Stories
From volunteering and donating to purchasing homes, shopping at Omaha’s Habitat ReStore and so much more, people partner with Habitat for Humanity of Omaha in a variety of ways. It’s these people who shape Habitat Omaha and help us as we strive to achieve our vision, “a world where everyone has a decent place to live”. Learn more about Habitat Omaha and find out how you can get involved by reading their stories.
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By the numbers: Habitat Omaha volunteers
Volunteers served 82,800+ hours with us last year, helping build strong, stable homes and neighborhoods. That’s a lot of volunteer time! Take a look at a few of our 2019 volunteer stats.
ReStore volunteer spotlight: Meet Pat
Every week, Pat Heinrichs welcomes students from Madonna School to Omaha’s Habitat ReStore. She enjoys working with their group to complete a project together.
Meet Bob, quality assurance volunteer
With a long list of inspections needing to be completed, Bob Hillebrandt arrived at Habitat Omaha at a great time. He was happy to help with home walk-throughs.
We love our volunteers
In honor of Volunteer Appreciation Month, our staff gave virtual shoutouts to the people who make their jobs more enjoyable and their lives a little easier.
Helping our community through Habitat ReStore
Omaha’s Habitat for Humanity ReStores are discount home improvement outlets that sell new, used, and surplus merchandise. We carry everything from new and gently-used furniture, appliances, plumbing supplies, and cabinets, to flooring, paint, doors, windows, lighting fixtures, and so much more. The inventory is constantly changing, making each visit unique.
Transforming Homes through Renovation
Affordable housing is at the core of Habitat for Humanity of Omaha’s mission. In addition to building new homes, we look for houses that can be renovated and sold to first-time homeowners in our city.
Transforming Neighborhoods
At Habitat Omaha, we partner with residents and community leaders to ensure that not only homes—but entire neighborhoods—have what they need to be vibrant and safe places to live. Through our Neighborhood Revitalization Program, we’re helping neighbors transform their communities into inviting places to call home.
‘The best Christmas gift’: a new roof
When Judy’s roof started to leak, it caused a small portion of the ceiling in her house to fall. She had to place trashcans and plastics bags to catch any water coming inside.
Inspired by Jimmy Carter, former judge continues to serve
Every week, Mike Cavel arrives at the Habitat Omaha office ready to work on any projects he’s given throughout the day. He has spent more than 500 hours volunteering with us.
We are all in this together
After learning that local healthcare providers were in need of N95 respirators, we took a look at our inventory and were able to donate 38 cases—totaling 7,600 masks—to Methodist Health System.
A safe place to call home
Originally from Burma, Beh Beh faced many hardships. She was stressed and unhappy. Her health began to improve after moving into her Habitat Omaha home.
Building Memories
It has been a long day and although there’s a lot of unpacking to do, Cynethia can’t stop smiling as she realizes her dream of becoming a homeowner has finally come true.
Our collective impact in 2019
These numbers and the results they represent would not be possible without our many partnerships, including the one we have with you. Together, we responded to devastating floods, provided affordable home loans to families, helped individuals repair their houses, and much more.
2019: Welcome home, new homeowners
For these families, 2019 marked both beginnings and ends. The end of unstable, unaffordable housing; the start of a new chapter as homeowners.
“Our beautiful palace”
“The most incredible part of this whole thing is that it’s not only just getting a house, but we’ve actually changed our lives,” Greg said when talking about his family’s home-buying experience.