Today and through Saturday, look for the 100 Habitat for Humanity volunteers working on five projects in Wake Forest’s East End. It is part of A Brush with Kindness Week, Sept. 19-26, a nationwide effort to transform neighborhoods by painting, providing minor exterior home repairs, landscaping and cleaning up yards in partnership with more than 130 low-income homeowners, many of whom are elderly or have a disability.
“We are grateful to Valspar Paints and Wells Fargo for their support of this event, and we are honored to participate in A Brush with Kindness week,” said Brad McHugh, a construction manager for Habitat Wake who oversees the Home Preservation projects. “A Brush with Kindness, one of our Home Preservation services, is a key piece of our work to improve neighborhoods. It’s important we help support local residents and neighborhoods.”
The week is a continuation of Habitat Wake’s work in Wake Forest. For the last several years, Habitat Wake has worked closely with Northeast End residents through its Neighborhood Revitalization program, which connects local congregations and community organizations to meet residents’ needs and improve the community. During the last three years, 28 A Brush with Kindness projects have been completed in Wake Forest by Habitat Wake volunteers and staff. Typical work includes repairing decks and stairs, replacing mailboxes, painting and light landscaping.
Valspar, lead sponsor of A Brush with Kindness Week, is also the founding partner of Habitat’s home preservation services which help low-income homeowners who struggle to maintain the exterior of their homes. Habitat uses volunteers, donated materials and no-profit loans to make the
repairs affordable, helping low-income homeowners continue to live independently and securely in their homes. Habitat has served nearly 13,000 low-income families through exterior home preservations services between 2008 and 2014.
“Habitat for Humanity’s home preservation work focuses on affordable housing in existing communities and often helps homeowners continue to live independently and securely in their homes,” said Jonathan T.M. Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. “We are grateful for the commitments of the volunteers and sponsors partnering with low-income families across the country.”
Since 1985, Habitat for Humanity of Wake County has joined with sponsors, volunteers and partner families to build safe, affordable homes. Qualified partner families invest 250 hours of sweat equity working on the construction of the home and purchase the home with an affordable, zero-percent interest mortgage. In the coming year, Habitat Wake will build 50 new homes locally, complete home preservation projects, including A Brush With Kindness improvements, on 42 homes, and build 70 homes globally. Financial support is provided by corporate, foundation, faith and individual sponsors, the Habitat Wake ReStores – a ReStore recently opened in The Market of Wake shopping center on Durham Road near the Food Lion – and the Deconstruction program, and other charitable efforts. Habitat Wake is a nonprofit Christian housing organization and welcomes people of all races, religions and nationalities to partner in its mission. To learn more, donate or volunteer, visit www.HabitatWake.org.
Valspar is Habitat’s national paint partner and was the founding partner of Habitat’s home preservations effort in the mid-1980s. The company provided Habitat affiliates with 2.2 million gallons of paint through 2014, bringing total cash and paint donations to more than $60 million since 2002.
Wells Fargo has donated more than $40 million to Habitat for Humanity International and affiliates combined in the past five years through the company’s Wells Fargo Housing Foundation commitment to support affordable and sustainable housing. Among the largest provider of volunteers to Habitat for Humanity, since 1993 Wells Fargo Housing Foundation has mobilized its team members to build and rehabilitate 5,500 homes and counting.
