Project History
Habitat for Humanity (HFH) started in the Nashua area as SoHillCo HFH in 1991. In 1993, we changed our name to Greater Nashua HFH to better reflect the area we serve. Our area covers Pelham, Hudson, Nashua, Hollis, Amherst, Merrimack and Milford.
In December 1993 we were incorporated in the state of New Hampshire and on December 1, 1994 we completed the affiliation process and became an official Habitat for Humanity affiliate. We are governed by a local Board of Directors. Organizational responsibilities are distributed between the committees of; Fundraising, Public Relations, Site Selection, Building, Family Selection, Partnership, Volunteer and Board of Directors. There is currently no paid staff in this affiliate and there will be no paid staff for the foreseeable future. We are all volunteers.
Our program consists of: Home Ownership projects, Small building projects, and Good Neighbor projects, along with other HFHI sponsored affiliate projects. During the affiliation process and up to the present time we have worked with other groups and organizations in the Nashua area along with other affiliates to assist them with volunteer labor. Here is a listing of some of our activities over the past several years.
2008
September: Provided assistance to the Greater Manchester affiliate with their 4 Dutton Street duplex project. Inside will continue installation of the laminate floors, hanging doors, installing base boards, and painting. Outside completed the decking and stairs.
August: Constructed handicapped access ramp — Palm Street, Nashua. Picked upon donated cabinets for our next two homes.
Signed a purchase & sales agreement on a building lot on Tonella Rd, Milford appropriate for future construction of a duplex.
July: Provided minor pluming repairs to the Main St United Methodist Church Parsonage. The demolition of 7 ½ Ridge St was finally completed and fenced-in for safety. The next step for Ridge St is application for a zoning variance to enable construction of a single family home.
Provided $7161 in support for international housing construction in Ecuador.
Purchased a building lot on Russell St in Wilton to ensure a location for a build in 2009.
June: Held the 13th Annual Take a Hike for Humanity. Small job at Nashua Neighborhood Housing to add soffit vents on the north side to reduce the likelihood of a repeat of this past winter’s ice damming.
May: Installed a fence across back yard to keep an autistic child enclosed/safe in the yard — McClure Lane, Merrimack. Community Church of Hudson held a Lasagna dinner on Saturday, May 17, to raise funds for Habitat.
April: Hosted a Habitat for Humanity Regional Affiliates Networking meeting. The Nashua Community College provided the facilities for the meeting.
Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity was awarded the President’s Community Partner Award at the 5th Annual Campus Compact for New Hampshire Presidents’ Awards Luncheon in recognition of our partnership with the Nashua Community College.
Helped with the completion of drywall installation with our neighbor affiliate in Greater Manchester.
March: Assisted our neighbor affiliate in Greater Manchester over three weekends installing drywall on their Dutton St project.
February: GNHFH was selected as the partner charity for the Grand Opening of the 1500th Lowe’s Store in the US – in south Nashua. During this 2-day event, GNHFH received a $15,000 gift-card matching the total Lowe’s Gift card sold at the Lowe’s of Nashua store.
January: Installed railings and grab bars on both sides of the basement stairs (framing as needed) to facilitate handicapped access on New Searles St. Installed electric heating / ductwork from basement up to 1st floor Canal Street, Pepperell, MA.
Participated in the television premier of the Extreme Home Makeover: Home Edition episode filmed in Manchester, NH. The event which was held in the Verizon Wireless Arena enabled organizations to highlight volunteering opportunities in their community.
2007
December: Prepared our Holiday Edition Newsletter for 2007 during our first ever Newsletter Pizza Party. The assembly was completed in record time, and we had a great time doing it!
November: Sold tickets for the Simon Evening of Giving Shopping Event and were one of the top 15 selling charities enabling us to have a table the evening of the event. Participated in the Downtown Stroll at Main Street United Methodist Church and held a second, very successful bake sale – raising nearly $600.
September: Preparation work for temporary power for future house construction project (Ridge St, Nashua). Held our first Building on Faith outreach meeting at First Church, Nashua.
August: Repair doors, replace screen doors and seal small basement water leaks in Merrimack.
July: Constructed handicapped access ramp in Nashua. Provided $9471 in support of international housing construction in Ecuador.
June: Three-day Operation Home Delivery framing event at the Nashua Community Technical College on Amherst St, Nashua. 150 volunteers constructed a Home-In-A-Box for the Mobile Alabama HFH affiliate to aid in recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Trimmed windows, baseboards, and deck, and other home repairs in Milford.
May: Additional handicapped access improvements in Pepperell, MA. Held the 12th Annual Take a Hike for Humanity.
