For the past month 37 area artists have had their unique artistic creations on display in 18 different galleries in the Madison area, all to benefit Habitat for Humanity. The art displays end this Saturday, Oct. 29th.
The art is created from salvaged materials, and the proceeds from their sale go to benefit Habitat for Humanity. In 2012 Habitat for Humanity of Dane County will be celebrating its 25th anniversary.
In fact the celebration has already begun, with a benefit dinner held at the Alliant Energy Center last month. In 25 years Habitat for Humanity has touched the community in many ways.
Home Sweet Home
The biggest benefit is homes, built by volunteers working alongside families who otherwise would not be able to own their own home. That’s what Habitat is known for. Habitat Founder Millard Fuller called it “the theology of the hammer.”
In 2012 Habitat for Humanity of Dane County will build its 200th home. That’s a lot of homes for a lot of families. You can read the stories of some of these families on the Habitat website.
It’s also thousands of volunteers who have given of themselves to help out on these building projects, many through their church or other religious organization. On a national scale Habitat for Humanity is the 6th largest builder in the U.S. (6,032 closings in 2010).
The Benefits of Recyling
The Habitat ReStore is another great success story, recycling and reusing building materials and reducing waste. The store on Cottage Grove Road celebrated its 10th anniversary last month. Over those ten years 8,000 tons of usable building materials have been diverted from landfills.
The ReStore is now accepting electronic items for recycling. Sales from the ReStore help build two Habitat homes each year.
I’ve had the privilege of working on a couple of Habitat projects, a few hours invested here and there. Many volunteers have invested long hours, not only building homes but helping support Habitat in other ways, such as creating strange looking but strangely attractive art objects from salvaged materials.
To all of those we say, well done! And thank you!