Eliminating Poverty in Howard County.......One Home at a Time!

When most people think of Howard County, one of the last things they think about is Poverty.  In fact, when you drive though the streets of Columbia and Ellicott City, it’s hard to believe that housing problems and poverty are of great concern.  The facts don’t lie.  Did you know that:

- In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau recorded a population of 247,842 people in Howard County.  
- In 2004, the Census Bureau recorded more than 4.8% of that population living
      below poverty level
- A fair estimate of the number of people living in poverty in Howard County is
more than 11,896 people

Habitat for Humanity of Howard County, Inc. is an ecumenical Christian organization dedicated to eliminating sub-standard housing and homelessness in Howard County.  Habitat of Howard County has made a commitment to partner with the community, local churches, and local businesses to fulfill its mission of building affordable housing for families in need.  

Habitat of Howard County is one of 18 affiliates in the state of Maryland, and is one of the youngest affiliates in the region.  Habitat of Howard County is accomplishing its goals and fulfilling its mission with the love and support of so many wonderful supporters and volunteers.  Habitat is solving Howard County’s poverty, one house at a time…

Habitat Launches New Partnership With GGP And Breaks Ground!

Habitat of Howard County has partnered with General Growth Properties to help build homes in Howard County. To launch the partnership, a wonderful groundbreaking ceremony took place on June 15, 2007 on 8031 Donald Ave. in Jessup, MD.  CEO of General Growth Properties (GGP), John Bucksbaum led the groundbreaking along side Habitat’s President, George Hunter and Executive Director, David Roura, and other Habitat partners and Howard County leaders.  More than two-dozen GGP employees and volunteers participated in pre-demolition work at the abandoned house on the project site.
 
GGP is a great supporter of Habitat, and they have continued to demonstrate their commitment to help Habitat fulfill its mission to help families in need experience a better quality of life and housing.GGP has a national partnership with Habitat for Humanity to raise awareness and resources for the worldwide charitable organization. "We were excited to have General Growth's CEO launch our new project in Jessup," said David Roura, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Howard County. "We depend upon partnerships to help us in our commitment to eliminate substandard housing and build safe, decent and affordable housing in Howard County."

Others participating in the ceremonies included Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and State Delegate Guy Guzzone, who served as co-chair of the Route 1 Corridor Revitalization Task Force. Representing The Columbia Foundation, which loaned $50,000 to Habitat and granted the organization $10,000, was outgoing president and CEO Barbara Lawson; Pam Klahr, president and CEO, represented the Howard County Chamber of Commerce, which helped clear the land on Donald Avenue in preparation for the ongoing project site work.
 
Just last April, the Mall in Columbia, a GGP-owned entity, held a “Family Portraits” fundraising event, in partnership with Habitat of Howard County.  The event featured a house-like structure displaying family photos representing the families living in substandard housing throughout Howard County.  

Through the kind donations of people in the community, the event raised about $450.00, which will be used in Habitat’s upcoming building projects.

The Mall in Columbia has committed to engage employees and customers in the partnership by encouraging them to help build homes, participate in fundraising events, and other public awareness initiatives for the betterment of Howard County families.

Habitat of Howard County has come up with a great way to incorporate Howard County’s religious community into its newest effort to eliminate sub-standard housing throughout Howard County.  Habitat of Howard County, with the help of several churches is forming an “Apostle’s Build” project to build a Habitat home in Elkridge, MD.  About a dozen churches will roll up their sleeves next spring to build a four-bedroom, two-story house on Cherry Avenue.  The churches will provide the funding, labor, and prayer for the “Apostle’s Build” project.

“This Route 1 corridor is an area of great need,” David Roura, Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity of Howard County, said, adding the project fits well in the area’s revitalization.

On Thursday, October 4, 2007, Religious and community leaders gathered at the empty lot near Route 1 where four affordable houses are slated for construction. The other three homes will be built by Columbia Housing Corporation, a nonprofit that serves low- and moderate-income families.

The Habitat house will be the first built through the organization’s Apostle’s Build program, which brings churches together to build the houses. Now local churches can focus their time and money on a need often overlooked in a wealthy county like Howard, said Stuart Welsh, a member of Habitat’s board and the Apostle’s Build coordinator.

For more information, please contact:
Stu Welsh, Apostle’s Build Coordinator at or email us at [ email ]

Our 8th Annual Habifest 5k run took place on September 15, 2007 at Copeland’s in downtown Columbia. After registration the runners picked up their race day t-shirts and race bags sponsored by Identity Promotions LLC, and Washington Group International respectively. The race bags included information from our various sponsors as well as a water bottle provided by New Balance. The runner’s were then led in pre race stretches by F.A.S.T. Personal Fitness.

To kick off the race the National Anthem was sung by Mrs. Esther Roura and opening ceremonies were conducted by Eddie Pratt of Prophetic Illustrations and the start of the was led by Jim Disciullo of Information Forum.

Just fifteen minutes after the start of the race our overall winner, Elkyas Sisay, crossed the finish line beating his competition by a full minute and running at a 4:58 pace. Our second place winner was Mike Colaiacovo with a time of 16:25 and our 3rd place winner was Colin Raunig with a time of 16:36. For complete race results click here.

After the race the runners and volunteers enjoyed an outstanding sandwich provided by Copeland’s, fruit provided by East Coast Fresh Cuts, and granola bars provided by Food Lion.  And who could forget all the free ice cream you could eat which was graciously provided by Hershey’s Ice Cream. During the award ceremonies runners from every age group were awarded with gift certificates to various local establishments such as Lynn’s Day Spa, The Elkridge Furnace Inn and Copeland’s New Orleans Style Restaurant.

We had about 370 runners this year nearly quadrupling the amount of runners from last year’s race. We would like to extend a special thanks to the Howard County Police Department, Fire Department; all the volunteers that helped during the planning phase as well as the day of the race, and the Habitat for Humanity of Howard County Board of Directors for their continued support of this event.