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Hello fellow Care-A-Vanners,

I have been spending the last few days trying to catch up on evaluations and some issues came up that I thought I would take this opportunity to address. First, let me thank you for taking the time to fill out the surveys. Brenda and I read them from cover to cover and shared the results with the team leaders and affiliates. If a team member brings up a concern and has signed their survey so we know who had the concern, we try to respond to it. We appreciate all feedback but we want to remind you that our team leaders and Care-A-Vanner desk staff are all volunteers, so please give us constructive comments that we can act on.

One of our roles at affiliates is to help them build at capacity. As part of that responsibility, we need to be working with and encouraging the local volunteers. Include them in your group, visit with them on breaks and most importantly, teach and learn from them. After all, once we leave, they are going to finish the projects.

A real frustration for the Care-A-Vanner desk is when we are unable to get anyone to volunteer to be the team leader. When this happens, Brenda has to act as the team leader from afar, a difficult and time-consuming task. Last year we had 188 builds with each of those needing team leaders and 42 of those builds did not have a team leader. Think about Brenda having to be the team lead on 42 builds and still have time to do the rest of her job. Since the lack of team leaders was also cited as an issue on part of the evaluations we received, we would encourage anyone interested in serving as team leaders to check the “team leader interest” box on your registration form. Team leading is not difficult and you do not need to know a lot about construction. We just need you to organize the team, give a daily morning safety talk, get them to the build, collect the hours and do thank-you notes. Contact [email protected] for more information.

Another comment I hear a lot is about assessing Care-A-Vanner skills prior to the build. This can be useful and can be done at the orientation meeting. The purpose of collecting that information is not to put the skilled people on jobs that they are comfortable doing, but rather using that skilled person to teach someone else on the team a new skill so that eventually we all learn every aspect of building a house. Thank you to our teachers!

Finally, I want to address safety. I am very pleased with the warm embrace that Care-A-Vanners have given our safety initiative, but just because we took a general safety awareness class does not mean we don’t give a daily morning safety talk. Not only is that an OSHA requirement, but it is a very good idea to remind all of us what safety hazards we might encounter on the job site that day. We had seven incident reports for Care-A-Vanners with injuries requiring medical attention in 2014. All were preventable had proper safety procedures been followed including using personal protective equipment including safety glasses or goggles. That is why we call them incident reports and not accident reports. Incidents are preventable. Our goal should be zero incident reports. We offer our General Safety Awareness Course at builds that have Master Safety Trainers assigned to them. When given the opportunity to take to course, please, for your safety, take it. If you would like more information on our safety program or have any questions on safety, please contact Lisa Crawford at [email protected].

Again, I want to thank you for filling out those evaluations. We get about an 80 percent response, which tells me you all care! If you have something you would like to share with Brenda, Lu or me, please send us a note. We will be happy to answer any of your questions and welcome your suggestions.

Thank you for all your hard work and your dedication to our mission where someday everyone in this world will have a decent place to live.

Mary Vandeveld
RV Care-A-Vanner coordinator
[email protected]
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Announcements

Have you met Theo yet?

Theo is Habitat’s advocate for affordable housing. Be sure to watch Theo’s message. In February, we needed Theo at Habitat on the Hill, so I was asked if we have a Care-A-Vanner who could make a Theo doll. Our very own Care-A-Vanner and Master Safety Trainer Karen Harbage was up to the task. The picture is of Mike Carscaddon, executive vice president of International Field Operations and Andrew Szalay, director of state and local relations with Theo during Habitat on the Hill. Again the Care-A-Vanners show their array of talents and skills to help with Habitat’s important mission. Thanks Karen!

RV Care-A-Vanner promo video: It is finally here! The promo video we did about the RV Care-A-Vanner Program in Springfield at our 25th Anniversary Build and Rally is on YouTube. I want you all to share it with the world, especially RV owners!

Background checks: Yes, that day is coming. Many volunteer organizations, including SOWERS, Nomads, Meals on Wheels, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs, Catholic Charities, Special Olympics, Make-A-Wish, American Heart Association, American Red Cross and National Association of Search and Rescue just to name a few, require background checks to participate. As we expand our build experience to rehab, Critical Home Repair and A Brush with Kindness, we are entering homes where there are occupants. It is standard practice to have any volunteers or employees who interact with the public, especially children, the elderly and the disabled, to have background checks. All of us at the RV Care-A-Vanner desk who have Habitat email addresses along with all our Master Safety Trainers have had background checks. I am exploring an affordable and realistic way to accomplish this. Whatever we do, it will require your support. There will be more to come in future newsletters.

