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Not just building homes, building futures.

Sharingthe LOVEonHartStreet

Meet a Habitat-NYC Family PartnerJune Hooper

TT en New York Citycouples made theValentine's Day holiday

extra memorable by celebratingit on a Habitat-NYCconstruction site —appropriately located on “HartStreet” in Bedford-Stuyvesant,Brooklyn.

They arrived with sleevesrolled up, hammers in hand,and ready to build affordable

Continued on page 6

une Hooper's huge, sunnysmile leaves no clues abouther present living situation. For

the past 15 years she’s been livingin a dark basement apartment.

She shares a singlebedroom with herseven-year-old son,Michael. They haveno kitchen. Whenthe oil delivery com-pany comes, fumesfill their small livingspace, and the twosmall windows shehas are not enoughto air it out. "It’svery cramped in the basement,"she says.

That will change soon. Once shecompletes her 300 hours of sweatequity, June and Michael will beable to move into a comfortabletwo-story, two-bedroom Habitat-

NYC home in Queens, not far fromthe hospital where she works inpatient transport.

Although she’s employed fulltime,June's salary is barely enough to

cover her housingcosts, transportationand food. An afford-able home will bringrelief to her budget aswell as her housingproblem.

June says she "can’twait to move in." Sheadds that Michael is soexcited that "every

day he talks about our new homeand he begs me to let him comeand help build so it will be readysooner."

‘Every day my sontalks about ournew home and hebegs me to let himcome and helpbuild so it will beready sooner.’

J

Habitat for Humanity - NewYork Citytransforms lives and our city by building qualityhomes for families in need and by uniting all NewYorkers around the cause of affordable housing.

111 John Street,23rd FloorNewYork,NY 10038Tel: (212) 991-4000www.habitatnyc.org

Habitat-NYCBoard of DirectorsRev. Mark Hallinan, ChairSociety of Jesus (Jesuits), New York Province

Karim Hutson, Vice ChairGenesis Partners Real Property, LLC

Nia Rock, Vice ChairSovereign Bank

Neil Bader, TreasurerChristine McGuinness, SecretarySchiff Hardin LLP

Jennifer ArmstrongHemlock Group

David BachFinishRich Media

Evan BauerEvan Bauer Information Technology

Robert BurchA.W. Jones Company

Charisse FordThe Estée Lauder Companies, Inc.

Carmen GellineauJPMorgan Chase

Aileen GribbinForsyth Street Advisors, LLC

Chris HoeffelInvestcorp International Inc.

Jeff InfusinoOliver Wyman Financial Services

John IsaacsCB Richard Ellis

Rabbi Bob KaplanCAUSE-NY / JCRC

Peter KnitzerShauna LongFUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation

Peter MurrayLowen Development

Martha ParrishDoug PaulCredit Suisse

Douglas Renfield-MillerConnie SargentAndie SimonWarner Brothers Records

The Rev. Thomas SynanChurch of the Heavenly Rest

Julia TaylorPlatinum Caterers

Josh LockwoodExecutive Director

From theExecutive Director

What’s common to all the companies and foundations listed below? Theiremployees and retirees donated to Habitat-NYC in 2009 and these generousbusinesses have matched the employees’ gifts. If you are making a gift toHabitat-NYC, please check with your HR Department to see if your companymakes matching gifts.Our Habitat-NYC homeowners join us in thanking you all!

"Dear Habitat for Humanity,

Thank you for painting the girls gym on MartinLuther King Day! You made us shine again!"

. . . So read a thank you letter from a fourthgrader at P.S. 54 in Bedford-Stuyvesant,

following a volunteer “Brush with Kindness” project that enlisted 40 Habitat-NYC volunteer painters to brighten a girls gymnasium over our annual MartinLuther King Day weekend build. (See the article and photos on page 5.)

When Habitat-NYC first began Brush with Kindness in 2007, we had modestambitions. We knew our volunteers were eager to undertake any and all sortsof community improvement projects in distressed neighborhoods. But we didnot foresee the overwhelming demand from community facilities in desperateneed of rehabilitation, repair and beautification.

