Mens Bake Sale
Tonight! (Fri, Aug 7th)
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Downtown Watkinsville

After an overwhelming positive response of both bakers and buyers for the first Men’s Bake Sale, the Women Build Program will be hosting another event for the “Men With Aprons” team!

The Women Build Program challenges men in the community to wear an apron and whip up some baked goods for the Men's Bake Sale on Friday August 7, 2009. This bake sale will be held in conjunction with the First Friday celebration in Downtown Watkinsville. The bake sale will include cookies, cakes, and cupcakes (and anything else that won’t melt!).

So stop by downtown Watkinsville tonight from 6pm to 9pm and pick up some tasty treats in support of Women Build!

Athens Area Habitat's 21st Birthday Bash is featured in Jake!



Rocking the (affordable) house

Earlier this summer, Atlanta-based Slush Fund Recordings (with the help of New West Records) threw down one of the best parties going on during AthFest.

This weekend, the label will put some more of its best and brightest on stage for a special show to benefit and celebrate Athens Area Habitat for Humanity, which this year celebrates its 21st birthday. The big show, set for Saturday at Tasty World, will feature Atlanta bands The Judies and Trances Arc, with Athen’s own Velveteen Pink headlining.

With 21 years under its belt, Habitat has helped more than 70 area families over the years, and continues to keep its focus on constructing homes for those in need.

“Our main mission is affordable housing, “says Laura Dempsey, Athens Area Habitat’s public outreach director. “We build simple and decent housing for low income families in the area.”
One of the organization’s new initiatives, a thrift store name ReStore, recycles houses slated for deconstruction. Habitat has salvaged lumber, furniture, and other building materials and made them available for sale to the public. All proceeds stay within Habitat and support the affordable housing program, Dempsey says.

“It’s really special because we’re able to use our volunteer labor and our construction expertise. We break apart the houses piece by piece and salvage all of the materials that would normally go into a dumpster ... (and instead) are recycled back into the community,” Dempsey says.
“The sales of the ReStore help with our affordable housing program, and it also provides discounted materials for people in the community.”

On Saturday, though, it’s all about celebrating Habitat’s accomplishments in its 21 years – and encourage the community to help keep it going.

“The biggest thing about the show is that we’re really just excited about the 21 years, and we want people to come out and have fun,” Dempsey says. “There’s going to be free birthday cake, and it’s just sort of a party to get everybody together and excited. Hopefully we can spread our mission a little bit”

(Jake, by tommy mcgahee, 08/12/09)

Athens Area Habitat is in the Flagpole!

(check it out on p.21 or read the full article here)

Athens Area Habitat for Humanity's 21st Birthday Bash

w/ The Judies, Trances Arc, Velveteen Pink

Saturday, Aug. 8 at Tasty World Uptown

Very little is as effective a centerpiece to a successful birthday party than a righteous and flowing supply of cake. The Athens Area Habitat for Humanity, now in the midst of celebrating its 21st action-packed year of community service, has taken steps to get that party started, cake- and fun-wise. Both can be expected at its birthday bash at Tasty World on Saturday.

“We just want to celebrate and extend it to the community, and have everybody come and have a good time, and remember what we’re doing and why it’s important,” says Laura Dempsey, public outreach director for Athens Area Habitat for Humanity.

Cakes will come from local bakeries like Cecilia Villaveces Cakes and Creative Cookies and Creamery. The fun comes by way of Slush Fund Records’ presentation of Athens and Atlanta bands The Judies, Trances Arc and Velveteen Pink.

In its 21 years, Habitat has served 70 families in Clarke, Oconee and Oglethorpe counties with homes, according to Dempsey. And in the past year alone, Habitat’s ReStore, the Barber Street thrift store, prevented approximately 150 tons of material from getting cozy in landfills—a substantial jump from 2007’s 116 tons.

Further, Habitat instituted a number of new programs in the last year, like its ReHOUSE program (Recycling Home Owner Units Safely & Efficiently), in which volunteers work to erase residential decay, and its Brush with Kindness program, which seeks to restore neighborhoods on a small-projects basis.

“Our whole mission is built on community and partnerships and people coming together for a great cause,” says Dempsey. “Everything that we do is supported by the community. Without the support of all the organizations and business and volunteers, we couldn’t do what we do.”

One would be hard pressed to find a better reason to share birthday cake with the neighbors. Doors open at 9 p.m.

(Flagpole, by Valentina Tapia, 08/05/09)

Hot ReStore Item of the Week

Cream loveseat with beautiful stripe and floral design. Only $75! Mention this posting and recieve 10% off! Please visit Athens Habitat ReStore to check on item's availability.

Athens Habitat ReStore
532 Barber Street (across the tracks)

Athens Area Habitat is in the Red&Black!

Students Volunteer At Habitat for Humanity (read full article here)

The University is full of students willing to help people less fortunate than themselves, or at least that's what the Athens Area Habitat for Humanity has seen.

Athens Area Habitat Executive Director Spencer Frye attributes the willingness of the community to volunteer directly to the moral quality of the students at the University.

"This affiliate is extremely fortunate to have the University students and its organizations," Frye said. "They are extremely volunteer oriented. We are one of the few Habitats that have more labor than we need sometimes."

The most popular form of volunteer work for the organization is done by students eager to get their hands dirty at the build site, but swinging a hammer isn't the only way students volunteer their services.

The ReStore, a thrift store that raises money for Habitat's affordable housing program, provides another way students can lend their community a helping hand.

Located at 532 Barber St., the ReStore serves as the hub for the "Don't Dump it, Donate it" program, which takes donated home furnishings and sells them for a discounted price.

The store accepts all kinds of housing-related items including furniture, appliances, cloths, doors, windows and cabinets.

ReStore offers free pick-ups for those who want to donate, but don't have the time or means to transport their donations to the store.

Habitat raised $180,000 the past two years through ReStore.

In 2008, ReStore kept 150 tons of household materials out of the Athens landfill, said Laura Dempsey, public outreach director for Habitat.

Micheal Jamison, a graduate student from Marietta, works in the ReStore and says his typical day at the store begins at 8 a.m. by making a list of things that need to be done. He spends the rest of the day answering phone calls, helping customers find items and working the register.

"I like the idea that the things I do help the community," Jamison said.

Habitat builds about six houses each year for families in need. It builds three and four bedroom houses ranging from $65,000 to $75,000 - allowing approved families to own a new home for about $250 a month, interest free.

The Athens Area Habitat turns 21 on Aug. 8 and will have its birthday party at Tasty World. Habitat encourages everyone in the community to come celebrate the occasion.

With the continued help of University students, Habitat will continue to give families "a hand up, not a hand out" for many years to come, Frye said.

(Red & Black, by Adam Hicks, 7/23/09)