Homes for Hope recently teamed up with our newest builder partner, Clarity Homes, to break ground on beautiful new home in a golf course community. Clarity’s president, Justin Bauer, kept it plain and simple; “I talked to my family about the project and we all felt it was just the right thing to do.”
Proceeds from the home for hope are estimated to be from $70,000 to $100,000. Homes for Hope will work use the funds to make loans to struggling entrepreneurs in the developing world, helping them to build businesses which will help their families break the cycle of poverty for good.

Homes for Hope Executive Director put it this way, “When you consider the fact the an average first loan is about $100.00, you can see how this home will literally help thousands out of poverty, never to return to it.”
The home will be part of a July Home Expo , sponsored by the Homebuilders Association of Greater Des Moines, where literally thousands with tour the newly completed home – and just maybe one of them will the buyer…

For more information on Homes for Hope – contact Jack Nulty, Homes for Hope Executive Director at jnulty@homes4hope.org

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Tri-Emerald Outreach – Homes for Hope

A new and powerful partnership!

State College, PA:  At the recent July meetings of the Pennsylvania Builders Association (PBA), I had the opportunity to help launch a new relationship which will greatly benefit our Homes for Hope organization. Homes for Hope (H4H), a PBA premier partner, and Tri-Emerald Outreach, a PBA member, announced a partnership which will bring financial help to tens of thousands of struggling entrepreneurs in some of the world’s toughest places.

Dick Kile, one of the founders of the Tri-Emerald Financial Group, expressed his excitement about the new partnership. “In the years I’ve been in business, I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about an opportunity that will help so many people find hope for new lives,” he said.

Tri-Emerald Outreach is a 501c3 charitable nonprofit whose mission is to provide charitable donations to qualified charities on behalf of the customers of Tri-Emerald Financial Group, Inc. Here’s how the H4H—Tri-Emerald partnership works:

• Homes for Hope refers a new home sale or resale to the Tri-Emerald Outreach Team.
• The realtor partner in the transaction agrees to donate a portion of the realty company’s commission to Tri-Emerald Outreach.
• Tri-Emerald Financial also donates a percentage of the loan amount to Tri-Emerald Outreach, which in turn donates these combined proceeds to Homes for Hope.

The realtors benefit by becoming part of the growing Tri-Emerald network; the new home builder benefits by establishing access to a list of qualified buyers. The homebuyer has the satisfaction of knowing that their home purchase has resulted in benefiting Homes for Hope and its mission to help alleviate poverty around the world!

Homes for Hope, through its partner HOPE International, provides small (micro) loans to struggling entrepreneurs in some of the poorest places in the world, such as Haiti, Afghanistan, and Rwanda.  This new partnership will represent a significant addition to our ability to help provide more loans as people literally work themselves out of poverty.

For more information on the new H4H/Tri-Emerald partnership and how you can get involved, email us at info@homes4hope.org or call Mike Lennon at 714-812-9390. To learn more about Tri-Emerald Outreach, visit their website at www.triemeraldoutreach.org. Stay tuned for more information as the partnership launches throughout Pennsylvania and California.

(l-r) Dick Kile, co-founder, Tri Emerald Financial; Lou Biacchi, Executive Officer, Pennsylvania Builders Association; Mike Lennon, Executive Director, Homes for Hope

For example, on a trip to the Dominican Republic I was blessed to visit several such businesses, and one is pictured below.  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.  Ninety-six percent of all HOPE loans are paid back on time (usually 6 months) with interest! 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.  Without fail, the builders and trade partners I talk to  are amazed and stunned  that such a small investment can have such a great impact.

One 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, and really helped people help themselves.  “This is the best thing I’ve ever seen as far as helping the poor,” he said.  “We’re proud to support Homes for Hope and the HOPE International mission to help people work themselves out of poverty.”

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

Happy Haitian entrepreneurs in the Domincan Republic don’t consider themselves poor. Each of these ladies received a small loan which will helped them expand their business and guide their families out of poverty for good!

Our partner Lance Wood led a group of about 70 folks, mostly from Mariners church in Southern California.   Our weekend mission: To build homes for three deserving families, to hold a Saturday vacation bible school event for over 100 local kids and their families, and to go out into the community with the gospel for those who were ready to hear.

