Atlanta, U.S.A. – Steve Thomas, Emmy Award-winning television personality and former host of the home improvement shows This Old House and Renovation Nation, will join Habitat for Humanity and local home building professionals in cities across the U.S. to build or rehabilitate homes during the week of June 4 as part of Habitat for Humanity’s Home Builders Blitz 2012.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to join home builders who are helping to build more than 200 Habitat homes in 2012,” said Thomas. “With their help and support, Habitat will be able to make affordable housing a reality with even more families this year. The expertise and skill these home building professionals bring to the table is a welcome addition to Habitat’s efforts to build affordable housing.”

Thomas will visit Habitat affiliates in Memphis, Tenn.; Flint, Mich.; McKinney, Texas; Omaha, Neb.;Raleigh, N.C.; and Lawrence, Mass.; to help raise awareness on how building professionals can take an active role in addressing the affordable housing needs of their communities.

Over the course of his career, Thomas is recognized as the “ultimate home enthusiast” and an “expert-on-demand” on the home renovation process. A much-in-demand speaker as well as a home renovator, Thomas advocates for greener building and renovation techniques.

Thomas first worked with Habitat for Humanity during a 1990 trip to Charlotte to cover the launching of a new Habitat affiliate. He subsequently showcased the 1993 Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project inWinnipeg, Canada, and thereafter continued to integrate coverage of Habitat’s activities into his professional projects.

Habitat’s Home Builders Blitz is a partnership between Habitat and the building community to build and renovate homes across the United States. Builders and Habitat affiliates work closely to organize all aspects of building, including securing subcontractors and suppliers, fundraising and seeking donations of materials.

During this year’s event, the nationwide project seeks to build and renovate more than 200 homes, thanks to the skilled labor provided by local professional homebuilders and construction firms.

“Steve’s expertise in home renovation and long history with Habitat make him the perfect spokesperson for this year’s Home Builder’s Blitz,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. “We sincerely thank Steve, the local builders and our generous sponsors for their support in helping families nationwide who are in need of affordable housing.”

Habitat for Humanity would like to thank the building professionals and the following sponsors for their help in making this year’s Home Builders Blitz possible: Cree; The Dow Chemical Company; The Elizabeth Anton Habitat for Humanity Fund; GAF Materials Corporation; Hunter Douglas; Larson; Lowe’s; Masco; Royal Building Products; Schneider Electric; the Tapco Group; Toto; Valspar; the Whirlpool Corporation; and Yale Locks & Hardware. The National Association of Home Builders supports the voluntary participation of its members in this year’s Home Builders Blitz.

About Habitat for Humanity International

Habitat for Humanity International is a global nonprofit Christian housing organization that seeks to put God’s love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope. Since 1976, Habitat has served more than 500,000 families by welcoming people of all races, religions and nationalities to construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions.

For more information, to donate or to volunteer, please visit www.habitat.org, or follow at www.facebook.com/habitat or at www.twitter.com/habitat_org or join Habitat’s blog community a twww.habitat.org/blog.

Image Courtesy of   eschipul

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New York, U.S.A. – Carnegie Mellon, Hult International Business School and NYU Abu Dhabi were honored for their commitment to eradicating poverty at the Hult Global Case Challenge in New York City, hosted by Hult International Business and the Clinton Global Initiative.

The three winning teams beat thousands of students from the world’s best business schools for a US$1 millioncash grant and
were honored by President Bill Clinton.

Started three years ago by Hult graduate Ahmad Ashkar, the Hult Global Case Challenge is the largest and most respected initiative of its kind. Harnessing the power of crowd sourcing, the Hult Global Case Challenge attracted students from 350 colleges and universities to provide solutions to the real challenges facing three NGOs. These are Habitat for Humanity, which builds affordable housing; SolarAid, which brings renewable energy to impoverished communities; and One Laptop Per Child, which provides low-cost computers to children.

A panel of high-profile judges including: Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, Unilever Chairman Michael Treschow, social entrepreneur Darell Hammond, and the CEOs of the three NGOs, selected the winners in education, housing and energy.

Education               

Winner: Carnegie Mellon

To help One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) put 10 million laptops in the hands of children worldwide in the nextfive years, the Carnegie
Mellon team presented an innovative approach to ensure streamlined laptopdeployment and to create a global brand for the
NGO ’ s open-source software.

“The Hult Global Case Challenge has provided us with many ideas to address the challenge of scaling OLPC to enable learning for the world’s poorest children,” said Rodrigo Arboleda, Chairman and CEO of the One Laptop per Child Association. “We appreciate the creativity, passion and effort of all the student teams around the world who participated in the competition.”

Housing

Winner: Hult International Business School

Habitat for Humanity has a mission to provide homes for 50 million people within the next 10 years.
Hult ’s winning solution focuses on harnessing the intelligence of those at the bottom of the pyramid andequipping them to
solve their own problems.

“Hult’s Global Case Challenge is good news for everyone involved,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity. “Students have the opportunity to solve real-world challenges, and organizations like Habitat benefit — not only from the prize money used to implement the winning proposal, but also from the ideas that emerge from crowdsourcing and the relationships that we develop with tomorrow’s business leaders.”

Energy

Winner: NYU Abu Dhabi

Many Africans still rely on kerosene lamps. NYU Abu Dhabi ’ s solution focuses on creating a network ofentrepreneurs and
technicians who will sell and fix solar lamps in a sustainable way.

Speaking in support of the winning team’s solution, SolarAid CEO Steve Andrews said: “Our goal is to eradicate the kerosene lamp from Africa by the end of this decade. That’s simply a huge challenge, which will only be possible with massive innovation. Having the top students from around the world competing to come up with great ideas for how we will do this is an extraordinary boost. It’s already changing the way we think and work.”