Since launching the program as a large-scale, ongoing initiative this year, wehave received countless requests to improve hundreds of community spaces,public parks, public school classrooms and senior centers. In this recession,many critical public spaces are falling into disrepair, hurting property valuesand community pride, destabilizing neighborhoods and making critical servicesharder to obtain.

For this reason, Habitat-NYC is committed to running our Brush with Kindnessprogram in parallel to our homebuilding program in low-income neighborhoods.And we have our thousands of volunteers, and our generous donors, to thank.Each week, we’re sending armies of big-hearted volunteers to an array of sitesin hard-hit communities. And these folks are working alongside Habitat-NYCfamily partners and community residents to help our city weather thesechallenging days.

Many thanks to you all for supporting this important work!

Founded by Millard and Linda Fuller in 1976, Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organization that welcomes people of allbeliefs to join in its mission.

Businesses With a Heart

page 2

A&E Television NetworksAIG Matching Grants ProgramAmerican Express FoundationAmeriprise FinancialAvon Products Foundations Inc.Bank of America FoundationBank of New York MellonChevronCNA FoundationDeutsche Bank AmericasFoundation

Eileen Fisher Inc.Exxonmobil FoundationFinancial Security AssuranceFitch, IncFord FoundationForest LaboratoriesGap FoundationGartner

GE FoundationGlaxoSmithKline FoundationGlobal ImpactGoldman, Sachs & Co.GoogleHarris Bank Foundation - Bankof Montreal

Honeywell Hometown SolutionsING Financial Services LLCJefferies & Company, Inc.Johnson & JohnsonJP Morgan Chase FoundationKey FoundationMacy's FoundationMcGraw-Hill CompaniesMerck Partnership for GivingMicrosoft Giving CampaignMoody's FoundationMorgan Stanley

Mutual of AmericaNew York Community TrustNYCharities.orgOutten & Golden LLPPepsico FoundationPfizer FoundationPrudential FoundationRandom HouseRockefeller CorporationSoros Fund CharitableFoundation

Source Media Inc.Thomson Reuters Tax andAccounting

Tiffany and CompanyTravelers Foundation TudorInvestment Corp.

Unilever USWachovia FoundationWells Fargo

page 3

OO ne of the most trusted names in home improvementis also a big supporter of Habitat for Humanity -New York City. The star of This Old House has been

involved with Habitat-NYC for more than a decade. Presentlyhe serves on our Leadership Council and recently visited thegreen roof at Habitat’s Fox-Leggett homes as part of a newgreen building project.

Habitat: You've been active with Habitat-NYC for more thana decade. What inspires you to remain involved?

Vila: I feel strongly that the Habitat for Humanity model isone of the most successful approaches to solving theproblems of homelessness in our country and around theworld.

Habitat: Why have you chosen to become a leader in thegreening of buildings nationwide?

Vila: The age of wasted energy has to come to an end. I amtrying to promote new approaches to home building and alsothe way we operate our homes and public buildings.

Habitat: What was your most inspiring moment with Habitat-NYC and our families?

Vila: Our Blitz Build in Yonkers years ago showed me the

human face of our volunteers. Their determination andwillingness to help others is what makes Habitat sosuccessful!

Find out more about what Bob Vila is up to by visiting hiswebsite: www.bobvila.com.

Loan Rangers Ride Again!Taking aim at credit card repair

Hope Help & Relief HaitiCelebs unite to help Habitat rebuild Haiti

Q & A with Bob Vila

Bob Vila (right) discussing the green roof at Fox-Leggett withformer Habitat-NYC Board Chair Les Bluestone.

II t's just three numbers — but it can affect every-thing from getting a loan to renting an apartment to securing a job.

Credit scores let lenders know how likely an individualis to pay money back on time. And this score followspeople for a lifetime. As the economic recession wearson, more and more people find themselves living indebt. Low-income New Yorkers, like Habitat-NYC’sfamily partners and others in their communities, are especially vulnerable to scams that ruin credit scores.As debt mounts, penalties increase and avenues fornew loan opportunities become scarce.

More than ever, Habitat-NYC’s Loan Rangers PublicAwareness Campaign is riding to the rescue. Trainedvolunteer “loan rangers” provide free workshops tomembers of congregations, schools and communitygroups, educating them about dangerous financial practices and helping them find better alternatives.