It was an amazing weekend, indeed!  In addition to building the homes and the joyous celebration that followed, about 20 of our team met at a local church to work with community members to do games, and arts and crafts – with lots of prizes – for scores of local kids from ages 1 to 14.  It was an amazing integration of cultures, so much so, that language became no barrier (some of the kids are pictured below).

And, as if waiting for us, the community responded – over 300 of them on three separate occasions to outdoor open air meetings to the good news of Jesus Christ. This was led by Bob Sanders of Baja Christian Ministries (in white hat in group photo below).  Bob’s passion reflects both a desire to help Mexico’s underserved in a practical way. Under BCM’s leadership over 1800 homes have been built for deserving families.  And his actions are equaled by his passion to help folks connect to God to provide a lasting hope for life.

The HOPE connection.  Partners like Lance and Jeanie Wood and their kids reflect the heart of HOPE International’s desire to be a holistic help to those in need – providing empowerment to help those who need just a hand up to have a better life here…and ever-after!

I have also enjoyed seeing the relationships that the people at Homes for Hope have with their builders.  This organization is obviously not just about charity.  The people at Homes for Hope genuinely care about the people that they work with, in the building industry, and work for, in the poorest countries in the world.  In a time when the economic forecast can be grim, the team here has been innovative and has found new ways to connect with the building industry to continue to help families in the poorest countries in the world.

I feel incredibly lucky to get to work for such an organization, one that cares about the well-being of clients on both ends.  I am also lucky to work for an organization that has allowed me to grow as a professional and as a follower of Christ.  My internship is based in Lancaster, PA, and here, I get to interact with the Hope International staff on a daily basis.  They have taught me so much about helping the poor through microfinance and savings circles, and have helped me realize and heal some of the spiritual poverty in my own life.  I have also learned how to deal with an eight to five work day—hello corporate America!  Thank you for supporting Homes for Hope, and through them, entrepreneurs around the world.

To get involved, contact Mike Lennon at mlennon@homes4hope.org.

Blessings from PA,

Aislinn the Intern (See Picture Below)

On my first trip to the Dominican Republic, I had the opportunity to meet two Haitian women who were about to take out their first microloan with HOPE International. The setting was a compound in a sugar cane field. It was my first “Bank of HOPE” meeting and, as it turned out, a life-changing experience for me.

In all, 16 women were being qualified to take out loans for their small business. Most sat in disbelief in the open air meeting while the bank representatives explained how everything would work – the responsibility of the entrepreneurs and the support of HOPE and HOPE’s in-country partner, Esperanza. And then it happened. Helen, the Esperanza presenter stopped her presentation and said with firmness and sincerity, “Ladies, God sent us here to help you.”

It was like an awakening. The women sat up straighter, got more focused and signed their pledge forms as the meeting ended. I then found myself in a circle of 20 people – our 16 budding entrepreneurs and several Esperanza staff – joining hands and praising God. Before my eyes, these women were transformed from defeat to hope. All because they were given opportunity, instead of a handout.

Immediately after the celebration, two of the women each grabbed one of my hands and took me across to a little room with a hard dirt floor. It was their place of business, very clean and operational. Six other ladies watched with anticipation as they showed me their work. Their business was to make stools by covering empty 5-gallon steel containers with foam, wrapping them in fabric, and selling the final product in the marketplace. My joyful response stoked their pride and affirmed their dignity.

Through loans under $200, these women – and thousands of others across the world – are being transformed, working their way out of poverty for good, and bringing needed change to their communities. We all have real struggles that we must attend to, but it is encouraging to see that so many can be helped by so little.

To get involved, contact me at mlennon@homes4hope.org.

Dedication of a Home for Hope in Greenville, South Carolina. Mike Lennon and Mark Nyblom, the builder.

Dedication of a Home for Hope in Greenville, South Carolina. Mike Lennon, Mark Nyblom, the builder, and the people who attended the dedication.

 

Two weeks ago, I was privileged to join Mark Nyblom, president of Rosewood Communities, for the dedication of its first home for hope.  It was a great experience.

Said Mark, “I knew from the beginning this was something we wanted to do. When I heard that these are loans that are paid back 98% of the time with interest, I was confident our team and our trade partner family would catch the vision and give all they could.”