Ahmad Ashkar, the founder and CEO of the Hult Global Case Challenge, said: “This initiative aims to revolutionize how we think about the world’s most pressing social challenges. With US$1 million in seed capital, students from all over the world have a chance to establish social enterprises that achieve real results.”

Congratulating the winning teams, Hult President Dr Stephen Hodges added: “The Hult Global Case Challenge is an important part of Hult’s push to encourage social entrepreneurship among talented students, whichever country they come from. Through this visionary kind of crowd sourcing we’re giving NGOs access to a wealth of new ideas and perspectives that help them grow stronger.”

Image Courtesy of  Jose Gil / Shutterstock.com

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More than 150 families left homeless by the 2010 earthquake took possession of their new permanent homes in Habitat for Humanity’s Santo community in Leogane, 18 miles west of Port-au-Prince and considered to be the epicenter of the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake.

“This is an exciting day for the partner families, Habitat for Humanity, donors, partners, volunteers and supporters who have made this all possible,” said Mark Andrews, vice president of Haiti recovery for Habitat for Humanity International. “Together, we have built a new community that will bring lasting hope, health and well-being to these families for years and generations to come.”

The Leogane development has the potential to house up to 500 families, or approximately 2,500 individuals. To date, 155 homes have been constructed thanks to Santo project donors, including the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank, donors and volunteers of Habitat’s 28th annual Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, and volunteers from Haven, an Irish non-profit. Partner families contributed more than 150 hours of “sweat equity” to help build their homes.

Habitat plans to construct another 100 houses this year when the Carter Work Project returns to Haiti. More houses will be constructed, pending additional funding.

In addition to a new home, each family has their own compost latrine and has access to clean water at one of the 14 water points constructed throughout the development. Solar-powered street lighting is also provided. As part of the multi-year project, the plan is to provide needed services, including a community and health center, a school, church and safe play areas.

Speaking at Wednesday’s celebration, Claude Jeudy, Habitat’s national director for Haiti, said, “We have looked forward to this day with great anticipation to recognize what faith, perseverance and true partnership can create. This community is a testament to the inspiring work of the many people who have come together to make a difference in Haiti.”

Since the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010, Habitat for Humanity’s five-year disaster recovery program to provide 50,000 families with pathways to permanent housing has helped more than 40,000 families or approximately 200,000 individuals in Port-au-Prince, Leogane and Cabaret.

In addition to its permanent houses in Santo, Habitat has distributed more than 24,500 emergency shelter kits with partner organizations, constructed more than 5,000 transitional or upgradeable shelters, conducted 12,000 house damage assessments, and repaired or rehabilitated more than 350 houses. Habitat’s primary focus over the next three years will be to partner with more Haitian families to build permanent housing.

The earthquake damaged nearly 190,000 houses in Haiti, of which 105,000 were completely destroyed. Of the more than 2 million affected survivors, 550,000 are still displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration. Land tenure continues to remain the biggest roadblock to reconstruction. The process of identifying land ownership was vague before the earthquake, and now it is even more of a challenge.

To address this problem, Habitat has created and fostered the Haiti Property Law Working Group, a diverse coalition of Haitian government officials, lawyers, academics and business leaders, along with representatives of the World Bank, USAID, the Inter-American Development Bank, the government of France, the Organization of American States, Architecture for Humanity, the Clinton Global Initiative, foundations, development partners and other nongovernmental organizations engaged in reconstruction and development.

The goal of the Haiti Property Law Working Group is to support the government of Haitiin the recovery effort through the appropriate development of property for job creation, housing and other purposes by defining each step of the current processes applicable to land transactions and recommending improvements to be incorporated in future policies.

Image Courtesy of  arindambanerjee / Shutterstock.com

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In 2011, Amerigroup and its associates have answered a call to action: Be the solution.

More than 560 employees participated in the ‘Amerigroup Community Volunteers’ program, devoting 20,000 hours of service to 669 organizations. The volunteer efforts have positively affected organizations such as the American Red Cross, the March of Dimes, Saint Mary’s Home for Disabled Children, the United Way, the Make a Wish Foundation and the Salvation Army, to name a few.

“It was so fulfilling to be able to help someone in need,” remarked Amerigroup associate Vivian Trice after volunteering at the annual ‘Toys for Tots’ drive in Virginia Beach. “It sparked the desire in me to want to do more in the coming months to ensure that I am being the best neighbor, friend and American that I can be.”

The Amerigroup Foundation offers employees a matching gift program and the ‘Dollars for Doers’ program. In the program, non-profit organizations to which employees donate 20-50 hours of their time annually will receive a cash donation from the Foundation.

“At Amerigroup, we do well by doing good. Our associates are deeply committed to making a difference in their communities and I couldn’t be more proud of the contributions our team has made in 2011,” said James G. Carlson, chief executive officer for Amerigroup. “We provide assistance to our neighbors in need, which makes a difference in their lives and, in the process, enriches ours.”

In addition to the Amerigroup volunteer efforts, the Amerigroup Foundation provided almost 450 grants totaling more than $2.1 million to more than 350 different local non-profit community organizations in 2011, including:

• $120,000 to help improve housing, employment and recreation for people with disabilities
• $150,000 in support of the delivery of healthcare services to uninsured Virginians at the Remote Area Medical (RAM) Health Expedition in Wise County, Va.
• $175,000 to Habitat for Humanity
• $187,000 to promote timely flu shots
• $750,000 to improve health outcomes and access to quality care for underserved communities

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