Ten years ago, Bryan/College Station Habitat for Humanity kicked off building in the Angel's Gate subdivision by building ten houses in one week. Known as a Builder's Blitz, this could only have been possible through the tremendous efforts of the local home builder's association. Our largest community of homeowners, Angel's Gate is home for 105 Habitat families. As we soon raise the walls on our 271st home in B/CS, and our 103rd in Angel's Gate, we will be down to the final two lots. 

 

I am excited to announce that through the generosity and initiative of the Greater Brazos Valley Builder's Association, we will complete the final two homes in Angel's Gate with a one week Builder's Blitz this fall. 

 

This Builder's Blitz involves local builders and contractors, along with national and local suppliers, coming together to entirely fund and build two new homes for the Juarez and Pedraza families, all in one week. We also need to acknowledge the gracious cooperation of City of Bryan building inspectors. 

 

Right now, the leadership of the Greater Brazos Valley Builder's Association and our Habitat staff are planning out the logistics of this upcoming project, while the Juarez and Pedraza families are working diligently on their 500 sweat equity hours to make sure that they will be ready to move in. 

Andy York, Executive Director

In 1993, the Bryan/College Station Habitat for Humanity was a mostly volunteer run organization, consisting of different committees to help families and the organization build homes, community and hope.  That same year, after hearing about the organization from a fellow First Presbyterian Church member, Vicki Gergeni joined the B/CS Habitat Family Support Committee as a family nurturer. Her role as a family nurturer was to help partner families, teaching them the ins and outs of home ownership, including understanding finances, insurance, and anything having to do with the home. Later with the help of another person on the committee, Vicki put together what was the early model of our current homeowner classes, which she feels helps our families prepare to take on the responsibility of home ownership.

  Read More ead M

Two families, over twenty-five corporate sponsors, and more than two hundred volunteers over the course of twelve weeks: this is the Bryan/College Station Habitat for Humanity's  2016 Corporate Challenge. Each year the Bryan-College Station Habitat for Humanity reaches out to local businesses to sponsor a partner family's home; providing the family a home, community and hope while allowing the businesses a chance to be socially responsible; providing team-work and camaraderie for the employees who volunteer at the home.

When Paz Navarro and Arcelia Gamino learned they had been accepted as a Bryan-College Station Habitat family, they were overcome with a sense of relief. Being able to move their family of 6 out of the cramped, two-bedroom trailer into a four-bedroom home will not just provide the family with more space, but also safer living conditions. Their current trailer is on the brink of falling apart, with cracked floors, a caved roof, and only one functional bathroom. For the Navarro-Gamino Family, this year's Corporate Challenge is changing their lives and giving them a chance to build their dream and leave a legacy for their children.

Adeline Perez is benefiting from the second half of the Corporate Challenge. After

witnessing violence between neighbors at an apartment home, Adeline chose to immediately move her family of four out of the apartment, choosing to spend time on friends' and families' couches that have her sons witness more violence. Fortunately, with  the help of her mother, she was able to move into a trailer a few weeks later, but the community is not safe for her children to play outside. She and her boys are most looking forward to having a yard to play in, and live in a safe community. Through the help of the corporate sponsors, Adeline and her boys will have a safe place to call home.

The families and the staff at Bryan/College Station would like to thank the 2016 Corporate Challenge Sponsors for their generosity, support and hard work to help these two families achieve their dream of home ownership.

If you would like more information on how you can get involved with Corporate Challenge or how you can help sponsor a home, contact Director of Development, Carl Orozco at [email protected] or calling 979-823-7200 x104.

Back to the top ^

On Friday, July 8th, the Bryan/College Station Habitat for Humanity invited six families to the Algur H. Meadows Education building behind their main office on Lake Street in Bryan under the guise that they had some additional paperwork to complete in their applications to partner with the BCS Habitat affiliate to become homeowners. Little did they know, they were about to get some exciting news for their families and their futures. Check out the video  here.

 

As the families gathered and took their seats, Director of Family Services, Jennifer Cruz, made the announcement that they had been accepted in the BCS Habitat for Humanity partner family program.  Surrounding BCS Habitat and BCS Habitat ReStore staff clapped and welcomed the families to the program, distributing traditional acceptance gifts, a calculator and a hammer, as well as a certificate of acceptance. The calculator symbolizes the families' start of the financial understanding of the program through their workshop classes on budgeting and home ownership. The hammer represents the work the families will put towards their new homes and helping others as they begin their sweat equity hours.

The impact the BCS Habitat has on the families is apparent with this group of new partner families; four of the six families have relatives who are current Habitat homeowners. We are excited to have all six families partner with the Bryan/College Station Habitat and look forward to sharing more with you about their stories and how they are working towards home ownership through the Habitat partner family program.

Pictured a bove the six families accepted on July 8th (left to right) Edward Washington, Jr & Edward Washington, Sr., Miguel Tovar and Leticia Ruiz with children , Margie Brown with children, Maria Navarro and Juan Carlos Almaras with daughter, Guillermo Garcia and Maria Tovar and Children, and Miguel Tovar and Leticia Ruiz and children.

To qualify as a partner family, families must meet three criteria:

If you're interested in finding out more about becoming a Habitat Homeowner, mark your calendars for our next informational meetings:

English
Friday,  September 2nd - 6 p.m.
Saturday, September 3rd, - 9 a.m. & 10 a.m.

Spanish
Friday, September 2nd - 7 p.m.
Saturday, September 3rd, 11 a.m.

All informational meetings will be held in the Education building at 119 Lake St at the corner of Cavitt.

If you have questions about becoming a Habitat homeowner, please contact Director of Family Services, Jennifer Cruz, at 979-823-7200 x101 or  [email protected].

We are still looking for home sponsors for several of these families, if you would like more information on how you can help families, such as these get a hand up out of substandard housing, please contact Director of Development, Carl Orozco at 979-823-7200 x104 or  [email protected].

Back to the top ^

Vicki is an invaluable part of the B/CS Habitat family, helping arrange guest speakers for homeowner education classes and making baked goods to thank those speakers for their time; her banana bread is something that the Habitat staff frequently talks about as the best they have tasted.  Vicki says of her 23 years of service that she most enjoys working with the families, staff, and other volunteers; learning about their lives and stories. In fact, she still stays in contact with the first family she nurtured, Ida and Leon Henderson.  Vicki continues to volunteer because she believes in Habitat's mission to eliminate substandard and poverty housing, not just locally but also globally, and believes that offering people a hand up through providing education and resources leads to the sustainability of the mission.

When Vicki isn't volunteering with Habitat she enjoys spending time with her family, including her husband of 47 years and two sons. Professionally, she works in the lab at Texas A&M AgriLife in the Soil and Crops department.

"Having a decent, safe and affordable home is something that is a necessary and it's a goal for many families. It's a way for the families to grow," Vicki says about Habitat homeownership. She also encourages people of all walks of life to volunteer because there are so many ways to volunteer and have an impact aside from construction.

If you would like more information on volunteering with Bryan/College Station Habitat for Humanity, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator at  [email protected] or 979-822-7200.

Back to the top ^