IN LOVING MEMORY OF WILLIAM "D'GROUCH" LAUBENGAYER
If you’ve been on an Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity construction site any time in the last 25 years, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve run into D’Grouch. William “D’Grouch” Laubengayer helped build over 100 Habitat homes with our affiliate—102 to be precise. William passed away in December of 2020, and we would like to take this time to honor the incredible man that he was.

William was always a bit of a legend around the Habitat offices. He’d been with the affiliate much longer than any of our current staff members and many of our volunteers. That coupled with a nickname like D’Grouch might have caused one to be a bit intimidated upon meeting him. However, getting to talk to and work alongside William, it quickly became clear that the self-imposed nickname was a bit of a misnomer. Grouch was a stickler for quality. Double- and triple-checking Construction Manager Christy’s measurements—often to wryly announce that she was off by a 64th of an inch—wasn’t out of the ordinary. If he was stern, it was because he wanted Habitat homes to be the best, pushing us to exceed code and permit requirements. Grouch wanted Habitat homes to be the highest possible quality, and he knew it could be done.
AN UPDATE FROM EMERGENCY REPAIRS AND MAJOR APPLIANCE REPLACEMENTS (ERMAR)
Since rolling out our ERMAR (Emergency Repair and Major Appliance Replacement) service on October 1, 2020, the response has been noteworthy. Our office has been inundated with calls from members of our community needing speedy, affordable, and trustworthy home repairs. Even prior to the pandemic home repairs and appliance replacement was a financial burden for many of our friends and neighbors, but the COVID-19 economy brought further hardship and greater demand for our services. 

Read more to learn how we were able to help Dana through our ERMAR services.
DONATE YOUR
HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
Did you know that proceeds from ReStore sales directly support our programs?! Want to help us do more? We put together a list of our most-wanted donations. You can visit our website for a complete list of items you can donate. Don't forget, we offer contact-free pickups of your donations. Request a donation pickup here.

Open Wednesday through Saturday from 9:00am to 5:00pm.


For more information, follow our Facebook page for updates or email us at restore@iowavalleyhabitat.org or call 319-338-5687.
UPCOMING EVENTS
  • February Volunteer Shifts
  • March 8-15: Save the Date for NATIONAL WOMEN BUILD WEEK events which will include a Groundbreaking Ceremony and a virtual volunteer activity; email tami@iowavalleyhabitat.org to learn more.