The Gingerbread Cottages are coming – and you’re invited to take part!

Please accept this Invitation to enter South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity’s 2011 Gingerbread Holiday Cottages Competition sponsored by Timberland Bank. This event is a fun way to learn about Habitat and how it can impact the community and families who become Partners.  And it’s a very family-friendly kickoff to the holidays!  Held on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 26-27, we’ll be open from noon to 5PM at the Olympia Ballroom above the Urban Onion, 116 Legion Way SE, Olympia.

Last year we had 25 cottages entered and over 3000 people who visited the event.  This year we expect larger crowds and we hope to see your entry.

There will be 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes for the entries, which will be judged at the opening of the competition by a delegate of volunteer judges. There will also be a “People’s Choice” winner determined by the most number of tickets sold to the visiting public. That award will be named at the end of the competition.  Questions? Contact Peg Amandes, Event Chair, 360-791-7487 or Shannon Michlitsch, 360-956-3456, x6.

Come join the Fun!

Board President Diane Bingaman welcoming guests to our 2011 fundraising auction

Oh what a wonderful time was had!  With close to 200 guests in attendance last Friday evening, our annual Blueprints & Bowties fundraising dinner and auction again raised enough money to build a Habitat House in Thurston County!  There was music, food, and fellowship along with wonderful items to win! And, how about that Door Raffle?!

We give a very special thank you to our volunteers and sponsors who made this event a success; Anchor Bank, Olympia Federal Savings, HomeStreet Bank, Titus-Will, ProBuild, and Fund a Home matching fund sponsor WSECU!  Table sponsors; Amour Vickerman, Heritage Bank, Justin Long, OBee Credit Union, Seaslug Consulting, TwinStar Credit Union and Pete Mattich music sponsor, as well as the event planning committee and event volunteers – Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!  You all made it happen.  A big “shout out” to Jerry Farmer – an amazing auctioneer – who donated his skills and humor ensuring everyone in attendance had an entertaining and wonderful evening.  It is because of our community’s amazing support that all auction proceeds will go directly to support our mission of building decent, affordable homes in partnership with low-income families in need.

We are all inspired by your generosity, hard work and dedication that made this year’s dinner and auction such a success.  Thank you!

(Image Courtesy of Jeffrey Ott Photography)

We’re getting geared up for our annual Blueprints & Bowties Auction!

We are busy procuring items for our auction and we need your help!  If you have an auction item that you are thinking of donating, give us a call, we would be thrilled to talk with you. Your auction item donation would mean a lot for the success of the auction and more than that – help in our mission of building decent, affordable homes and serving our community’s working poor.

• Item Procurement Deadline: September 7, 2011
• Delivery Deadline: September 23, 2011

Click here for Procurement Form!  SPSHFH 2011 Procurement Form

Questions about the event?  Please call Shannon, 360-956-3456, x6.

Please accept this Invitation to enter the 2010 Gingerbread Holiday Cottages Competition.  This event is a fun way to learn about SPS Habitat and how we impact the community and families who become Partners.  And it’s a very family-friendly kickoff to the holidays!  Held on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 27-28, we’ll be open from noon to 5pm at the Olympia Ballroom above the Urban Onion, 116 Legion Way SE, Olympia.

Last year we had 31 cottages entered and over 2000 people who visited the event.  This year we expect larger crowds and we hope to see your entry.

There will be 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes for the entries, which will be judged at the opening of the competition by a delegate of volunteer judges. There will also be a “People’s Choice” winner determined by the most number of tickets sold to the visiting public. That award will be named at the end of the competition.

If you’d like to enter a cottage, just complete the “Application Form” and return it with your entry fee to SPS Habitat for Humanity, 415 Olympia Avenue NE, Olympia WA 98501.

Thank you to all guests, volunteers, sponsors and supporters that made our 4^th Annual Blueprints & Blue Jeans Dinner and Auction a rousing success this past Saturday!  South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity’s Board of Directors welcomed over 140 guests in our agency’s annual celebration of Habitat’s work in our local community.  Not only did everyone have a great evening, enjoying the wonderful food, program and auction festivities, we also raised enough money to build an entire Habitat for Humanity house for a working family in Thurston County!

A special thank you to our generous event sponsors, Olympia Federal Savings, Anchor Bank, HomeStreet, Titus-Will and the matching “fund a need” sponsors, WSECU, McGladrey Inc., and Pete Mattich, State Farm Insurance agent.  A big “shout out” to Jerry Farmer – an amazing auctioneer – who donated his skills and humor ensuring everyone in attendance had an entertaining and wonderful evening.  It is because of our community’s amazing support that all auction proceeds will go directly to support our mission of building decent, affordable homes in partnership with low-income families in need.

