Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity is a locally run affiliate of Habitat for Humanity

Thrivent Builds-Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity Groundbreaking Ceremony

April 9, 2010 - Diamond Valley, Arizona.

2010 Thrivent Builds-PAHH Homeowner Chris Sobel

The Light at the End of a Tunnel

(Feb. 1, 2010) “My son, Sean, is my hero,” observed Chris Sobel, the single parent of the 2010 Thrivent Builds-Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity (PAHH) family.  Sean, who is 17 and attends Prescott High School, experiences life from a wheelchair.  He has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and to accommodate his special needs, PAHH will construct its 2010 Thrivent Builds house in Diamond Valley, AZ, to be ADA (Americans with Disabilities) accessible.

Sean’s disease has given him a unique perspective on life and, according to his dad, it has contributed to Sean’s deep spirituality and close relationship with God.  The motivating force behind Chris’ intent to become a Habitat for Humanity homeowner is his wish to spend more quality time with Sean and Sean’s 5-year old sister, Cheyenne.  He will be able to accomplish this due to the affordability of his PAHH house.  Locally, the cost of decent, safe, affordable ADA-accessible housing is prohibitive, and a sizeable amount of his paycheck goes toward rent.  With the considerable financial savings that will occur when the family moves into their Habitat home, the family will be able to have an array of experiences that are now unavailable to them.

Chris moved to Prescott to go into treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.  While in recovery, he obtained custody of Sean and Cheyenne.  He had a spiritual awakening in the course of his recovery, and he reports that “life has been awesome ever since.”  He believes that if he could have written a plan for his life’s journey, he would have sold himself short.

A TV commercial was Chris’ introduction to Habitat for Humanity.  It led him to a discussion with his mother and sister about whether he might qualify as a Habitat homeowner.  He contacted PAHH, embarked on the orientation and selection process, dropped out, and then recommitted himself to successfully completing every requirement of becoming a Habitat homeowner.  He is just hours away from meeting the overall goal of 250 hours of sweat equity towards his house.  While helping build houses of other Habitat homeowners, Chris has done framing, hung drywall, and worked at landscaping.

As Sean and Cheyenne continue their schooling in Prescott, Chris is studying for his Associate of Arts Degree and working full-time.  His long term goal is to earn a Master’s Degree in Counseling.  He and Cheyenne go ice-skating every week, and Sean enjoys playing his guitar and spending time on his computer.  Chris envisions that the biggest change ahead for his family is that they will be happier because they will be able to spend more time together.

Chris worked on the Wilson’s house last year, during which time he learned about Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.  He feels deeply grateful to Thrivent for their partnership with PAHH that will result in his family’s home by late summer 2010.  He appreciated working with friendly volunteers on the ’09 Thrivent-PAHH build and looks forward to working with them on construction of his house, where he will be hard at work each Saturday this spring and summer.

To all those at Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Thrivent’s Mingus Mountain Chapter, and the four local Thrivent Builds participating Lutheran congregations, Chris would like to say an enthusiastic, “Thank you!” for creating the light at the end of a tunnel of life’s challenges.  To Chris we say, “May the light burn long and bright!”

How Habitat for Humanity Impacted My Life

My name is Ashley Spicer, and I am a proud Habitat for Humanity home owner. I cannot even begin to describe the many different ways my life has changed since Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity (PAHH) picked my family for a new home back in 2007.

Before Habitat, my daughter, less than a year old, and I were on every low income housing apartment waiting list in the Tri-city area, and the soonest any of them could get us in was two years. Two years! Thankfully, we were blessed to be invited to live with a co-worker until, unexpectedly, she and her husband moved out of state a few months later.

We were again homeless, but still blessed. An old friend of mine called out of the blue just to say “Hello,” and I found enough courage to ask if we could live with her family. At this time I knew Gwen and I were selected for a Habitat for Humanity home so, with my fingers crossed, I explained how important it was that we stay in one place until our house was complete. To my relief her family took us in with arms wide open. We lived there for a little over a year until our house was complete.

