Framing is in full swing at Gooseberry Trails!
The first homes are rising at Gooseberry Trails, Habitat Portland Region’s largest community yet! After months of site development, this neighborhood is buzzing with activity as trades and volunteers begin framing the first of the future 52 homes. Framing is in full swing “It’s really exciting to see future homes finally go up. It really […]
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Sarah’s ReStore story: finding joy and strength
On a recent sunny Saturday in Gresham, Sarah Cox helped represent Habitat at a community event. She’s been volunteering for nearly a year, mostly at the Gresham ReStore and occasionally on the construction side. Sarah describes the volunteer experience by drawing an infinity symbol in the air with her finger. “I’m able to give into something that’s bringing some spirit back into my […]
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One Habitat Family
It only took a few days for new connections to start feeling like old friends. Last month, Habitat for Humanity Portland Region staff welcomed three members of Habitat El Salvador’s Resource Development team, Vanessa Albanez, Hazel Bolanos, and Roberto Vasquez, to Portland. As staff gathered to meet them, we shared pupusas, El Salvador’s national dish, […]
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Finding peace: Duffy’s homeownership journey
When Duffy and her three children moved into their Habitat home this year, the biggest change wasn’t the extra space, but the peace she has worked so hard to achieve. “It feels like we can be a tighter family unit and rebuild our identity together,” she says. For two years, Duffy’s family made the most […]
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Construction update: summer build season is heating up!
From breaking ground to finishing punch-lists, our sites across the Portland region are buzzing with activity. Have a look at where things stand this summer and what’s on the horizon. Myrtlewood Way — Gresham After more than two years of development, Myrtlewood Way is in its home stretch. Twelve of the twenty homes in the […]
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Celebrating our volunteers and the Brauner Circle of Volunteer Excellence
Every summer, we get to do one of our favorite things: gather with the volunteers who make this work possible and say thank you. On a sunny afternoon at Willamette Park, volunteers from our construction sites and ReStores filled the picnic shelter. People played cornhole, shared sandwiches and sweets, and enjoyed a perfect summer day […]
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Giving back is a way of life for Ambassador Council Chair Claire Leipzig
Claire remembers the satisfaction she felt serving meals at Grace Church with her mother as a child. In high school, she volunteered with Bike First, a Portland organization that teaches people with intellectual and developmental disabilities how to ride bikes independently. When she went to college in New Orleans, she volunteered with an organization in the Ninth Ward that put on musical productions for children with […]
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Cece is the cornerstone of her community
Written by Wendi Frith Cece is the cornerstone of her community. And it just so happens that her community is Cornerstone Condominiums. When residents first moved into the Aloha neighborhood 25 years ago, Cece’s neighbors quickly recognized her as a doer. They elected Cece as the HOA’s first president. When her three-year term ended and it was time to elect a new president, her neighbors told her to keep doing it. “Nobody wanted it,” she laughs. She was good at it, […]
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Carter Work Project reflections from Habitat Portland Region staff
While the daily rhythms of construction and volunteer work continued in Portland, Habitat for Humanity Portland Region’s Deputy Director of Construction Programs, Jesse Withers, and Director of Volunteer Engagement, Liz Connor, joined 2,500 volunteers in Atlanta, GA, for the 40th annual Carter Work Project. “It was a sea of blue hard hats,” says Jesse. A tide of […]
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Daring to dream: Stephanie’s homeownership journey
Stephanie is celebrating one year of homeownership this May. This lifelong goal took years of dedication and preparation; now, she relishes every day in her home. Like many people in their thirties, Stephanie didn’t know if finding a permanent place to call home would even be possible given record high home prices. In 2022, Stephanie was out of college, established in her career as a preschool teacher, and looking for her next step. Never one to shy away from a challenge, she decided to believe in […]
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