April Newsletter

We are Grateful for our Volunteers!

Since the founding of Habitat for Humanity 47 years ago, volunteers have been the heart and soul of this uniquely effective homeownership program.

Likewise at St. Lucie Habitat for Humanity, our mission is to bring people together to build homes, communities, and hope. We do that with the help of all the volunteers and donors who give their time and resources to help us build and repair homes in St. Lucie County.

From the Women Build teams working to finish three homes, to the volunteers who form our Board of Directors, this community is fully invested in our mission to provide affordable home ownership opportunities and critical home repairs for low to fixed-income homeowners.

We are full of gratitude and appreciation for our dedicated Board of Directors, our Home Selection and Support Committee members, and our Community Partners-this work is even more rewarding with all of you by our side!

To all our volunteers, we thank you from our hearts and souls. We are united through this amazing mission of Habitat for Humanity.



Women Build 2023

Get ready for Women Build 2023! Our Women Build 2023 will kick off April 20th and go through June 3rd, every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Twenty Women Build teams will help build Habitat homes in this unique team building event.

Teams are forming now.

Reserve your team’s spot today! There are morning and afternoon shifts, email development@stluciehabitat.org, today! Shifts: 8:30 am – 11:30 am or 12:30 – 3:30 pm

Be a Team Leader in 2023 – Complete the form here. Interested in being a sponsor in 2023 – Complete the form here. Each team member needs to complete the following online Volunteer Waiver form here.

Each team needs to raise a minimum of $500.00. The team that raises the most funds during Women Build 2023 will be awarded the Golden Hammer Award. You can help your favorite 2023 team win the Golden Hammer Award by making a donation in their honor here.

Thank you to our Women Build 2023 Sponsors: Linde/NuCO2, and Coastal Florida Real Estate Investors Association.

St. Lucie Habitat Homes Update

Introducing St. Lucie Habitat's

New Development and Marketing Director

New Development and Marketing Director -

Chris Robertson

St. Lucie Habitat for Humanity is excited to welcome our new Development and Marketing Director, Chris Robertson, to our team. He brings a depth of experience and a broad range of skills to our organization.

His strong sense of community and respect for the dedication and work of local non-profit organizations led him to volunteering and lending a hand to those most in need. Volunteerism is, to this day, an essential part of his life. It also has led him to a fulfilling and rewarding career with local non-profits. He led the nonprofit agency CASTLE and launched the Hope Lives Foundation, helping our local youth for the past five years.

Raised in the Midwest, Chris attended Huntington University in Huntington, Indiana, on a track scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree and an MBA. However, his love of sports – especially track/cross country and basketball – and competitive enthusiasm spurred him to take on high school and college coaching responsibilities. This has become his primary “outside activity” for the last 15 years and continues today.

Chris and his wife Angel have been Florida residents for 30 years and raised a son of 26 years, who lives in Indiana. Chris and Angel are extremely active in the community, school, and church.

Playhouse Build 2023

Playhouse Build 2023 - A Day of Smiles and Joy!

All in a day! This year’s St. Lucie Habitat’s Playhouse Build held at Treasure Coast Lexus on April 1st was amazing! It saw both the building of five amazing, creative playhouses and the presentation of those playhouses to families of local heroes - first responders from the Fort Pierce Police Department, Port St. Lucie Police Department, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office, and the St. Lucie County Fire District.

A big thank you to Treasure Coast Lexus for hosting our Playhouse Build. A big shout out to our sponsor- Law Firm of Lytal Reiter Smith Ivey and Fronrath.

We are thankful for Project LIFT and their students pre-cutting the playhouse sections, roofs and priming them. Thank you to Steve Frontera Roofing for donating the shingles, and Sherwin Williams for the paint. And another big thank you to our Playhouse Build Project Manager, Bob Cenk – CeCe Contracting, Treasure Coast Builders Association and the build crew leaders including Niki Norton- n2 architecture + design, Scott McCracken-Sawhorse Construction LLC, Jim Brann- The Porch Factory, Sam Hjalmeby- Samuel Construction Group, LLC, Joe Ciaravino -Coastal Building Contractors and their amazing teams. We appreciate Texas Roadhouse for providing our delicious lunch. You can view more photos here.



St. Lucie Habitat Homeowner Update

An Update on Tanya Clayton's Family

On her journey to homeownership, Tanya Clayton welcomed the opportunity to become a St. Lucie Habitat Homeowner. She and her family moved in to their home almost three years ago. As a single parent to six children, she understood what a difference owning her own home would make in her children's lives and her own. Providing a stable, safe, decent and affordable place to call home, where her family could thrive, is exactly what they needed.

