Check back often to get an update on when we will open our doors to the ReStore in Goleta.
Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara would like to salute Bob Gronendyke, our most valued and loyal volunteer. Bob has volunteered nearly every day of the last 3 years! Currently, Bob is a full time volunteer for our ReStore, picking up donated doors, windows, sinks and other household items, in preperation of our ReStore grand opening this spring.
A retired art teacher, Peace Corps volunteer, Fulbright scholar and world traveler, Bob’s commitment to Habitat is unwavering and his enthusiasm contagious. In 2005, Bob worked on the Habitat supported “Katrina House” project which was the first home-in-a-box delivered to the gulf coast. In March, he plans to join the Elderhostel Program, working in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, in Lafayette, Louisiana to help residents rebuild lives and homes devastated by hurricane Rita.
So what inspires Bob? He says he credits former President Jimmy Carter, one of the foremost volunteers for Habitat for Humanity International, whom he admires and who inspired him to carry-on his work with Habitat for Humanity.
Now as as a retiree he says his philosophy is simple. Volunteer, contribute to his community, pay taxes, and vote. With his work for Habitat he hopes that his commitment will encourage young people to realize the importance of contributing to the community and the importance and necessity of eliminating sub-standard housing. We invite you to come meet Bob and get inspired yourself. Our thanks to Bob for his commitment and dedication. He serves as an inspiration to us all.
Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, have been helping Habitat for Humanity shine the spotlight on the need for affordable housing since 1984. That year, the Carters led a small team of Habitat volunteers to New York City to help renovate a six-story apartment building with 19 families in need of decent, affordable shelter. A quarter of a century later, that modest effort has grown into an internationally recognized annual event that has taken place in communities around the world. The 2008 Carter Work Project with take place in Biloxi and Pascagoula, Miss., still recovering from the devastating 2005 hurricane season. Throughout the five-day event, May 11-16, thousands of volunteers will help construct and rehabilitate 60 houses and frame up to 48 more in the two cities. As part of the project, houses also will be built and repaired by volunteers in Gulf Coast communities in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama.
To date, Habitat for Humanity’s Gulf Coast Recovery program has completed or begun construction on more than 1,300 houses. In addition to building homes, Habitat also is working to serve as a catalyst, bringing together organizations to address low-income housing and recovery on a scale that Habitat alone would not be able to accomplish. Habitat has also forged many other ongoing partnerships and collaborations with community and faith groups and long-term recovery committees in the region. Volunteers can sign up to help build in a Gulf Coast community at www.habitat.org.