Thrivent Home Dedication This Tuesday
On August 9 at 5:30 p.m., volunteers, Habitat for Humanity representatives, Thrivent Financial representatives and members, volunteers, and, of course, the excited partner family will gather at 1221 Winchell Dr. NE to honor the hard work, the generous financial backing and the community support that made this home possible. A brief program is planned for the dedication ceremony. The homebuyers—Jasminka Sarajlic, her daughter and son—are more than a little eager to move into their new home. They have completed 300 hours of “sweat equity” helping to build the home, a basic tenet of Habitat for Humanity. They will repay the no-profit mortgage over a period of 30 years, illustrating Habitat for Humanity’s objective to give families a “hand up” rather than a “hand out.”
“Working with Jasminka and her family has been terrific! Habitat is one of those special organizations that truly changes lives,” says Gaylon Heetland, Thrivent Regional Management Associate. “The local Thrivent Financial representatives here in the Cedar Rapids area couldn’t be prouder of our partnership on this project.”
Area Lutheran churches offering vital support through the contribution of sponsorship dollars, volunteer time, lunch preparation and other support are Bethany, Concordia, Faith, First, Gloria Dei, King of Kings, Our Savior’s, Resurrection, St. Andrew, St. John’s Center Point, St. Mark’s, St. Paul’s, Trinity, and Zion. In total, Cedar Valley Habitat estimates that close to 2,000 hours were invested in the completion of the home.
To view pictures of the family and the Thrivent Sod day, please visit our gallery.
Thrivent Updates
Despite the appearance of some darker skies in these pictures, we’ve actually experienced some great, sun-filled days while working on the Thrivent house.
If you’re interested in getting your church involved in the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans house, please contact Patti Kunz at PattiKunz@cvhabitat.org.
Thrivent Build Day 1
We started bright and early this morning at 8 a.m. with our morning circle and dedication of the day and the build partnering with Thrivent.
It wasn’t long before all of the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans volunteers came together with Habitat staff to start raising the walls. With so many willing hands the work went very quickly. Below is just a quick sampling of how, in one day, Thrivent volunteers turned studs into an outline of a home.
(Jasminka, future Habitat homeowner, is pictured with volunteers and Habitat staff, Brandon, in blue)
To view lots more pictures from the day, head over to the picture gallery on our website at www.cvhabitat.org.
We’re both amazed and blessed by the generosity of Thrivent and all of the Lutheran volunteers who have helped every step of the way, from funding to recruitment, to pounding nails and lifting walls today on the build site. There is a lot more work to do, but in one day we have already accomplished so much together! Here’s to more days like this one!
Groundbreaking… with larger shovels
We started to really break ground this week on the Thrivent house!
Groundbreaking and Bio
The Groundbreaking for our Thrivent Financial home will be March 29 at 5:30 p.m. at 1211 Winchell Dr. NE in Cedar Rapids. This project will add one more Habitat home to the 13 already located at Knollwood Park.
We’re thrilled to be partnering with an amazing family for this build:
Sarajlic Family Bio
Jasminka and her family fled war ravaged Bosnia and came to the United States in 1996 as refugees. After having lived in Michigan, Arizona, and Washington, they settled in Iowa and have called it home for eight years. “To have a house for my family would be a dream come true. We are creating roots for my family,” says Jasminka. “This is a wonderful opportunity and we are looking forward to starting many new traditions in our new home.”
Habitat Landmarks
We were reminded this morning from Habitat International that 2011 marks the 35th anniversary of Habitat for Humanity! We have helped build over 400,000 decent, affordable houses and served more than 2 million people around the world! That’s a whole lot of nails!!
