Virginia (far left) at the Guitar Home Groundbreaking in 1994

Today we'd like to take a moment to remember and honor a long-time friend, volunteer, and supporter of South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity. Virginia Mattson passed away last week at the age of 91. Virginia worked as a lawyer before joining Habitat as a volunteer in 1991. She initially served on the Family Selection Committee, and later on the Board of Directors, eventually becoming the Board President. In 1996, Virginia donated to Habitat a large property near Fones Rd, which would eventually become Habitat's 10 home  development, Covenant Court. Virginia worked tirelessly in the name of Habitat, and we would not be where we are today without her commitment and drive. Virginia will be missed, but her legacy of serving families will surely live on here at Habitat.

The following obituary was published in The Olympian on May 1, 2013:

Virginia Mattson Virginia was born in Chicago on January 25, 1922, as the only child of Otho Franklin Line and Charlotte Myrick Line. She died April 21, 2013 at the age of 91. The family moved, in their 1925 Willis Knight, to Los Angeles in the fall of 1932. Virginia graduated in February 1939, intending to go to buy propecia online no prescriptionffiliateID=2066″ target=”_blank”>UCLA in the fall after picking up some office skills to cover books and lab fees. But her father became ill and died. She became the family provider at “not quite 18,” as she told the interviewer at her first full time job. She was a clerk in a life insurance agency. She spent WWII chasing spare parts for shipment at Douglas Aircraft. After the war, she returned to working as an Escrow officer and supervised four offices. At the same time, she attended night school, acquiring a law degree. She was admitted to the California Bar under her married name “Virginia L. Gard” in 1956. She married Charles Donald Gard in 1952 and was divorced in 1959. She later married the love of her life, Douglas W. Mattson; Doug died in 1981. Virginia was active in the Olympia chapters of Habitat for Humanity and League of Women Voters. Virginia is survived by a stepdaughter from her first marriage, Charla Currier, and her children, Simone Currier, and Joe (April) Currier (and their children); a stepdaughter from her third marriage, Valerie (Stanley) Dombrowski and their son, John, of Palm Desert, California; and daughter of her heart, Caren (Russell) Rose of Olympia. There will be a memorial service for Virginia at The United Churches of Olympia, (11th and Capital) on Saturday, May 4, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. Memorial donations may be given to Habitat for Humanity or Assured Home Health and Hospice, which provided Virginia the opportunity to live her last few months in her own home. Please leave memories at www.FuneralAlternatives.org. Arrangements are with Funeral Alternatives of Washington, 360-753-1065.

SPS Habitat is pleased to welcome Joanne Stimac as our new bookkeeper!

Before working in accounting, Joanne earned a degree in Fermentation Science and spent almost 15 years working as a winemaker in the Napa Valley of California. She moved to Washington a couple years ago, and now lives in Yelm, on the Nisqually river. Though she misses the California sunshine, she loves how lush and green Washington is. Joanne enjoys mountain biking in the forest, birdwatching, reading fiction, cooking, and hanging out with her four dogs.

We’re so glad Joanne has chosen to bring her skills to Habitat, and we look forward to working with her!

An update from Habitat for Humanity Asia/Pacific:

An Indonesian man and his son leaving a flooded area in Jakarta on 17 January. Photo: Reuters/Enny Nuraheni, courtesy of the Thomson Reuters Foundation – AlertNet.

Habitat for Humanity Indonesia has launched an appeal to help people hit by severe flooding in the capital city Jakarta and outlying areas. According to Indonesian authorities, more than 100,000 people have been affected when rivers overflowed due to torrential rain. Latest reports showed that more than 15,000 people have been forced to leave their homes. A Habitat team has assessed the damage and started distributing house repair and clean-up kits to affected families. Read more. Please help by making your donation at give2habitat.org.

Are you a licensed electrician? Habitat needs a few hours of your time! Your help is needed to install a panel at our Yelm Store, so that we can test all the used appliances that are donated to us.

Please email volunteer@spshabitat.org, or call 360-956-3456 ext. 4, if interested!

