Upbuilding: Spring 2025
Building the Community | The Giving Spirit | Volunteer Spotlight | Local Partners | What We’re Up To | Homeowner Tips
Spring is in the air! And so is the sawdust! We’re keeping very busy at Athens Hab as the days lengthen and warm up. Here’s a little of what’s going on….
Building the Community
We talk a lot about building new homes, and renovating abandoned structures so they can be homes once more. But we don’t talk much about renovating Habitat-built homes, such as the recent project on Carter Street.
Many families in Habitat homes remain long enough to pay off their entire mortgage and own the property outright. And there’s nothing we like better than a “mortgage rip” which is our little ceremony for these events. But what happens if a family outgrows a Habitat home, or has to move for a new job opportunity?
We buy them out! Habitat affiliates reserve the right of first refusal when a home under a Habitat mortgage is sold. First off, this ensures that a Habitat-built home can’t be purchased by a qualifying straw buyer then flipped on the for-profit market. It also ensures that Habitat home owners can sell at any time if they need to. Finally, it guarantees that the “period of affordability” for the homes we build is 30 years at a minimum.
In practice, of course, most of our homes enjoy a much longer period of affordability, either because they’re paid off and kept in the family, or because the original family moves during the mortgage period and a new family comes in and resets the clock. So although we don’t mention it much, those small jobs freshening up the paint and landscaping for new buyers are just as important as the big ones!
The Giving Spirit
May is renewal month for Kroger Community Rewards. If you’ve already assigned your card to Athens Area Habitat (thank you!) please use the link right there, or at the bottom of this post, to check that you’re still donating to us, organization code GL858. If you have a Kroger rewards card but haven’t yet assigned a charity to it, you can use the same link to sign up for Athens Area Habitat, and Kroger will donate a portion of your monthly spending to us, at no cost to you!
Of course, we can’t build houses on Kroger cards alone. But we mean it when we say that every contribution helps. And when enough people chip in a few cents with each bag of groceries, it adds up, and can make a real difference at the end of the year. So if you haven’t signed up yet, it only takes a couple of minutes to supplement your donation to our mission.
Volunteer Spotlight
When we say we love Zaxby’s, we’re not necessarily talking about sandwiches. Because, yes, the food’s great, but so is their commitment to Athens. Volunteers from Zaxby’s bring so much energy to the build site, it’s contagious! Their positivity makes a hard job a little bit easier.
Officially, Zaxby’s “aims to spread kindness and generosity by supporting our local communities.” And there’s something about the humanity of that goal that resonates with us. Can kindness be measured? Can you ever really know how far your kindness spreads? Maybe not, but from what we’ve seen, these folks are knocking it out of the park! We hope to keep welcoming them to our job sites for many years to come.
Local Partners
Our partnership with Family Promise of Athens continues to grow! We’re renovating two more apartments to house families being assisted out of homelessness by Family Promise, and they’ve recently sponsored a 3-bedroom house which will serve as ongoing temporary shelter for larger families. These homes provide shelter, safety, and peace while Family Promise helps residents chart a course toward self-sufficiency that will work for them and their situation.
The housing crisis we’re facing locally and across the country is a complex one, and there isn’t a single approach that’s going to provide a solution. It’s going to require all of us working separately on what we do best, and together on what none of us can accomplish alone. We’re hoping to continue to expand our work with Family Promise here, and to inspire other affiliates in Georgia and across the country to establish similar partnerships.
What We’re Up To
Our new neighborhood, Micah’s Creek, will extend our work with insulating concrete forms (ICFs) which began with our Build with Strength project on the west side of Athens. We’re currently in discussions with Nudura, a US company that manufactures ICFs in Columbus, GA, as a potential in-state provider. We’re also working with Impact Housing, a Georgia company focusing on high-efficiency framed homes, to explore ways to reduce the cost, effort, and energy demands of on-site construction.
Long ago, homes in America were built entirely on site. These days, we’re accustomed to a blend of on-site and off-site construction, with trusses, windows, doors, cabinets, and other components assembled at a factory and shipped in. And that trend hasn’t stopped, as manufactuers are achieving the capacity to assemble much larger components, using the same construction techniques as on-site, in the safety and quality-controlled environment of an indoor facility. The result is a house that’s built to very tight specs, in less time, at lower cost, with lower safety risks. What’s not to like about that?
Homeowner Tips
What’s mulch got to do with it: Now’s time to mulch, before the weeds take hold! Look for a loose, chunky mulch like large wood chips (not bark) and spread it 3-4″ thick. That’s enough to block the sun and discourage weeds, while still allowing water and oxygen exchange with the soil. Don’t use a barrier under your mulch, and only fertilize if a soil test shows you need to.
What to prune when: “Old wood” plants set buds on woody growth from the past season, and tend to bloom in spring. Wait until just after the blooms are off these plants to prune them. “New wood” plants set their buds on new growth, and tend to bloom later in the summer. Prune these plants in late winter or very early spring before new growth appears. Most evergreens can be pruned throughout the year, but it’s best to avoid late summer and early fall, as pruning at that time could encourage new growth that won’t survive the winter.
Inspect the attic: Your attic is critical to your home’s cooling and ventilation. So before things warm up too much, take some time to go up and have a look around. Check for any signs of water coming through the roof, make sure nothing is blocking your vents, and inspect for nests built by insects, birds, or rodents.
Augment your support for Habitat!
You can add to your financial support for your local Habitat, at no additional cost to yourself, by taking advantage of retailers’ non-profit support programs. While these funds can’t replace donations and grants or volunteers, they do help us keep the lights on and pay for supplies, which frees up other funding to build homes!
Joe Fund Me
When you buy Jittery Joe’s coffee through our Joe Fund Me page, either as a monthly delivery or a single purchase, longtime Habitat supporter Jittery Joe’s will contribute a portion of your payment to Athens Area Habitat for Humanity. And there’s no markup — you get the same price through JoeFund.Me/AthensHabitat as you do buying direct! There’s just a little extra satisfaction to your morning mug when you know it’s helping build our community!
Kroger Community Rewards
When you link your Kroger customer loyalty card to Athens Area Habitat for Humanity, in addition to your loyalty points the Kroger Community Rewards program will donate a portion of your purchase to Athens Habitat. It’s so easy to do! So if you haven’t already, take a moment right now to visit Kroger Rewards and link you card!