Winter in Alaska! If you’re searching for an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people less fortunate than ourselves while experiencing the wonders of a stunningly beautiful locale, then you’re invited to join this team for an adventure of a lifetime - a Habitat winter build in Anchorage, Alaska!

In February 2014, an intrepid group of 16 volunteers will be an important part of Anchorage's low-income housing construction project. No building skills are necessary. There is work for every skill level, just bring along a willing heart and the ability to work as part of a team and have some fun.  This trip will combine a truly valuable, necessary and rewarding work experience with the exciting sights, sounds, wildlife and culture of one of the most beautiful places on the North American continent. You will see and experience the wonders of wild Alaska and build a better life for a family or two in need.

Also while in Anchorage, we’ll get to see the start of The Last Great Race - 2014 Iditarod, and will also have the opportunity to experience the 2014 Fur Rondy Festival – the state’s 10-day celebration that honors Alaska’s frontier spirit and native Alaskan traditions as well as some other outdoor winter activities. If you're open to helping to change a stranger's life (and maybe your own a little in the process) then come join this team on what will be a fun, challenging and rewarding adventure. And then go home and say, “Ididabuild in Alaska –in the winter!”

About Anchorage
Anchorage sits in a geographic bowl, bounded by the Chugach Mountains to the north and east, and by the Cook Inlet to the west and south. With a population of 265,000, it is the largest city in Alaska (41 percent of the state’s population). The majority are Caucasian (approximately 75 percent), with the remaining 25 percent split between Native Alaskans, Asians, Hispanics and African-Americans.

Anchorage is the commercial center of Alaska and in many ways looks like any other major U.S. city, with shopping malls, housing developments and office buildings (primarily oil and government). There are two military bases nearby as well.

In general, team members should plan for temperatures at or below freezing during the build. Our work will be indoors but if it’s mild, we could do some outdoor work as well. Our winter activities at Gate Creek will require warm clothes.

About Habitat for Humanity Anchorage
In January 1991, a group of Anchorage residents who believed in helping people help themselves began organizing to establish Habitat for Humanity Anchorage. HFHA officially affiliated with Habitat for Humanity International in June 1992, and works with people who live in substandard conditions, volunteers and donors throughout Anchorage.

Learn more at http://www.hfhanchorage.org.

Types of construction for volunteers
Construction will be on 3-5 new homes which were started in the summer of 2013 .The work at this time of year could be sheetrocking, painting, trim work, etc.  Tools and safety equipment are available, and each site is equipped with portable bathroom facilities.

Tentative itinerary
Sunday, Feb 23: Team members arrive; meet partner families at welcome dinner.
Monday, Feb 24: Orientation; work at construction site.
Tues-Fri, Feb 25-Feb 28 – work at construction site or Habitat ReStore; evening activities, special events, community dinners; breakfast at host church, lunch at work site.
Saturday, Mar 1 – watch beginning of Iditarod Sled Dog Race – travel to Gate Creek Cabins.
Sunday, Mar 2 – Winter activities at Gate Creek Cabins.
Monday Mar 3 – Gate Creek Cabins, travel back to Anchorage.
Tues-Thur Mar 4 - 6 – at work site; activities same as week prior.
Friday, Mar 7 – Half day work; farewell/house blessing ceremony; evaluation/debriefing; farewell dinner; departures can start after 10pm.
Saturday, Mar 9 – Team departure

Accommodations
Team will stay in a local church with fully equipped kitchen available for team to prepare breakfasts and other meals. There are clean, adequate bathroom facilities. Showering facilities will be available at a local health club or university; teams will not be showering at the host church. Twin size air mattresses are provided. Habitat Anchorage has plenty of sleeping bags, sheets and pillows to loan to team members.

Program cost
$1,960
(For more details about what is included in this cost, visit Global Village program cost.)

Build a better world: Take the Global Village Challenge
Habitat for Humanity International is challenging Global Village volunteers to make an even greater impact on the global issue of poverty housing. We are asking all GV teams to help us raise an additional $1.1 million in the coming year to support Habitat’s building projects worldwide. Take up the challenge! Join us in sharing our story and building a better world!

Team leader
John Budway is the team leader for this trip to Alaska. John has been a Habitat for Humanity volunteer for more than 13 years and has participated in Global Village builds as a team member and leader in South and Central America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand and the U.S. In 2012, he led a team in Anchorage which built/started several of the homes on the same street where we’ll be building in February. While on that trip, John fell in love with the beauty, the wildness and the people of Alaska and is anxious to return and experience Alaska in the winter. If you’d like to join him on this build, he can be reached at ididabuild2014@aol.com.