Do you have 4-5 day time hours a week to end homelessness? At SideWalk, this is what people are doing together. This year Sidewalk will be working with more than one hundred homeless single adults to find them a permanent home. Volunteers and clients work side by side with clients to identify what they need to make that happen. SideWalk provides rental assistance and ongoing case management in order to ensure their success. This is how we’ll end homelessness, together, and Sidewalk needs your help.

The demand for Sidwalk’s services has never been higher. Sidewalk is trying as hard as possible to meet the needs of everyone walking in the door, and they need your help. If you have a couple hours a week to give to SideWalk, sign up for volunteer training today (www.walkthurston.org and click “volunteer”) There are new opportunities available now that they’re excited to tell you all about! Here are a few of the highlights:

1. Only give the time you have. If you want to be an advocate, you can take one case at a time or four, depending on your availability. Also, the training schedule has also been amended according to your needs!

2. You can be a volunteer support specialist! Advocates and greeters are asking for a new volunteer position to help them with administrative tasks that would seriously ease their workload. Let Sidewalk know if you are interested in that role.

3. Be an intake specialist. Help Sidewalk evaluate client needs when they walk in the door. Training provided.

4. Hospitality shifts! Come in and make coffee and tea in the morning as part of the hospitality crew! This is a great way to get oriented to Sidewalk’s work and get an idea of what other jobs you might like to do. Or stick with hospitality if it suits you. It’s a fun job, and people are always grateful there is coffee.

5. Sidewalk is a fun group. There is a lot of laughter. Everyone is looking forward to the next volunteer appreciation party!

So join Sidewalk today. Sign up for volunteer training today at www.walkthurston.org and click “volunteer” or email emma@walkthurston.org if you’d like to sign up for hospitality first. Sidewalk needs to double its volunteer pool this winter, so spread the word!

This season, give the gift of a Habitat for Humanity Store gift card. It is the only gift that gives back while saving your family and friends money! Gift cards are available at both our Yelm Habitat Store, as well as our Olympia Store in the denomination you choose. They never expire, so they make a perfect gift for the remodeler and builders on your list.

For more information on how to obtain a gift card, please call 360-956-3456.

Many thanks to all the people who submitted entries into South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity’s 5^th annual Gingerbread Holiday Competition. Over the years, the Gingerbread Competition has become a popular and much-anticipated event, but one that would be impossible without the talent and creativity of all the gingerbread creators.

All of the entries this year were impressive, and the judges had a very difficult time coming to a decision. Congratulations to this year’s winners:

Honorable Mention – Frosty’s Venetian Christmas – Saranda Schlotter, Darlene Baird, Chris Targus (Sponsored by Frost & Company)

Honorable Mention – Who Stole My Gumdrop Button – Amos Callender, Laura Christensen, Brianna Breland, Kaiden Wulf, John Miller (Calvary Chapel)

Youth Award – Girl Scout Cookie Factory – Katrina Szabo and GS Troop #40213

3^rd Place – Christmas Chess – John, Chrystal, and Aurora Hansen

2^nd Place – Christmas Castle – Carla Riddle, Manisha Shinda, Janna Cox, Brandy Geyer (Sponsored by Harbor Wholesale)

1^st Place – The Chocolate Factory – Stanley Lee and Megan O’Hara (SPSCC Pastry Arts Program)

People’s Choice Award – Christmas Castle – Carla Riddle, Manisha Shinda, Janna Cox, Brandy Geyer (Sponsored by Harbor Wholesale)

Over 1,400 adults and over 700 children visited the Competition this year, and for the first time, the gingerbread houses were auctioned off in a live auction. All told, the event raised $3,000 for Habitat for Humanity!

Did you miss this year’s competition? Many of the entries will be on display throughout the month of December, at various business locations around Olympia. Check out a map here:

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=213505530695729783833.0004cf6bf42735f1562d5

Over the next few months you will see a transformation of the Olympia Habitat for Humanity Store. The process will involve us completely redoing the floor plan within the Store. We are moving to a look very similar to our newest Store in Yelm. We are hoping to accomplish a better flow for you, the customer, and make donations easier to make. So each Wednesday and Saturday we will be making progress towards our goal!

If you have any questions about the Store remodel or would like to volunteer on this project, please contact Caleb White, Regional Store Manager at 360-956-3456 extension 11.