HILLS BECOMES HOME FOR NORTH LIBERTY RESIDENTS
Chubaka will be moving with his wife, Mwangaza, and their children into his new Habitat house in Hills in the next few weeks. He and Mwangaza are proud to help build his family's long-awaited home and boasts of the skills they acquire while working on the construction site with Habitat for Humanity. He is also ecstatic that his kids will now live in a home the family owns, “[y]ou feel pride because it is your own, you helped build it” he says. 
 
The couple is from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the family enjoyed the comforts of home until violence destabilized the country. To escape the turmoil, the family spent over a month travelling to a Ugandan refugee camp by foot. The journey was harrowing but they arrived in Uganda safe and healthy. They spend the next 11 years in the crowded confines of the refugee camp until their application for resettlement in the United States was accepted. The family first settled in Texas but came to the Iowa City are two years ago seeking better schools, job opportunities, and the serenity that is elusive in bigger cities. 
On February 10, Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity is hosting a Dedication Ceremony at the family's future home in Hills. During the ceremony, Chubaka and Mwangaza will receive the keys to their Habitat home. The family, along with IVHFH would like to invite everyone to attend the ceremony.

Where: 251 Sierra Park Drive, Hills, IA
When: Monday, February 10, 5 PM
Thanks, Hills Bank!
Hills Bank and Trust continues to provide essential support to our organization to ensure more people in our community have access to safe and affordable housing. We are especially grateful to Hills Bank for sponsoring construction of Chubaka and Mwangaza's home in Hills!
Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity is undertaking it's first  Small Gift. Big Impact.  campaign in support of Jackie and her grandson. Jackie has been approved to receive IVHFH's help with a ma jor kitchen remodel through the Helping Hands program. She has been living without a safe kitchen for over two and a half years. Jackie says the state of her home impacts the way she lives. With no stove, broken cabinets, and a sagging floor, she and her adopted grandson have resorted to cooking with small appliances like crockpots and a microwave. She misses the small things that turn a house into a home like making a birthday cake, inviting family over for Christmas, and simply sitting at the table to eat a meal with her grandson.

The goal of this campaign is to provide IVHFH supporters with an opportunity to make a small contribution that will add up to make a big impact on the life of an IVHFH partner. With this in mind, we need a gift of $10 from 350 people. Donate online , Text BIGIMPACT to 44-321, mail a donation to IVHFH, or Venmo @IVHFH.

To those who make a small gift in support of Jackie, she is left nearly speechless, “I don’t think there are words. You could say thank you, but you can’t really…to say how much I appreciate it, I don’t think you can do that."
Make a Big Impact! Donate Today!
In January, Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity kicked off a 12 week home improvement course designed to give women an opportunity to learn how to do various home improvement tasks in a safe, nonjudgmental environment while remodeling a Habitat for Humanity home in Iowa City. The Women's Home Improvement Confidence Course is a series of Saturday classes where participants are introduced to the challenges and obstacles faced in a real-world remodeling environment. 
UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday, May 9 is the Christine Grant 5K for Women Build
Support the 12th annual Women Build by registering for the Christine Grant 5K. Don't delay! Registrations are discounted right now through April 24.


For more information, contact Tami tami@iowavalleyhabitat.org or 319-519-6121.
Other Events
HOME BUYER CLASSES
If you didn’t know, we offer FREE broad-based home buyer classes, which are open to the public! This class series is designed to be most useful for individuals and households interested in future homeownership, but many or all of the classes can benefit almost anyone!

If you are interested in attending or teaching a class in the future, please contact gabe@iowavalleyhabitat.org
HORIZONS: A FAMILY SERVICE ALLIANCE
Horizons: A Family Service Alliance is a strong partner of our affiliate and Eastern Iowa. Horizons’s Financial Wellness Center provides HUD-accredited financial educators and counselors, who:

1. Teach our home buyer classes as well as

2. Provide 1-on-1 financial counseling with income-based payment options.
ASK US TO GIVE
A PRESENTATION!
Many people are unaware of all of the ways we work to improve issues of affordable housing and community development in our 4-county service area. Please contact gabe@iowavalleyhabitat.org to schedule a time for us to come speak to your business, faith community, organization, or any other group of people! There is much we can share about what we do and our impact on people and communities, the environment, and the economy.