The Huntting Family
Oregon Habitat supporters shift the focus of holiday giving, involving three generations

Willamette West affiliate volunteers Bill and Becky Huntting of Lake Oswego, Ore., wanted to find a way to include their three children and four grandchildren in some kind of family giving. "We just have a great feeling for the community and want to give back," says Becky. "And we want to instill in our kids and grandkids the thought that we are community and need to share with others who are in need."

	"The whole idea, really, is to pass on a set of values to the next couple of generations." --Becky Huntting

With this goal in mind, Bill came up with a system several years ago. Each family member was presented a piece of paper at Thanksgiving, which they were instructed to return on Christmas Day with a list of three organizations to which they would like a check sent in their name. "Prior to their getting presents at Christmas time, they had to say who they were giving the money to," says Bill. "Each year, we asked them to pick somebody different, so they just didn't get in a rut. They had to think about it, and it helped point out the large amount of need out there."

Everyone was expected to research their picks and share what they had learned with the rest of the family. Habitat was a frequent choice in the Huntting household. Last holiday season, Bill and Becky decided to increase their commitment. "We have worked with Habitat over the years," Becky says, "so this last Christmas, we told the children and grandchildren that we would be donating money to build a house and that some of that money would go in each person's name."

Bill also wanted to find a way to make the house donations hit a little closer to home. In addition to helping the kids make donations to the charities of their choice each holiday season, Bill and Becky also had been putting aside a certain amount toward each child's higher education. "What happened this year was, instead of money going into their college funds, a portion of that went into the house. So each child and grandchild had money go to someone else that they themselves would have otherwise received. From their perspective, then, it's not like giving away money that they never had--it's money that they are not going to get. They were actually very positive about it."

For the Hunttings, though, it's about so much more than the money. Bill and Becky have taken their children and grandchildren to house dedications and plan on having several family workdays once the family-sponsored house is under way. "All the family will indeed be out wielding a broom or a hammer or something," Becky says. "We want to make some personal connection with the (homeowner) family, to give us an opportunity to follow through. The whole idea, really, is to pass on a set of values to the next couple of generations. We're hoping that will carry through, even as they leave home and go off into their own environments."

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