• May 22, 2010: Mt. Monadnock State Park (Jaffrey, NH)
• June 5, 2010: Blue Hills Reservation (Milton, MA)

A view from Mt. Monadnock

Sign up online and create a personal pledge page.

http://takeahikeforhumanity.dojiggy.com/

Then email your personal pledge to friends and family and let them know you are raising funds in support of Habitat for Humanity in your local community.

The following hikers have already signed up in support of Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity:

• Peter Dobratz
• Karen Files
• Craig Foti
• Jeanine Georgalas ( BAE Systems Team)
• Lisa Hansen
• Steven Hansen
• Jerry Harrow (Harrow Family Team)
• Catrina Hellmer
• Nancy Lapolice ( BAE Systems Team)
• John Normand
• Derek Skillings

Raise $125, get an event T-shirt.

More information on the Take a hike for Humanity website: http://www.takeahikeforhumanity.org/

Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity President Ed Lopez. Photo by Marie Lopez.

Nashua – Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity has announced newly elected officers on its Board of Directors.  Ed Lopez, of Nashua, who has been serving as the organization’s Public Relations Chairman, has been elected President of the Board of Directors.  Marie Lopez, also of Nashua, has been re-elected Secretary of the Board while Chris Houpis, of Amherst, has been elected Assistant Secretary of the Board.  Vice President Peter Dobratz, of Derry, and Treasurer Karen Files, of Milford, are each in the middle of their first two-year term as officers on said Board. 

Each brings a different set of experiences to the Board’s officer team. 

Chris Houpis, a software executive at Kronos, which is based in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, has served in the Public Relations Committee at Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity.  He has also served in a number of non-profit organizations over the last few years, including service as a past president of the Manchester Queen City Rotary, service as chairman of the Board of Trustees at the New Hampshire Institute of Art, and membership in the Software Association of New Hampshire.  

Marie Lopez is the owner of Marie Lopez Photography and was, until recently, working for Lowell City Hall, in Lowell, Massachusetts.  She served as part of the city’s Management Information Systems Department.  She is currently completing Political Science and Photography studies at the University of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Institute of Art.  Currently, she manages the organization’s main office at 63 Temple Street, in Nashua, with Jennifer Breen.  She has also served in the Public Relations Committee. 

Ed Lopez has worked for US Senators Hank Brown and the late John H. Chafee.  In 1998 he was a candidate for Rhode Island Secretary of State and until recently served in the Military Intelligence Branch of the United States Army Reserve’s Individual Mobilization Augmentation Program, at the Joint Analysis Center in Molesworth, England.  He is currently completing a doctorate in Intelligence Studies at Durham University, in England. 

“We are each excited to continue working with Habitat for Humanity in these new capacities – but in our organization we rely on a working Board of Directors – which means that no matter what title we carry, for whatever period of time, we are all equally immersed in a tremendous amount of work.  We face a daunting challenge to raise funds in our current economy – which we need to do in order to help create affordable housing for qualified families, and this is a challenge all members of this Board are wholeheartedly and equally committed to,” said Ed Lopez. 

Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity is preparing to begin a construction project in the spring of 2010.  “At the moment we are preparing to build homes for two families in Milford and we want to urge members of the Greater Nashua community to help us raise the necessary funds, volunteer help, and materials necessary to make this project a great success.  We have at least two more homes to build right after that.  Those families and their friends are contributing as many hours of labor as our other volunteers.  We offer a ‘hand-up, not a hand-out’ so our pursuit for support helps sustain a mission that nurtures the values of hard-work and a team effort within the community,” said Board Secretary Marie Lopez. 

Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry that seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action.  Chris Houpis is a member of Saint Philip Greek Orthodox Church, in Nashua.  Marie and Ed Lopez are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also in Nashua.  Habitat invites people of all backgrounds, races and religions to build houses together in partnership with families in need. 

# # # 

If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview, please call Jennifer Breen at 603-883-0295. For further publicity information email the Public Relations Committee at pr@nashuahabitat.org.

This fun and educational event includes activities for all ages. Some of the exciting things going on will be: exhibitors, a bake sale, raffles, youth activities, and day-long entertainment at the half shell.

We are seeking participation from local businesses and organizations to make this a successful event.  Consider showcasing your business, providing community service information, or offering a youth activity as an event exhibitor.

Businesses may also donate merchandise or services, gift certificates, or provide a sponsorship of any the day’s various activities.

Please help us to make this event a success. We appreciate donations and exhibitor responses to be received before Monday, August 31, 2009.    In appreciation for support your business/organization will be listed in the event program and linked from this website. Please contact us by either leaving a message in the “upcoming community event” mailbox at 603-883-0295 or emailing us at FunFair@nashabitat.org.  Thank you for your consideration.

Some event sponsorship suggestions:

• $400 – Trophies / Ribbons / Prizes
• $250 – each Canopy
• $200 – each Bounce House
• $150 – Helium Balloons
• $175 – Dunk Tank

In addition, if you would like to exhibit at the event, we are asking for a $25.00 donation for a 10’ x 10’ spot to showcase your business & an item to be raffled off at the event. Bring your own tables and optional canopy.