Currently, our Loan Rangers are focusing on credit repair. Workshops include critical guidelines on how to attain credit reports and scores, what financial behaviors affect credit scores and constructive tips toimprove credit scores. They explain changes enacted in the recent credit card reform bill and present betterresources to the public to help New Yorkers manage a healthy financial life.

To learn more about becoming a Habitat-NYC LoanRanger or hosting a Loan Rangers presentation in yourcommunity group, visit www.habitatnyc.org/advocate.

Habitat for Humanity’s efforts tohelp rebuild Haiti received aboost, when Mary J. Blige, AndreHarrell, André Balazs, andDonna Karan formed Hope Help& Relief Haiti and hosted its firstbenefit.

Whoopi Goldberg presided overthe auction and a sellout crowdattended a concert and afterparty, which raised more than$1.2 million. Funds are going tosupport relief work by Habitat forHumanity, Partners in Health,and Yéle Haiti.

Donna Karan is pictured at left.Above are Russell Simmons,Mary J. Blige, Andre Harrell andWyclef Jean.

Photos by Jemal Countess & Larry Busacca © WireImage.com

www.habitatnyc.org

page 4

$50,000 and UpPeter & Peg D'Angelo in honorof St. John’s UniversityHabitat Campus Chapter

Kathy Ferguson & Mark ZurackAura LevitasTal Pritzker & Choresh Wald

$15,000 to $49,999Robert HackneyJohn & Sueanne KimMaureen McPhilmy O'Reilly& William O'Reilly

Carole PittelmanDavid Terveen

$10,000 to $14,999AnonymousDavid BachEvan & Joan BauerLes BluestoneRobert & Melissa BurchStuart Feffer & Elizabeth ArmetTara HigginsJ. Christopher & Ellen HoeffelH. Roemer & Constance McPheeAlex PorterMarcia RaffConnie & John SargentAndie SimonCharles Spear Charitable Trust

$5,000 to $9,999AnonymousSandra Baron & Gregory DiskantRobert Barry & Josh LockwoodDavid BoroffTom & Meredith BrokawLouis & Marilyn BrusKevin & Denise ConwayScott FergusonJohn & Gillett GilbertAnne GumowitzSuzanne HalbardierGail HessolPeter Knitzer & Roni BergLeslie Lane & Alan VorchheimerCharles LavenClaudia Machaver &Michael Bloome

Henry McKeanMartha Parrish*Robin ReardonThe Renfield-Miller FoundationAlex RigopulosEllen Violett & Mary ThomasThe Winters Family Fund

$2,500 to $4,999291 FoundationGillis AddisonMark Almeida & Theresa GalvinStephen BelberMara Flash BlumThe Margaret A. DarrinFoundation

DeLancey Charitable TrustHuntley & Emily GarriottPatricia HallDana HartSteven JeraciKevin & Elise Jusko

Sung-Eun Stephan KimNeil KittredgeLaura & Marc KleinEngeline KokAlexander Liberatore &Margaret Iannuzzi

The John L. McHugh FoundationRuth & John SchaefferMichael SearsRajeev & Anupama ShahThe Margot SundheimerFoundation

Ueberroth Family FoundationGraham Willoughby

$1,500 to $2,499Priscilla AlexanderAdrian & Christine AlleyAlice BergmanSusan BesseRajeev BhamanRene BlankAnthony & Nancy BoweBarbara BrodyJeanette BrooksJean Brown JohnsonEfrain & Maryann Byrnes-AlvaradoHermia Byron*William CanovatchelRuey-er ChangTom CramerLaura DaySuzanne DonohoeJames DuffyRoger & Irina EricksonMatthew FishbeinAnita FriedmanVincent & Lorraine GesualdiWendy GoldbergC. Vernon JohnsonDiane Katzin & Richard KurnitWilliam KourakosCynthia KrupatRichard LedesBrian LewisGigi MahonBrian MakKayalyn MarafiotiChristine McGuinnessTarek MeguidDana NiblackFred & Vivian PriceLenore PuleoTodd & Marie RuthMary Beth RyanValerie TootleBrian & Cynthia TrudellRoberta & Thomas Van BuskirkBob Vila & Diana BarrettPeter WoodPauline Yoo & Jahangier SharifiHidekuni & Laura YoshidaJeffrey Zeidman & Oscar Rinaldi*