April: Sponsored a student at Nashua High School South to go to Mississippi to participate in an HFH Katrina relief build.
March: Connected smoke alarm and performed other minor renovations in a French Hill home in Nashua. Replaced ceiling fan in Nashua. Final plumbing and building inspections, and certificate of occupancy for newly renovated apartments at 50 Tolles Street, Nashua. Moved to our new principal office space to 63 Temple Street thanks to our partnership with Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Nashua.
February: Patched landing on ramp. Install kick plates below kitchen cabinets (after kitchen floor installed) and moved in range and refrigerator from Neighborhood Housing storage. Held the 2nd Heart of the Community Celebration honoring Ray Doucette, Jerry Harrow, and The Stabile Companies, for their support of Habitat for Humanity.
January: Continued work renovating the former offices of Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Nashua into low-income apartments. Carpentry and plumbing repairs in Milford.
2006
December: Constructed a wheelchair ramp and provided handicapped-access renovations including door widening, cabinet lowering, and installing overhead sling lift.
November: Constructed handicap ramp in Nashua. Continued renovations of the former offices of Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Nashua into low-income apartments. Participated in Simon Evening of Giving and won the award for the most improved charity sales for the year. Participated in the Downtown Stroll at Main Street United Methodist Church and had our first bake sale along with refreshments.
September: The service area for Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity was officially expanded to include the towns of Brookline, Greenville, Lyndeborough, Mason, Mont Vernon, Wilton, and Windham.
August: Completed the renovation of the new offices of Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Nashua and started conversion of their prior offices into low-income rental apartments. Provided $12,301 in support of international housing construction in Ecuador & India.
June: Dedication of the Whitney St project. Held Volunteer Recognition Picnic honoring volunteer efforts. Assisted the Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter with painting and new cabinets. Lamy’s Black Belt Academy held a “Break-A-Thon” on the Oval in Milford raising $1200 to support Habitat. Stabile Homes and Carlson GMAC Real Estate joined together to host a Chip-in for Charity golf tournament with proceeds of $10,000.
May: Repairs to a Merrimack home (chimney repair, window replacement, and vinyl siding). Provided a wheelchair-access ramp in Nashua. The 11th Annual Take-A-Hike for Humanity fundraiser set a new record raising over $15,000 for our affiliate.
April: Constructed a ramp in Mont Vernon to enable wheelchair access. Second Hoops-for-Humanity 3-on-3 basketball tournament. Completed the 51 Whitney St house project.
March: In honor of our long-time building chairman, Dave Darling, teens of the St. John Neumann Catholic Community fasted for 30 hours to raise awareness and funds for local non-profit agencies that assist those who are less fortunate as part of their 10th Anniversary Fast for Social Action with $2100 designated to Habitat.
February: First ever Heart of the Community Celebration dinner honoring volunteers and former Habitat board members Patrick Verhoff, Vicki Hatfield, and Dave Darling raising over $8,000.
2005
July: Construction begins on the Whitney Street house.
June 25: Groundbreaking for the 51 Whitney Street house.
May-July: Assisted Greater Nashua Interfaith Hospitality Network to rehabilitate the Anne Marie House in Hudson for temporary shelter.
January: Constructed a handicap access ramp for Randy Pearce in Nashua.
2004
Provided $2511 in support of international housing construction in Ecuador.
December: Purchased property on corner of Tolles and Whitney Streets for next house.
September: September: Constructed a wall with doorway to divide the office space for the Greater Nashua Interfaith Hospitality Network on Daniel Webster Highway in Nashua into two separate areas.
August: Constructed a ramp in Peterborough. Also teamed up with the Salvation Army and Lions Club and 26 people painted the house in 6 hours.
June: Small project in Milford.
2003
Provided $2780 in support of international housing construction in Haiti.
December: Garbage disposal was replaced for a woman with cancer.
November: Renovation of a ramp and shed in Amherst. Repair work on a small project in Merrimack.
September: Southern NH HIV/Aids Task Force handicap access ramp (Materials $560).
June: The new homeowners took possession and moved in on June 24th.
May: Completed construction on Fowell Ave. Handicap access ramp funded by State NH Division of Elderly & Adult services ($750). Assisted on two weekends in siding a trailer in Amherst.
2002
Provided $3220 in support of international housing construction in Haiti.
Dental Connection: Construction of offices for the Dental Connection within an existing building. ($1117 supplies). Also renovation to add handicap accessibility to a bathroom ($116 supplies)
May-December: Continued construction on the Fowell Ave project.
November: Constructed handicap access ramp for a young woman with MS at her home on Lake St.
April: Ground breaking on a new single family home on 22 Fowell Ave, Nashua.
2001
Nashua Pastoral Care Center: Installed replacement windows.