All of us here at South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity are inspired from the dedication and hard work of all the volunteers that made our dinner and auction such a success.  Thank you!

Hey all you SPS Habitat supporters. 

Our annual Blueprints & Bluejeans Auction is coming up on Saturday, October 2, at St. Martins Conference Center and we still have some event volunteer positions available!  We need Light and Sound Volunteers, Runners, Spotters and Game Volunteers.  If you’d like to help out at a FUN event please contact Tish Kernan, Volunteer Coordinator at Tish@spshabitat.org or 956-3456 ext. 3 and we’ll set you up for a night of fun, food and festivities!

For….Saturday, October 2, 2010!  Our 4^th annual Blueprints & Blue Jeans Dinner and Auction will be held at the Worthington Center at St. Martin’s University and promises to be an evenin

g of great fun, food and festivities that celebrate the spirit of Habitat.  The theme of the event is “Opening Doors to the Future” with raffle, live and silent auction.  Our Presenting Sponsor is Olympia Federal Savings and all auction proceeds go directly to support our mission of building decent, affordable homes in partnership with low-income families in need.

For more information call Shannon at 360.956.3456 ext. 6.  or bookmark spshabitat.org for updates

Our 3rd Annual Blueprints and Blue Jeans fundraiser is officially over and if you missed it, you missed an enjoyable evening of fundraising on behalf of South Puget Sound Habitat.  We also celebrated SPSHfH's 20th anniversary as an affiliate – truly an event worth celebrating!  The newly introduced games created noise and energy; the auction items provided by many generous donors throughout the community provided funds for the program; and the largesse of the attendees was instrumental in making the evening a success.

To our sponsors, here's a very special shout-out to you!  Were it not for the extraordinary generosity of gold sponsors Anchor Bank and Olympia Federal Savings, and silver sponsors ProBuild and HomeStreet – well, this event would no

t have happened.  In addition, Pete Mattich- State Farm Insurance agent; WSECU; and our own ReStore were sponsors of the games, with each also providing prizes to game participants and winners.  Think of them all as you consider the importance of community participation and the involvement of local businesses who strive to make their communities better for everyone.  Every one of these sponsors is very committed to service in the communities where they do business, and given that there are numerous very deserving programs which they could be involved with, we're fortunate to have them supporting Habitat.

Thanks also to a wonderful committee and volunteers who planned and executed a delightful evening of fun and fundraising for all of us.

And to those of you who could not make it: we hope to see you there next year!

With our event date fast approaching (Saturday, September 27th, Red Lion Hotel in Olympia), I want to reiterate our thanks to the four sponsors who have been so generous in their support of this event:  Anchor Bank, HomeStreet Bank, ProBuild, and WSECU. Check out the items here.

I also want to make sure that you know YOU too are invited to this evening of fundraising! It’s our goal that at the end of the night we will have raised enough monies to fund all the necessary materials for one house – an inspirational goal indeed.  With four families just beginning the process of building their homes, this is the perfect time to be showing our financial support as they work towards the fulfillment of their dreams.

Questions about the event?  Please call Susan, 360-239-1386 or 360-956-3456, x5.

Come join us on Saturday, September 13^th, as we enjoy a comfortable bike ride on the Chehalis Western Trail. And know that in participating in this activity you are contributing to a home for one of your neighbors, for a family who dreams of a home to call their own, to the betterment of that family and the community as a whole.

For families with children there will be a five-mile ride, going north 2½ miles from Horizon Elementary School and returning on the same path.

For adults without children there will be a 20 mile ride, going south 10 miles from Ho

rizon Elementary School

Both of these particular rides are fairly flat, with only one small hill on the adult ride. The trail runs north-south through the heart of Thurston County and links up with the County-owned 14.5-mile Yelm to Tenino Trail. It passes through a variety of ecosystems and environments in both the urban and rural areas of the County. It provides access to over 170-acres of park land including nearly two (2) miles of frontage along the Deschutes River. Our family ride will features access to Chambers Lake, and both will feature wetlands, forests, farmland, creeks, prairies, and other habitats. There are mileage markers every 1/2 mile along the trail.

Sign up today. And as a participant you will receive a t-shirt with this year’s logo! Be sure to mark the sizes you’ll need. (Families paying the family rate will receive a maximum of four shirts.)