First Home Dedicated at Willow and Jensen

Habitat Fresno began its journey at the Little Long Cheng subdivision at Willow and Jensen in southeast Fresno in October of 2011.  We hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for our first family, the Luceros, and their 1,100 sq/ft., three bedroom home.  On April 14th, we are happy to say that we celebrated the dedication of this first house! Councilmember Sal Quintero attended the festivities and welcomed the family to their beautiful new home. A grateful Lucero family passed out gifts to the Habitat staff as well as core volunteers.

When asked what they would do when they moved in, Daniel and Maria said, “We will hug each other, wipe each others' tears, lie on the carpet, and go visit every room.”  Welcome home, Daniel, Maria, DJ, and Brandon! 

A special thank you goes out to our funding partners, Wells Fargo Bank, the City of Fresno Housing and Community Development Department, and countless others for making this possible.

The second home dedication will take place on Saturday, May 12 at 1:00 PM at 2584 S. Richelle for the Vue family.   

Behind the Scenes Tour

The threatening skies and light rain did not deter the approximately 50 people who attended Habitat Fresno’s “Behind the Scenes” event on April 12th.  The purpose of this event was to give guests the opportunity to tour every aspect of three different homes at our nine unit Willow and Jensen subdivision, from foundation to dedication.  They learned about the process Habitat uses to qualify, select, build, and finally present the keys of a home to a partner family.

Friendly staff members and supporters were on hand to walk guests through the process in order to help them visualize the “nuts and bolts” of Habitat’s mission and to meet the people who work tirelessly to achieve that mission. Guests were also treated to snacks and given the opportunity to mix and mingle.

“Understanding what Habitat for Humanity does from the ground up and talking to the actual employees involved in making these homes a reality gives you a better sense of the hard work involved.  My associates and I came away from the event with a clear appreciation,” said Dan Ward, Vice President, Benefits Consulting, of Ahart Insurance, who attended the event with several of his colleagues.

Valley Life Promotes Habitat

In a segment of Valley Life that aired on April 11 on Fox 26, host Rick Kreps interviewed Habitat Executive Director Tony Miranda and Brian James, Commercial Relationship Manager for Wells Fargo. The interview took place at the newly dedicated Her family home, which was the last home built at Clara and North.

To see the segment, please go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNB7qvbF22I

Family Pays Off Mortgage

One of the most exciting events that happens at our affiliate is to have a family own their home outright, so it is always a time to celebrate when a mortgage is paid off. Just ask the Aguayo family, who purchased their home in l996. Not only have they paid off their mortgage, but they were able to do so four years early! By paying a little extra every month and using their tax refunds they were able to achieve this milestone. Congratulations to the Aguayo family!