Featured builds:

Omaha, Neb.: Omaha has scheduled two builds with us – one in the spring and one in the fall. The fall build is all framing for you folks that like to frame. Omaha would like to be a long term partner to the RV Care-A-Vanners, so let’s show them our support and sign up for their builds. Camping is free!

Adrian, Mich.: Adrian has a build scheduled to start on April 12, 2015. Camping is $10/night. They hosted their first build with us last year and it got great reviews, so sign up today!

Boone, Iowa: We got great reports on this build last year. Boone is a small, mainly volunteer affiliate that needs help! Camping is only $6/night. The builds are listed as follows: GV15-0217 Jefferson, Iowa, July 19, 2015 and GV15-0218 Boone, Iowa, Aug. 16, 2015. Let’s show this affiliate some Care-A-Vanner support!

Go to our build list regularly. It is constantly changing, so check back frequently!

Hours and stories needed:

We need everyone to report their hours to the Care-A-Vanner desk. If you are on a build without a team leader, be sure that someone is assigned to keep the hours. If you are on a drop-in, those hours count too. ReStore volunteer hours count. Affiliates do not report your hours to the desk. I need hours worked and number of houses worked on. This data is very important for grant applications and grant reporting. I also love to hear those “why we build” stories! It is the partner families that keep us motivated, so send your stories and your hours to [email protected].

Tithing connections

How do U.S. affiliates calculate their tithe?

U.S. affiliates are to tithe annually on their undesignated cash contributions. To help affiliates determine what consists of “undesignated” or “unrestricted” funds, our team has developed guidelines that are outlined below.

Essentially, affiliates are expected to tithe on the following: undesignated donations from individuals, corporations and foundations; net profit from ReStore; revenues from direct mail; payments (as received) on undesignated pledges; cash donations passed through to affiliates from HFHI; and net profit from special events.

Affiliates are not expected to tithe on designated cash contributions that include the following: government grants, e.g. CDBG, SHOP, NSP; grants from certain non-government agencies, e.g. Softwood Lumber, United Way; or mortgage payments.

As the tithe calculator outlines, each affiliate is to add up all the unrestricted cash donations received and then from that total, determine 10 percent. That 10 percent is the amount that the affiliate is expected to tithe annually.

If you have any questions about the above, don’t hesitate to reach out. Next month, we look forward to discussing the Global Mission Fund that affiliates can designate their tithes to.

Katie Grover
Tithe Specialist, Habitat for Humanity International
[email protected]

Windows to Washington - March

The importance of housing for women
There is a lot of talk these days about powerful women in leadership roles in both government and corporations, bringing new perspectives and approaches to existing and emerging issues. And there are many studies that show the value women bring to the table: studies that show women in government lowers levels of corruption, that women tend to be more likely to allocate funds to children’s health and education and that they are less likely to fire employees during an economic downturn.

The strengths exhibited in these studies play out in the home as well. Unfortunately, in many countries around the world, female-headed households disproportionately experience inadequate housing. With International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 8, we are focusing this month on the importance of housing for women – and specifically, on the needs for fair policies around land, financing, and water, sanitation and hygiene.

Land: The foundation for housing

According to the World Bank, at least 115 countries have laws that recognize women’s rights to land as equal to men’s. While that seems like good news (as is the fact that a commonly-cited statistic about 1% percent of landownership has been debunked), women’s control over land even in those nations may remain limited due to discriminatory factors entrenched in legal frameworks, traditional legal systems, or cultural norms that may prevent women from inheriting or owning land. Without equal property rights and secure tenure, (meaning having rights to the land on which you live and thus living without fear of improper eviction), women face increased risk of poverty and homelessness. For example, forced evictions resulting from a lack of secure tenure often occur when men are absent or away, leaving women and children to face the burden. Improving property rights is a critical step toward a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Realizing these rights requires thoughtful and strategic changes in written laws and/or the administration of laws (and is a main focus of the global advocacy campaign that Habitat will launch later this year).

Financing: Minimal payments and microloans for maximum benefit
As discussed in Habitat’s 2014 Shelter Report, women and girls living in inadequate housing are more likely to be excluded from education, employment, and training opportunities when forced to balance the burdens of home maintenance, childcare, and livelihood. An adequate home, by contrast, can mean improved economic opportunities as self-employment and microenterprises are usually based in the home. While traditional loans can be hard to come by, small housing loans, known as “microloans,” can give women the chance to grow financially by using their homes to launch an enterprise and increase their income. Many women are able to use a portion of their home to carry out small businesses – such as sewing or small markets – and support their families. Microfinance institutions have found female clients generally pose less of a credit risk and produce higher repayment rates overall.

Financial need is not limited to developing countries. Last month in Canada, three single mothers moved into new Habitat homes “without having to worry about some of the financial burdens of homeownership” thanks to mortgages that required no more than 30 percent of their income. Across the world, when a woman has economic security, her family, by extension, does too.

