Joe Campagna has been volunteering with Omaha’s Habitat ReStore for more than four years now. He found Habitat ReStore through the Ignatian Volunteer Corps (IVC), a service organization that helps match the talents of volunteers (who are usually 50+ years old) with the needs of a local nonprofit.
WoodmenLife celebrates patriotism in many ways, including presenting United States and religious flags to non-profit and community organizations. The 2016 Builder’s Blitz marked the fifth year WoodmenLife partnered with Habitat Omaha to provide flags for Blitz homeowners.
In June of 2016, ACI teams from across the globe divided and conquered. Hundreds of ACI employees volunteered with Habitat for Humanity affiliates around the world. The employees of ACI Omaha took part in this effort with more 90 team members volunteering over two days at Habitat Omaha’s Builders Blitz site.
Participating in the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project had been on Lucy Shepard’s ‘Bucket List’ ever since she first heard about it over 25 years ago. “I always wanted to do a Carter Build and I was so glad when Mona [McGregor] got picked and the other three decided to go. I was just thrilled,” she said.
Because Mohamed served as a translator for his parents, he spent a year working side-by-side with them as they completed their 350 hours of sweat equity on Habitat Omaha build sites. Shortly after his family purchased their Habitat Omaha home in 2015, Mohamed decided to take his involvement to the next level—he joined the Habitat Omaha team as an AmeriCorps Service Member.
Paul Jelinek has represented First Presbyterian Church as a member of two faith coalitions, recruiting volunteers, building homes, and helping to provide lunch for the work crews with the help of his wife, Nancy. When he heard Habitat Omaha was planning a Global Village mission trip to Nepal he was excited about the opportunity to combine his passion for travel with his commitment to Habitat.
Having a place to call home, with a little personal space for all of them, means the fulfillment of a dream: a better life for her daughters. “It’s both a blessing and an opportunity for my daughters and I,” she says.
“We want to be the first homeowners in our family tree. We want a home where all of our family can come visit,” David and LaShae agree. Born and raised in Omaha, both David and LaShae have strong support systems and lots of family members close by. Family game night, Sunday night dinner and a big family Thanksgiving are just a few of their traditions.
A quarter of a century ago, Twila was a single parent living with her mother to save money. Her first exposure to Habitat for Humanity of Omaha and the idea of owning a home herself came one fall day in 1989 when a parade went through her neighborhood and some Habitat Omaha volunteers roofing a house nearby decided to make a sign and join in.
American flags fly proudly over several homes in the neighborhood and Ma Mu and Maw Chu’s yard is well kept. Next to the driveway, a child’s scooter waits in the grass as its young owner watches out the front window. A boot tray on the front porch indicates shoes are not worn inside this house.
Once they were accepted into Habitat for Humanity of Omaha’s Homeownership Program, both Christa and Shawn adjusted their work schedules in order to attend the eight required classes and work as many hours of sweat equity as they could every week, so they could select their own home. “They were very motivated,” said Arlett, Christa’s mother.
