David has been with Habitat for Humanity of Omaha for 10 ½ years. For 9 years he served as the director of the 2 Omaha’s Habitat ReStores. Now, he’s part of Habitat Omaha’s Family Services team. He’s also an Omaha native and former Creighton Bluejay.
Turner has been with Habitat for Humanity of Omaha for 6 years. He is a proud Iowan and has roots across the Missouri river in Council Bluffs. “I was born and raised in the area, usually crossing the river for food and fun—my father was actually a North O police officer so we have some family ties to this area. It's interesting to compare his experiences and perspectives of the area with my own.”
Five empty houses on a quiet street will soon become vibrant homes for five single mothers - all strong, independent women - and their children, 10 in all, ranging in age from 2 to 21.
In April 2017, Habitat for Humanity partnered with Kum & Go during their “Home is the Key” campaign for the fourth consecutive year. This year, stores in the Omaha area collected the most money as a percentage of customer traffic, securing funding of $100,000 to build a Habitat home in Omaha! The home, slated for completion in early 2018, will be purchased by Nyapak and her family through an affordable mortgage.
Last month, a team of fifteen volunteers spent seven days in Zambia. The build site was located in a village called Linda—a half hour drive from the capital, Lusaka. The team built two houses for two families. Volunteers were able to establish a relationship with the family they were building with. “You’re working side by side…and eating lunch together.”
Jessica opened her heart to two young sisters, taking them in when they needed a place to stay. She wanted to provide a safe, stable home for her daughter and the girls she'd come to love, but wasn’t sure where to begin. That changed when she met Haroon and his wife Carla, who became homeowners through Habitat Omaha last year. Haroon convinced Jessica to apply for the program, too – now, she is looking forward to purchasing her first home.
During the company's first Global Village trip, volunteers from ACI Worldwide worked on two sites in Romania. The first was a five-plex building designed for apartment living. The other location was a shelled Romanian air force base in Timisoara, reclaimed by the city after the fall of communism. The volunteers cleaned and organized the site—“shoveling at least seven tons of rubble.”
Nyapak applied to Habitat Omaha’s Homeownership Program three times before finally being accepted. She never gave up. She worked harder to qualify with each denial she received. Nyapak was determined to provide a safe, stable home for her children. Now, on her fourth try, she is on track to become a first-time homeowner in the Spring of 2018!
Family time is precious to Magaly and Baltazar. Whenever they can, they enjoy playing games and watching movies with their children. “My family is my priority,” says Magaly, “my kids bring joy and laughter to my life.” Even though their children range in age from 17 to 2 years old, the family is close. The two oldest, Karina (17), and Manuel (16), are musically gifted.
On June 28, 2017, with excitement and sparkling cider, we toasted the start of the 10th Habitat Omaha home built and sponsored by TD Ameritrade. Since 2007, TD Ameritrade has been partnering with Habitat Omaha to transform lives through homeownership. In total, they have invested more than $1.6 million in our community through Habitat Omaha.
For six weeks this spring, Habitat for Humanity of Omaha is hosting the Maple V AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team. These nine members come from all over the country and will be serving with various nonprofit organizations across the central United States for 10 months. Habitat Omaha is their first assignment.
To look at Deb Townsend’s home from the outside, few people would guess anything was wrong. It was a secret she kept from her neighbors, her friends and even her family. “I just didn’t talk about it,” Deb remembers. For more than two years, Deb had been living without a working furnace in her home.
Sheldon Armstrong has a variety of interests and is eager to discuss anything from sports to current events and, if he can’t make himself understood, often resorts to writing notes to get his point across. “Sheldon is a wonderful young man and he can talk for hours about what he’s seen on History Channel,” says Teacher Leader Amber Tjaden with a smile. He’s one of a group of volunteers at Omaha’s Habitat for Humanity ReStore from the Omaha Public Schools Transition Program.
You never know where a simple question might lead. One day, Habitat ReStore staff member Mark was helping a customer, Rebecca, load a cart full of light fixtures into her car. Curious, he asked about her plan for the lights. She explained that it was a hobby of hers to repurpose old chandeliers and other fixtures into solar lights for her garden. Later, she told us more about how it all started.
Before kicking off a recent Builders Blitz, Habitat Omaha invited Kountze Park neighbors living near the site to join the builders and volunteers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Kaia, then a high school student, knew she wanted to get involved. She liked the idea of breaking bread with members of her community and thought there was something more she could do as Habitat Omaha was helping improve her neighborhood.