In the meantime, I helped build five homes with Habitat for Humanity. What an experience! I jokingly called working on the job site, “my free gym membership.” I learned an enormous amount of home construction knowledge that I will keep with me and use whenever something needs to be fixed on our home. The fifth home I helped build was my own. I wish I could adequately describe the feelings that ran through me as I worked with other volunteers who wanted to help me achieve something in my life. None of these volunteers knew me or my family, and here they were working themselves to the bone to provide a house for my family.

I will never forget these individuals, and there is no possible way to thank them enough for the kindness they have shown my family. To anyone who has yet to learn what Habitat for Humanity is about, all I can give you is my perspective. PAHH, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, the Thrivent Mingus Mountain Chapter, and the congregations of Emmanuel, AELC, Shepherd of the Hills, and Trinity Lutheran churches built a house for my family. Inside the framework that was nailed together by the love of strangers are beautiful rooms painted with inspiration that I could never have felt without their guidance.

This new inspiration has given me the opportunity to go back to college and begin anew on the path to my future. Now, that future very carefully protects the promise of bigger and better things in life. Most importantly, the people that make up Habitat for Humanity are committed to what is found beneath it all, the security that is buried deeply in the rock solid foundation. Habitat has helped me build a house in which I have made my family a healthy, safe, wonderful home. At the end of every day as I walk through the threshold of my front door, I smile and say “Thank You”.

December 2009

Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity celebrates its contribution to reaching 2,000-home milestone of $125 million alliance

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans also announces a new commitment to affordable housing in 2010

PRESCOTT, ARIZ. (Dec. 15, 2009) – Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity (PAHH) was part of an international milestone celebrated Dec. 4, 2009, in Minneapolis. A unique alliance between Habitat for Humanity International and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, called Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity, has resulted in 2,000 homes for families in just four years. Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity built 3 homes as part of that effort.

At the December 4^th event, Thrivent Financial announced a 2010 commitment of $15 million to Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity and its homebuilding program, continuing its support of Habitat’s mission for a fifth year. This funding will make the construction of 181 additional homes in 37 states possible. Prescott Area Habitat has received word that, for the fourth consecutive year, it has been awarded a Thrivent Builds Homes grant for the construction of 1 Thrivent Builds home in the coming year.

“The Thrivent Builds alliance has helped Prescott Area Habitat increase the number of families served in our community,” said Miriam Haubrich, PAHH Executive Director. “We are so grateful for Thrivent’s support of our efforts to provide decent, affordable homes in partnership with families in need.”

While Thrivent Financial provided at least 65 percent of the funding for each of the 2,000 homes, local volunteers—many of them Thrivent members and members of area Lutheran congregations—assisted with construction and helped raise additional funds.

The four-year Thrivent Builds alliance was announced in September, 2005 and has helped construct approximately six percent of Habitat homes built in the United States from 2006 through 2009. Ongoing in 2010, the Thrivent Builds partnership continues to ensure Thrivent Financial as one of the largest non-government supporters of Habitat for Humanity International.

About Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity
Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit Christian housing ministry dedicated to building decent, affordable housing in partnership with those in need in the Quad-City area of Prescott, Chino Valley, Prescott Valley, and Dewey, Arizona. Since 1989, Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity has worked with 55 families to build homes. For more information, visit www.prescotthabitat.org.

Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity is a four-year $125 million alliance between Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Habitat for Humanity International. The alliance makes Thrivent Financial one of Habitat’s largest allies and aims to increase Habitat’s annual house production by hundreds of homes per year. To date, 2,000 homes have been built in the U.S. and more than 30 other countries. For more information, visit www.thriventbuilds.com.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a not-for-profit, Fortune 500 financial services membership organization helping approximately 2.6 million members achieve financial security and give back to their communities. Thrivent Financial and its affiliates offer a broad range of financial products and services including life insurance, annuities, mutual funds, disability income insurance, bank products and more. As a not-for-profit organization, Thrivent Financial creates and supports national outreach programs and activities that help congregations, schools, charitable organizations and individuals in need. For more information, visit www.thrivent.com.

Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built more than 300,000 houses worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1.5 million people. For more information, visit www.habitat.org.