say it any better than he did…
“These are still challenging times for our company and for our trade partners,” said Junker. “We are all digging out from a pretty big hole created by the economic downturn, but we felt it was still important that we step up and make this commitment, which will result in helping thousands of people work their way out of poverty in the world’s poorest places…and it is an incredible team building benefit for us.” To learn more about Providence Homes owner Bill Cellar, Sean and Providence Homes, click here.

What can I say!? Homes for Hope is so incredibly grateful for the Providence team commitment and passion to help others in need help themselves. Here’s a company and many of their trade partner companies reaching out to help in the face of hard economic times and at a clear sacrifice to themselves.  This is the best of the human heart.

The $250,000 I mentioned above will translate into 2,500 $100 loans to struggling entrepreneurs in the some of the poorest places on earth, like Haiti, Afghanistan and Africa.  The loans are paid back with interest in six to eight months.  The business owners, which typically have families of five or six, are then able to feed their kids better, provide better health and education and start living their dreams – the same ones you and I have.  And if you do the math (say five in a family) that’s 12,500 people beginning to leave poverty behind for good in less than a year. Pretty amazing.

To find out more about Homes for Hope or to join our team, visit our website.

We want to say “THANK YOU!”

Homes For Hope would like to thank all the builders and sponsors that make our organization possible. In no particular order,

• Bigelow Homes
• Cornerstone Concepts
• Destiny Homes
• French Brothers
• Hess Homes
• KDC
• Providence Homes
• Stewart
• Tricord Homes
• Antares Homes
• Country Joe Homes
• EGStoltzfus
• Grand Homes
• Keystone Custom Homes
• Manley Homes
• Radcliffe Homes
• TJ Bednar Homes
• Village Homes

Thanks again!

How does Homes For Hope work?

What is a Home for Hope?

How It Works

A builder typically donates all or some of the cost of a lot and his/her profit and overhead. Trade partners—subcontractors, suppliers, and consultants—donate all or some of the cost of labor, materials, and consulting services. Others associated with building a home, such as banks, title and escrow companies, and other service firms, may also be involved by waiving fees or making financial donations in support of a Homes for Hope project.

Builder Benefits of a Homes for Hope Project

The benefits to builders, their trades, and the local building community are many. Here are just a few:

• Builders and trades can help address poverty—one of the world’s greatest challenges—by doing what they do best.
• The local building industry (and homebuilding association) increases its reputation for philanthropy by involving hundreds of members in a high-impact project.
• Builders create stronger bonds with their trade partners through a team-building effort that helps thousands of people with just one project.
• The goodwill created by a Homes for Hope project forges stronger synergy and productivity for builders and trade partners in their every day “for profit” work.
• This building industry program becomes another visible expression of the building industry’s generosity and an example for others to follow in charitable giving.