Area Families:
- Handicap ramp for an elderly resident.
- Remodeling a 1/2 bath to fully handicap accessible bath for elderly.
- Building larger deck and handicap bath for family of quadruplets, 2 with cerebral palsy.
Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter: General maintenance project.
Marguerite’s Place: Awning work.
Elderly and Adult Services of Southern NH: Starting referral Partnership for clients requesting assistance.
City of Nashua, Urban Programs: Partnership program for assisting very poor residence in need of home repairs or remodel for quality of life issues (health). (Qualifiers: 5 to 20% of the median income.)
2000
Tolles Street Mission: Gutted building, new windows, partitions, sheetrock, doors, trim, stairs, and kitchen cabinets.
Pastoral Care: Built shelving, put up walls, sheetrock, electrical work, and tore down partitions.
Nashua Soup Kitchen: Electrical work, plumbing, cabinets, congoleum flooring, repairs, painting, and sheetrock.
Upper Room Compassionate Ministry: Replacement windows, and new floor.
Handicap Ramps: For Nashuan elder, Brookline, and Milford families with MS.
1999
May: Finished outside work on Tolles St. Duplex.
April: Worked with Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter on fix-up repairs and painting.
March: Closed on two family duplex.
February: Worked with NH AID/HIV Task Force in renovating their building for service.
1998
February – May: Remodeled a bathroom and entrance for handicapped accessibility for a family in Hudson with MS and MD.
April: Started work on the Two family duplex at 63-65 Tolles St. in French Hill.
April: Roofing and undercoating work on a trailer house in Nashua for a needy family.
March: Remodeled an elderly/handicapped Merrimack woman house for wheelchair accessibility.
1997
November: Finished Rehab project with French Hill Neighborhood Housing Service.
August: The two condemned buildings at 63-69 Tolles St. Nashua where demolished.
May: GNHFH became the owners of the property at 63-69 Tolles St. We will build a duplex there. The land and each side of the duplex and will be owned independently by the families selected.
1996
September: We began work at 48 Tolles St. GNHFH serves as the general contractor while FHNHS supplies the finances. This partnership greatly reduces the cost of the project.
August – September: Renovated a kitchen for handicap accessibility for a Merrimack women who suffers from MS.
July: We formalized our partnership with the French Hill Neighborhood Housing Services to renovate the building at 48 Tolles St. The first floor is to house the FHNHS offices and a police substation. The second floor will be a 3 bedroom low rent apartment.
April: A Habitat board member brought a group of Nashua high school students to Portland, Maine to work on a Habitat project for their spring vacation week.
March: We participated in HFHI Collegant Challenge Program by taking a group of college students to Circleville, WV to work on a Habitat project during their spring break.
1995
December: Volunteers built a handicap ramp for an Amherst resident who has multiple sclerosis.
July: Habitat volunteers partnered with Milford SHARE to shore up decaying floor joists for an elderly resident of Milford.
January: Completed partnership beginning May ‘94 with the Monadnock HFH affiliate to renovate a home in Amherst. We helped with publicity, volunteer recruitment, and local fund raising for the project.
1994
May – January 1995: We partnered with the Monadnock HFH affiliate to renovate a home in Amherst. We helped with publicity, volunteer recruitment, and local fund raising for the project.
December: Volunteers painted bedrooms and common rooms in the Nashua Homeless Shelter on Ash St.
September – November: A volunteer worked with French Hill Neighborhood Housing Services to build a handicap ramp for an elderly homeowner.
September: We built an enclosed porch for Keystone Hall, which provides transitional housing for recovering substance abusers. This was our first corporate supported work project. Windmill Industries of Nashua provided much of the skilled labor for this project.
July: We began work with our first family which continued until October of 1996, when for personal reasons, the family withdrew their application.
February – May: We worked with the Nashua Soup Kitchen to install a kitchen counter and also did some other minor repairs.
February: We assisted Rev. Peggy Smith, founder of the Tolles Street Mission, in evaluating potential sites for the Mission.
1993
January – April: We sent volunteers to Lowell to work with the Habitat affiliate there on a house construction project.
1992
December: We participated in the Advent Prayer Walk for the Homeless by repainting bedrooms and common areas at the Nashua Shelter and put up a fence to help stop loitering around the shelter.
May: Assisted Milford Regional Counseling Service Center with many needed indoor and outdoor renovations. We replaced a shed roof and fixed gutters. On the inside we removed wallpaper and cleaned the walls in preparation for painting.
February: Painted the inside of the Nashua Salvation Army building in preparation for their 100th anniversary celebration.
January: Built stairs and added shelving at the Nashua Soup Kitchen.