Fast-track to the present: Tanya is now married to Jody Tripp. She is about to graduate college with a Registered Nurse-ADN degree. Jody is the Plant Ops Director of Solaris.

Her children are all successful in their academic and career lives. Her son Austin, is now 20 years-old, lives in Georgia and is doing well working as an auto diesel mechanic. Tanya's daughter, Mercedez, is 17 years-old and going in to her senior year of high school with a plan to be come a Psychology Major and begin a career helping youth with Mental health. Her son, Eathan, is 16 years-old and actively involved in JROTC is career plan includes dual enrollment to start his classes leading to a degree in criminal justice. Her son, Owen, is 15 years-old and is doing well in school. He enjoys Jujitsu and has plans to major in business administration. Tanya's son, Issak, is 13 years-old. He is in advanced placement in school plus he enjoys jujitsu and wants to become a mechanical engineer. Her youngest son, Grayson, is 9 years-old and is doing well in school, enjoys playing baseball, and wants to be a police officer.

To teach her teenagers about a budget, meal planning and cooking, the family started a practice over the last year where the teens of the house get to plan and cook the meals. They choose their meals, make a grocery list with a given budget, then have to go grocery shopping, making any adjustments needed to stay under budget and prepare the meals on the night they have the kitchen as their chore. It’s been fun! They have learned a lot about cooking, budgeting, and management of time.  

This is just an exciting and encouraging update of how becoming a St. Lucie Habitat homeowner can transform a family's lives and their future's. We will periodically share other St. Lucie Habitat Homeowner updates through the year. So be on the lookout.

Introducing Our New HIP Partner

Veronica and her two children



Through her strong motivation, optimistic outlook on life, and dream for a better future for her 17-year-old daughter, Celine and her 11-year-old son, Max, Veronica Espriella is now on a journey leading to homeownership as one of our newest Homeowner-in-Process (HIP) Partners.

Veronica is a single mother to her two children. She works full time in the sewing department, creating custom interiors for a local boat manufacturer.

The path that led her to St. Lucie Habitat includes her life experiences with domestic violence, which ultimately led to a divorce. She had to start her life over with her children. While her daughter was experiencing depression due to complications from a medical condition, a case manager and counselor came into their lives. Through Celine’s counseling, the case manager learned they were living with Veronica's brother in overcrowded conditions. She recommended applying to St. Lucie Habitat’s Homeownership Program. Thankful for the guidance, she immediately applied with a sense of hope that this could open the door to a whole new life chapter for her family.

Veronica worked very hard to ensure her application was complete and correct. When asked to provide more information and supporting documents, she gladly provided them in a timely manner. When she learned she was accepted into the program, she felt a strong sense of relief and is grateful for this life-transforming opportunity.

Veronica is looking forward to the security and stability of owning her own home. It will give her and her children a sense of belonging and a sense of permanency. She said, “owning a home and having my family’s own personal space means everything to me.” She also said, “after the divorce, my children asked if we would ever have our own home again and I answered yes, we will.” Veronica is unstoppable.

She understands the importance of working hard for what you want. She along with her daughter, Celine, and son, Max have already contributed 245.50 hours and counting towards the 300 required hours of sweat equity. Being a positive role model for her children is important to her.

She said she cannot express enough gratitude she has for being accepted as a new Homeowner-in- Process (HIP) Partner with St. Lucie Habitat.

Our Volunteers Rock!

A big thank you goes to the Grovers Giving Back group. They are residents from Valencia Grove at Riverland who regularly perform community service projects. We are so grateful they chose to volunteer at one of our St. Lucie Habitat home build sites to help prepare it for the future Habitat homeowner. The energetic, happy group took on painting the exterior of the home like “pros.” Thank you!

Root, root, root for the "home" team! An all-star line-up of St. Lucie Habitat for Humanity volunteers came together at a St. Lucie Mets spring training baseball game. Their home base was the concession stand, where they served up smiles along with treats and beverages. St. Lucie Habitat received 10% of the proceeds and all of the tips. Thank you to all!

Construction Volunteer

When planning our St. Lucie Habitat specialty builds, we need a few volunteers to help us with that particular build, such as Women Build or on a construction site. Can you lend a hand?

Click here to learn more!

Community Development 

Committee Volunteer

Advocate for affordable housing for low to moderate income households, promote volunteering, and help us raise funds to build and repair more homes.

Can you lend a hand?



Click here to learn more!

Donate today to help build a safe,

decent home for the Hagan family!