Fall 2007 NEWS

• We Have a New Name!!
• Searching for the Perfect Gift?
• Register NOW! - for Food Lion Shop and Share
• Cars for Homes
•  Spring 2008 BIG BAND DINNER DANCE
• Thanks to our Spring 2007 Golf Tournament Sponsors
• OCHFH - Going Green
• OCHFH - Moving Forward

We Have a New Name!!
Please change your website bookmark to http://ochfh.org/

We are Orange County Habitat for Humanity (OCHFH). Rapidan Habitat for Humanity originally covered Orange, Culpeper and Madison counties. Culpeper and Madison now have their Habitat organizations and aptly named them Culpeper Habitat for Humanity and Madison Habitat for Humanity. Orange kept the old name for years but the new board of directors have decided to change the name so the entire county will be aware of our affiliation.

The crew that started renovating a Gordonsville house shows off the new banner. The crew, representatives from the Orange Methodist Church and Orange Masons included, L to R(top):Aubrey Treable, Hope Merrill, Jim Bosket (lower) Chris Merrill, HR Graham and Brian Webster.

OCHFH - Going Green

The next home we build will be an “EarthCraft House.” EarthCraft House is a green building program that serves as a blueprint for healthier, more comfortable homes, which reduce utility bills and protect the environment. (see www.earthcrafthouse.com/). An EarthCraft House…

• offers the benefits of a healthy living environment.
• integrates a systems approach to building that ensures increased comfort and improved indoor air quality in the home.
• reassures home builders and buyers so they can have the peace of mind knowing that they have done the right thing for the environment.

OCHFH has received a $3,000 grant from Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (VDHCD) to help incorporate green building concepts into the house we build next summer. Nathan Tolbert has participated in a State sponsored training session is eager to get started.

            For those wishing more information on EarthCraft principals when building or remodeling a home we suggest you check out:
www.greenbuilding.com/ - gives a good overview.
www.newecology.org/ - gives executive summary of the costs/benefits of green building.
www.designadvisor.org/ - under the Green Building area presents cost data summaries of case studies.
www.crawlspaces.org/ - shares information regarding having no vents to outside.

OCHFH - Moving Forward

Our newest house (house number 24) is almost complete and soon will be the new home for the Karnes family.  They hope to move in between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

            In November Orange Co. Board of Supervisors approved OCHFH applying for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grant to build a road into our new 38 acre tract of land.  Closing on this 38 acre parcel will assure Habitat for Humanity has building sites for many years to come. It has however, depleted our bank account almost completely. We need help from the community to raise funds for the house we hope to build next summer. The family scheduled to partner with us on this house has been waiting for many, many months. We surely hope to improve their housing conditions by the summer.

Orange County Habitat’s Board has agreed to
Sponsor Apostle Built Homes

Area churches in Orange county have been one of the many important partners in our ministry. With the rising demand for affordable housing in front of us, we want to reach out to more of the faith community for support. The Apostles Build program is a new way for OCHFH to be a servant of the churches seeking a concrete opportunity for people to put faith into action. An apostle build is a partnership that allows groups of or individual churches to join together to fully fund and build a house for a local family. As Jesus' original apostles were charged with spreading the word about Jesus, today's churches are charged with assisting in Habitat's mission to provide decent shelter for God's children.

The idea of bringing a group of churches together to build a Habitat for Humanity home has created great excitement all over the United States and is gaining enthusiasm in other countries. Church leaders who say they could have never been involved with a Habitat build any other way say they can afford to share the costs and labor commitments