Note: No selling may occur in the park but you can hand out promotional items, flyers, and coupons.

Arts for Charity, an event sponsored by Ceaser Photography, Sara Prindiville Photography, Warm Stone Studio, and Studio 99 Nashua will take place on the weekend of Friday June 19^th, Saturday June 20^th, and Sunday June 21^st of 2009 at Studio 99 Nashua, in the Picker Building, 99 Factory Street Extension, Nashua, New Hampshire (03060).  All proceeds will benefit Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity.

On Friday the 19^th a Wine and Cheese Reception will be held from 7:00pm to 9:00pm – music will be provided by The Bryan Thomas Trio.  On Saturday the 20^th and Sunday the 21^st the event will be open to the public from 12:00pm to 5:00pm each day.

We help create simple, decent houses to foster communities in which people can live and grow.  We are grateful to those who have organized Arts for Charity for helping us sustain this mission!  Please show your support by attending the event!

Directions can be found by clicking here.

This year, we’re launching a new website so that people can register for the hike in advance:

http://takeahikeforhumanity.dojiggy.com/

Once you’ve registered, you can create a personalized fundraising webpage which you can email out to friends and family asking for support.  Here are some examples of hiker pages from our board of directors:
http://takeahikeforhumanity.dojiggy.com/LopezReyesFamily
http://takeahikeforhumanity.dojiggy.com/peterdobratz

Learn more about the hike

Thanks for your support,
Peter Dobratz

We have a Take a Hike for Humanity organizational meeting this coming Saturday the 14th at 2pm. The meeting will be held at 63 Temple Street in Nashua at the Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity office building. We are looking for volunteers to help man tables and other points along the Take a Hike for Humanity event in TWO sites, over the course of TWO days.

The event will take place in two sites concurrently: Mount Monadnock and Blue Hills Reserve.  The event will take place the weekend of May 30th and May 31st of this year.  If you are interested in volunteering to help with the Hike or any related efforts – to help man tables, help organize the event, etc., please come to this meeting. Take A Hike for Humanity is one of the most important and largest fundraising events for Habitat for Humanity in New England – this is a great opportunity to interact with hikers, volunteers, and other members of local communities and Habitat organizations in the New England region.  The event has been held for the last 14 years.

Join the relationship consultant Cheri Valentine at the Passion Test Workshop at the Holistic Self Care Center in Nashua.  $20 of each $95 ticket will benefit Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity.

Discover the secret to living a life of passion and purpose

How JAZZED are YOU about YOUR life, work, play, relationships, home?

Do you LOVE what you do, how you live, where you are?

The Passion Test can help guide you to identify your passions, discover your purpose, and live a joyful life.

Cheri Valentine, is a teacher at the Holistic Self Care Center. As a Relationship Consultant, she helps people attract and create healthy relationships with clarity, confidence and choice.  The Passion Test is a fabulous step in gaining clarity about what is most important to you so that you can draw to you that which you desire and live the life that you choose. As you follow your passions, you’ll find that life becomes more purposeful and joyful.

Cheri personally trained with the creators of The Passion Test, Chris and Janet Atwood, New York Times best selling authors, to teach this amazing process as a certified Passion Test® Facilitator.

The book and its process have received outstanding reviews from transformational leaders and successful people such as Jack Canfield, Rev. Michael Beckwith, Barbara DeAngelis, Richard Paul Evans, John Gray, PhD, and many others.

Join us, for a three hour program Saturday, January 31st, 2009 commencing at 2 pm here at the Center. The contribution for this workshop is $95, $20 of which will be donated to Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity.

What better time than the New Year to look at creating a Passionate YOU. Consider giving a seat to this powerful event to someone you love for Christmas. Imagine receiving a chance to discover your passions and learn how to live them.

Save $15 when you purchase 2 tickets

Holistic Self Care Center
12 Murphy Drive
Nashua, NH 03062
603.883.1490

Nashua Stroll: a Chance to Help Those in Need of Housing

An Annual Tradition Returns to the Stroll for a Good Cause

Nashua – The Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity will return this year to the Nashua Stroll with its famous annual Bake Sale. The event will take place on Saturday, November 29th from 5PM- 9 PM.  It will be held at the United Methodist Church on 154 Main Street, Nashua, New Hampshire.

Once again, the organization seeks volunteers for baked good donations and to help run the event.  The proceeds are all directed toward the Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity and our organization’s efforts to build and renovate houses, “so that there are decent houses in decent communities in which people can live and grow”.

Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry that seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action.  Habitat invites people of all backgrounds, races and religions to build houses together in partnership with families in need.

If you are interested in baking something for the sale, or volunteering to help at the bake sale, please contact Ellen Svenson at 603-883-0295 or at office@nashabitat.org.

If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Ellen Svenson, please call Ed Lopez at 603-883-0295 or email Ed at ed.lopez@nashabitat.org.

We really want to get as many people out to the Bake Sale as possible: please let your family, friends, and colleagues know that this is a great place to buy a snack during the Stroll: you can get a great deal on home-made treats. Last year, many of these treats sold-out. This year Bake Sale organizers are making sure to stock-up with extras – but we really need your help in making their efforts a success. Let’s show an even stronger presence at this event and lets remind others of it as well!