WASH: “WASH”ing away gender inequality
Lack of decent housing also puts women at increased risk of gender-based violence, particularly where there are shared toilet facilities or long distances to travel to collect clean water, and maternal health is often sacrificed in slum conditions, risking both mother and child. Improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is critical and can literally be a matter of life or death for women and girls around the world. That’s why Habitat for Humanity India, for example, has made WASH initiatives a major priority.

This International Women’s Day and every day, remember the many connections between adequate housing and gender equality. Through equal access to land, affordable homeownership options, housing microfinance, and investments in water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter can lead to not only to the empowerment of women homeowners, but also the betterment of the world for everyone.

This year, the UN will finalize the agenda that sets priorities for governments around the world. Recognizing how central housing is for gender equality, let’s use our voices this month to make sure housing is included in that agenda. Take a moment to show your support or, if you’ve already signed the petitions, share them with three friends who care about equality as well: www.bit.ly/WomensDayPetition.

Team leader corner

Hello team leaders,

A special thanks goes out to our fabulous February team leaders: Judy and Chuck Sambs; Tom and Judy Fox; John and Teresa Franklin; Leonard Steward and Valarie Bazzley; Dyana Todd; Larry and Memorie Halstead; Rick and Paula Huls; Bill and France Moriarty; Bob Gillespie; Frances Harless; Fred Winslow and Sharon Adair; and Bill and Judy Kemp. I am so pleased and grateful to see some new names on this list!

Remember, if you've been thinking about becoming a team leader but are not sure what's involved, contact me at [email protected] and I will send you the guidelines. Lack of construction experience is not a reason to pass on being a team leader. Organization and people skills are what are important. So, don't forget to check the “team leader interest” box on your registration if you are willing to lead the build. This past month, a record number of people have checked that box, so my message seems to be getting through!

If you are unable to read the roster I send you, or things appear to be on the wrong lines, chances are you have a Mac or iPad and Word documents do not format correctly. Just let me know and I will send them in PDF.

I want you to know that all build surveys are reviewed by Mary Vandeveld and myself. Mary gives feedback to the affiliate and I give feedback to the team leaders. Please know that all feedback is given in the spirit of teaching and bettering our program. We all need gentle reminders at times to mention safety every day, to be sure the newbies are well looked after, and to help everyone find a job before immersing yourselves in your own task. On the topic of surveys, I am very behind in getting feedback to you. With all the other responsibilities, this task often gets put on a back burner. Please know, however, that our master of surveys, Dave Vandeveld, reviews all surveys as they come in and alerts us to any concerns. Those concerns are addressed promptly.

Finally, team leaders are needed for the following builds. If you are available and willing, please contact me.

March 22-29	Salt Lake City, Utah
March 22- April 5	Vero Beach, Fla.
March 29- April 12	Thibodaux, La.
April 12- April 26	Carney's Point, N.J.
April 12- April 26	Adrian, Mich.
April 19- May 3	New Smyrna Beach, Fla.

Thank you and happy hammering!

Brenda Sawyer
Team leader coordinator
[email protected]

Spread the word
Send your RV friends a Care-A-Vanner brochure about this wonderful mission by clicking on this link and pasting it into an email or just print out and give to fellow RVers in campgrounds.

Disaster Response

Remember our mission in responding to a disaster is to come in at the time of the rebuild efforts and to stay until the last house is replaced/repaired. A lot has to happen before rebuild begins, including permitting, fundraising, FEMA grant application and awards, building capacity at the affiliate, family selection, etc. It is easy to remember the disaster that just happened, but where we need the help is the disaster that happened two or three years ago. HFHI Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery, our partners, are also working with affiliates to do fortified building to reduce injuries and damage to homes and a when disaster does strike. This includes building safe rooms in tornado area, hip roofs in hurricane zones and using anchoring systems appropriate for the risk. If you are interested in learning more about fortification standards, please review IBHS Fortified for Safer Living Standards. Your knowledge can help our affiliates learn more about these new building practices.