When I talked with Mark and his brother, Tomas, several months ago they were confident of netting between $60K and $70K for the Homes for Hope mission.  The final tally: Rosewood Communities’ home for hope will generated over $90,000! Through the work of HOPE International, this incredible gift will help fund small business loans (microloans) for aspiring entrepreneurs in 14 of the poorest countries in the developing world, such as Haiti, Afghanistan, Romania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mark said that when he did the books to determine the contributions of all of his subcontractors suppliers and consultants, he was amazed at the generosity; “These guys really got the message; they understood that we were doing God’s work to help the poor help themselves.”

One of his trade partners, Robert Childers for Victory Air & Heating, spoke powerfully at the dedication event. He said, “This is a privilege; an honor.  I know this is something we are doing because it’s the right thing to do and I really appreciate the opportunity to be part of it all.”

This is an experience being repeated across the country… men and women doing what they do best – building homes and communities and, in this case, building so others can realize their dreams as well.

To find out more about Rosewood Communities go to:  www.rosewoodcommunities.com.

If you would like to support a home for hope and find out how you can be involved, please contact us at info@homes4hope.org or call Executive Director, Mike Lennon, at 714-812-9390. 

H4H partnership: Over the years EG Stoltzfus has completed six homes for hope, generating in excess of $500,000 for the H4H program which supports the mission and ministry of HOPE International.  HOPE helps struggling entrepreneurs in the developing world work themselves out of poverty through small (micro) loans.  EG Stoltzfus president, Brent Stoltzfus, is precise regarding this conviction:

“I’m thrilled by the great leveraging opportunity both here and abroad.  On the home front, it gives our team and our trade partners a chance to do what we do for a living – build! – to help some of the poorest people in the get out of poverty.  And globally, through HOPE’s microloan program, tens of thousands of struggling entrepreneurs are able to work their families and communities out of poverty… you can’t beat that!”

So who is EG Stoltzfus? For the past 40 years EG Stoltzfus has been constructing top-quality  homes and building a reputation based on the vision of their founder, Elam G. Stoltzfus, Jr., of providing “a square deal” to their customers who are so happy that they refer new jobs to the company.  In fact, 98% of its customers say they would refer EG Stoltzfus to a friend or relative.  That is its own statement of their character.

The company’s commitment to help others through programs like Homes for Hope extends to the local community, the nation and the world. We are all really blessed that the company is deeply committed to sharing their success with those less fortunate than themselves and to contributing the organization’s time and financial resources both locally and globally.

Homes for Hope is both proud and privileged to have partners such as Brent and the EG Stoltzfus team.  If you would like to know more about Homes for Hope, please visit our website and/or give me a call.

Mike Lennon, Executive Director, 714-812-9390

Photo: Thomas Nyblom, Mike Lennon, & Mark Nyblom

Happy New Year’s from Homes for Hope! About two months ago I visited the Greenville, South Carolina area and met Mark Nyblom, President of Rosewood Communities.  Mark and his brother, Thomas, heard the story of Homes for Hope and the work we do through our partner, HOPE International. After about 45 minutes of discussion, Mark reached across the table and said, “We’re in.”

Photo: H4H trade partner meeting

As we continued to talk, he expressed how he really grasped the vision of helping people help themselves through the microloans we give through HOPE International, and decided that this was a good charitable partnership investment.  “When I heard that these are loans that are paid back with interest 98% of the time, I thought ‘this is people working to help themselves out of poverty and it is something we have to support.’”

Photo: A sample of the Rosewood Communities product

I had a chance to visit two Rosewood communities while in the Greenville area.  I felt they really discovered a desirable niche in the community.  Here’s how it’s described: “We at Rosewood Communities work very hard to be different; a unique builder of innovative and affordable Communities.  Because we develop our own neighborhoods from the ground up, we can make them look as we wish.  And what we strive for are neighborhoods that will draw you in with the innovative design and style of the homes, and   a relaxed feeling created by the natural outdoor spaces and amenities.” To find out more about Rosewood Communities go to:

http://www.rosewoodcommunities.com/

 If you would like to help support a home for hope and find out how you can be involved, please contact us at info@homes4hope.org or call Executive Director Mike Lennon at 714-812-9390.