$1,000 to $1,499Sam AbbayShridhar AcharyaPeter AckermanRoger & Elizabeth AilesJeremy AmarAnonymousJennifer ArmstrongDwight Arnesen

Bryan BakerAnn BarberStephen BaumDavid & Mary BlairJonathan & Sheri BoosFrediano & Connie BraccoJeffrey & Linda BrodskyDavid BrownSusan Buckley & Lance ShermanNorman & Jenny BuggelJeffrey CalkinsLoretta CangialosiDeirdre CarsonBrian ChampeauNeil ChengDonald & Ruth ClausenPaula CooperPeter Cott & Kenneth LeedomMolly CrichtonRosemary DarmstadtMichael Dean & May Kin HoSusan & Jim DeMaioDavid & Anna-Karin DillardMark DixonDanilo DixonDawn DohertyArden DownAdam Dworkin & Dale RiedlHenry & Kathleen ElsesserJ. Pepe FanjulJudith Feldman*Lawrence & Pauline FeldmanBryce FergusonStephen & Nikki FieldFischl Gornik Family FoundationJane GelbNicholas & Amanda GelberRobert & Lois GellerWade GuytonLinda HackerEtsuko HamadaBarbara HanlonDouglas & Katie Harter*Felicia & John HendrixCraig & Vicki HollemanBabette HollisterNancy HolwellMark HummellJohn IsaacsD. JacobsNathaniel JacobsonLaurie Ann JacobySarah JeffordsEllie & James JohnsonSalar KamangarAngela KoppKristine KreilickJohn Kwon & Jeanne ChoRobert & Bohak KwonTheresa LarreKaren LawrenceGabrielle LaydenMatthew & Sabrina LeBlancBarry LePatnerVicki LevineLichtenberg Family FoundationDean Lin*Jeffrey LinShauna LongGrace Lyu-VolckhausenKerrie MacPhersonNamita ManiSusan Martin

Georgene & Hamish MaxwellMary McKercherRobert and Joyce MenschelFamily Foundation

Cindy MernickJohn MiragliaKeith & Linda MondaMyrtho MontesDavid MoodyThomas & Judith MooreCynthia MoralesShepard MorganThe Donald R. Mullen FamilyFoundation, Inc.

Janet MulliganDuncan Murdoch & Wai Ling ChanSean O'BrienClare O'BrienAnn OestreicherKen O'Hara & Diane ThomasTae Kyu ParkDouglas PaulJohn & Patricia PegramGreer PhillipsSharon PietrzakJackie PiraquiveJohn PotterChris PumaMarina Rabinovich &Igor Goshchinsky

Maryam RazaviMolly ReinhartMichael RobinsonRobert Roslawski*Valerie Ann & John RoweChris RuggeriBernard Salanie*John SaundersRachel SchnollPatricia Ellen ShevlinRobert & Mary Ellen SinkoSteven Stankiewicz &Louise Kurahara

Sarah Stevens-MilesSusan Tanaka & Lewis AlexanderLarry & Pamela TaricaJulie TaymorCraig & Nancy TenneyArlene Timmins*Aaron TopolDawn TsienPaul & Andrea VizcarrondoJosh WallachMilton & Caroline WaltersZali WinAlice YoungSally Zasloff

*Monthly contributor to ourFoundation Builders Society

Individual & Family Foundation DonorsMarch 1, 2009 – February 28, 2010

www.habitatnyc.org

page 5

AA t a time of high foreclosures, job loss and economicdistress, Habitat-NYC has taken stock of ourcapabilities – and set out to help the communities

where we build by providing targeted capital improvementprojects to help strengthen them.

Over the past year, we greatly expanded our "Brush withKindness" program in terms of targeted areas and number ofprojects. Habitat-NYC volunteers were paired with communityfacilities that needed simple repairs or a fresh coat of paint inlocations from Staten Island to the South Bronx.

The result: Throngs of Habitat-NYCvolunteers, armed with toolkits,paintbrushes, shovels and rakes, havefanned out across the city to repair andbeautify schools, community centers,parks and the many otherneighborhood facilities that serveresidents and enhance their qualityof life.