Superstorm Sandy: Recovery efforts from Sandy continue to be slow. Funding is the struggle for the affected affiliates. I have listed a build in Toms River for next spring and should be listing more for the summer months. Toms River was ground zero for Sandy and they really need volunteer help, so consider signing up. I know the camping fee is high, but on the coast it is difficult to find cheap RV sites and the affiliate cannot afford to supplement our camping. We hope to get that fee down some. If you would like to be on my email list for Sandy recovery, please send a note to [email protected]. I will notify Care-A-Vanners on my list first about build opportunities for Sandy Recovery.
Colorado 2013 floods: We had six affiliates in the flood affected areas in Colorado. Habitat Colorado has a large amount of grant money to rebuild, but they are having trouble finding qualified families. To date, only 18 families with another 10 in process have been identified and more than half of those have been served already. If you would like to be on the list and hear about build opportunities first, send me a note to [email protected].
Tuscaloosa, Ala.: Tuscaloosa is still building homes for people who lost their housing unit in the 2011 tornado – and yes, there are tornado victims who still have not gotten into homes. Our mission continues there as we stay until the last home is replaced. Tuscaloosa loves the Care-A-Vanners and has builds listed throughout the year. It is a very nice place to work.

Safety corner

OSHA requires fall protection when working more than six feet off the ground, and specific requirements when working around overhead power lines. These guidelines are there to protect you, the volunteer/employee.

Lives can be saved through three simple steps: plan, provide and train.

Plan: When estimating the cost of a job, affiliates must include safety equipment.
Provide: To protect volunteers, affiliates must provide the right equipment for the job, including fall protection. This could be scaffolding or Personal Fall Arrest Systems.
Train: Volunteers must be trained in the proper use of equipment. Habitat has implemented a new Master Safety Training Program to train affiliates on their responsibility to provide a safe work site. On each Care-A-Vanner build, the team leader or another member of the construction team should be providing a safety briefing before work begins each day. This is the perfect time to go over the safety requirements for the tasks that day. If the equipment used is more complicated, the affiliate should provide the necessary training. This may include the competent person on site guiding the team through setting up scaffolding correctly or the correct use of fall protection gear.

This also includes electrical hazards. Some of the OSHA requirements are:

Stay at least 10 feet away from overhead power lines over 300 volts.
Post warning signs on the ground.
Assume that lines are energized.
Use wood or fiberglass ladders.
Stay at least 3 feet away from weatherhead on roof.

If you want to know more about OSHA standards, go to OSHA.gov, click on Regulations – OSHA Law and Regulations, then the Construction tab.

Construction standards 1926

Subpart C General Safety
Subpart E Personal Protection
Subpart F Fire Protection
Subpart I Tools
Subpart K Electrical
Subpart L Scaffolds
Subpart M Fall Protection
Subpart X Ladders and Stairways

Next month we will talk about what you as a volunteer can do to ensure a safe work site.

Lisa Crawford
Master Safety Training Program coordinator
[email protected]

Collegiate Challenge and Care-A-Vanners

Collegiate Challenge one-week builds are in full swing this month. Thanks go to those Care-A-Vanners who are mentoring students in March: Richard and Ann Corr, Doug Augustine, Mel and Sherilee Heitmeyer, John and Teresa Franklin, Doug and Linda Yennie, Larry and Janet McClintock, Barry Mansfield and Mica DeAngelis, Greg and Karen Harbage, Tom and Judy Fox, Barry and Debra Anderson, Richard and Kathy French, Dennis and Marge Hagman, Richard Rogers, Barbara Ludwig, Dan Kinnaird and Janice Aronson.

The affiliates using Care-A-Vanners to help supervise the students they host are very appreciative of our knowledgeable and experienced builders. Thanks also goes to some other Care-A-Vanners, who were willing to mentor, but didn't have the opportunity: Rick and Anne Perreault, Larry and Debra Seifert, Bill and France Moriarty, Chuck and Judy Sambs, Joan Thompson, Clark and Bonnie Miller and Pete Hays.

Diane Gravlee
Collegiate Challenge coordinator
[email protected]

Welcome new Care-A-Vanners

Dan Black, Tom and Deborah Byers, Greg Casey, Carol Cash, Linda Fogt, Rodger and Cheryl Henry, Glenn and Kristy Hiner, Jim and Virginia Keen, Daniel Kinnaird and Janice Aronson, Terrie Lilley, Russell Mills, Erwin and Maureen Nesvacil, Dale and Sharon Piependrink, Denise and Kaitlyn Russell, Ron and Toni Shane, Roger and Marguerite Schelling, Norman and Cherie Smith, Jim and Loretta Thorson.

Our apologies if we have included a seasoned Care-A-Vanner, or if this is duplication. Habitat for Humanity is grateful for the work that you do!

Questions, cancellations or concerns?
1-800-HABITAT, ext. 7534
1-229-410-7534 (direct)
[email protected]
RV Care-A-Vanner staff contact info

Current list of active builds
Builds list

How to register for a build online
Step-by-step instructions

Roster updates
Please email updated roster information to [email protected] or [email protected], or call 1-229-410-7534.

Report Care-A-Vanner hours
Help us keep track of total volunteer hours contributed, and partner families served. Please email these stats from your drop-in or ongoing builds to [email protected].