Most recently, we've embarkedon a partnership with the NewYork City Housing Authority toimprove community rooms, seniorcenters and youth centers inpublic housing projects.

Grace Leonardo volunteered withher coworkers at ParadyszMatera,a marketing firm, painting thegym, stage and hallway andgardening outside at the

Tompkins Center in Brooklyn. "Wehad a great time!” she saidafterwards. “We're so happy to havebeen able to help Habitat-NYC and Ihave to say, many people are already asking me if we goingto do this again next year!"

During our 2010 annual Martin Luther King Jr. Build weekend,volunteers slathered about 18 gallons of bubblegum-pink paint

(the students' choice!) on the walls of thegirls gym at P.S. 54 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, giving them a bright andcheerful space to play. Many students sentdelightful thank you letters. Brianna from

P.S. 54 wrote, "Thank you for painting the girlsgym. It is so beautiful. I think you are great people. . . I appreciate you because you came and helpedus and you did not even know us."

Recently, Brush with Kindness volunteers installednew flooring and repainted community rooms in thehistoric John Wesley Methodist Church, near our currentbuilding project – our 16-unit Hart-Lafayette homes inBed-Stuy.

At its heart, Brush with Kindness is aboutconnecting the community through simple actsof kindness so that families can once again livein safe and decent neighborhoods.

Brush with Kindness

Not Just Building Homes — Building Communities

Making Crucial Investments in Distressed Neighborhoods

Volunteers painted P.S. 54’s gym bubblegum pink.

BB rush with Kindnessdispatcheshardworking and

dedicated volunteers intoneighborhoods throughout thecity to add new coats of paintand minor repairs tocommunity centers andschools and to help clean upand plant communitygardens.

Volunteers are shown here, clockwisefrom bottom right, working to brightenup neighborhoods and lives. Theyinclude: St. Joseph’s School in StatenIsland; Hull Street Garden in OceanHill-Brownsville, Brooklyn; P.S. 54 inBedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn; andP.S. 62 in the South Bronx.

‘You came and helped us andyou did not even know us.’

www.habitatnyc.org

page 6

Valentine’s Builders PutTheir Heart intoTheirWork

homes for fellow New Yorkers and raised more than$7,500 to help cover construction costs for the newhomes on Hart Street and Lafayette Avenue. The four-

story, four-unit affordable condominium building, wherethey installed Sheetrock and painted walls, is one of fournew Habitat-NYC buildings in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Here’s what some couples had to say about the day:

"This is our Valentine's gift to each other," said MaryAnn DeJesus, who worked alongside her husbandJose DeJesus to paint an apartment. "This is a reallyfun way to spend Valentine's Day with the man I love,doing the things I love."

"It's great to think that there will be a family living inthis room," said Lee Donner, pausing to survey thebedroom he and Sarah Weintraub were painting."We've always wanted to do a Habitat build, and thisseemed like a good opportunity."

"We can go to the movies or out to dinner anytime," said Ted Murphy. His Valentine, Laura Grave,added, "We go out often – we wanted to take a dayand do something different.”

Habitat-NYC Remembers Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream

Continued from page 1

Cover photo: Victoria Wagner and Anthony La Porta. Photos by Anthony Collins

For the 11th year in a row, Habitat-NYChosted our annual “Building on a Dream”Martin Luther King weekend build torecognize King’s vision and to continuehis dream by constructing affordablehomes for New Yorkers in need.

This year, 70 volunteers from 17 faithgroups spent Saturday and Sundayinstalling Sheetrock in walls and ceilingsat 118 Hart St. in Bedford-Stuyvesant,Brooklyn. The units are among 16Habitat-NYC homes currently underconstruction on four sites on Hart Streetand Lafayette Avenue.

Volunteers also repainted the girlsgymnasium at P.S. 54, a localelementary school.

Pictured here, clockwise from bottomfar right, are volunteers preparing tomeasure Sheetrock, State SenatorVelmanette Montgomery, volunteerscutting Sheetrock and keynote speakerRev. Johnny Ray Youngblood of MountPisgah Baptist Church.

Photos by Anthony Collins

www.habitatnyc.org