Habitat for Humanity builds support with new event

Habitat’s first fund-raising dinner event, dubbed Tool Belts and Bow Ties, will be held at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 at the Oasis Inn and Convention Center, 2610 N. Glenstone Ave.

The event will provide several different ways for individuals, businesses and organizations to support Habitat for Humanity, including table sponsorships and donating items for the live and silent auctions. The most basic way to help, though, is to attend.

“We’re hoping to get the community more involved in an alternative way to support Habitat for Humanity so we can continue to serve the number of families that we’ve been benefiting each year – so we can continue to grow that number,” said Anna Codutti, Habitat’s director of development.

Habitat for Humanity of Springfield’s annual fund-raising goal is about half a million dollars, said Executive Director Jan Sederholm.

That amount comprises donations of materials, in-kind labor and services and monetary support.

In 2006, an additional $400,000 to $450,000 will be needed to build the infrastructure of Legacy Trails.

Sederholm said Habitat is on track to meet its fund-raising goals.

“We seem to have enough support to be able to fund this first phase of the infrastructure work as well as the corporate and church sponsors for the houses that we plan to build this year,” she said.

Infrastructure work on Legacy Trails is scheduled to begin in November.

Also, the local Habitat affiliate is weighing the possibility of opening a second ReStore in Springfield.

New subdivision, new store

The local Habitat for Humanity affiliate launched its first planned community, the McAl subdivision, in 1997. Two homes under construction now will complete the community of 51 homes.

Legacy Trails will be located off Highway 13 north of Interstate 44, with 56 homes.

Work will begin in November on the site’s preliminary infrastructure, Sederholm said. A date has not been finalized for the subdivision’s groundbreaking, but it is expected to be in December or January.

Sederholm said details are being worked out concerning a definite south-side location for a second Habitat ReStore.

The original Habitat for Humanity ReStore, 4535 W. Chestnut, mainly sells new and used building materials, but appliances and certain types of furniture are sometimes available, ReStore Manager Ron Reinke said.

If the second store became a reality, it would focus on offering new and like-new furniture and appliances, Habitat officials said.

Sederholm declined to reveal the potential donor of the site being considered for ReStore No. 2, but she said the location looks promising.

“We’re exploring the timetable, and we’re looking at different market studies to look at what product we’d actually try to get donated,” Sederholm said. “We would like to have the store open by this time next year.”

The potential ReStore expansion is made possible by tax credits. In August, Habitat for Humanity of Springfield was approved for up to $187,500 in Neighborhood Assistance Program tax credits.

If Springfield gets a second ReStore to specialize in furniture, it won’t be the first time new – or even custom-made – furniture is made available to ReStore customers.

About two years ago, a large donation of wood made it possible for Habitat to use its wood workshop at the Ozarks Correctional Center in Fordland to manufacture custom-made lawn furniture, Sederholm said.

“If we were able to generate another supply of wood, there would be some potential that it would be utilized for (making furniture),” Reinke said.

Some tables and chairs were made this year at the Fordland wood workshop, Sederholm said.

The wood workshop, made possible four years ago by a grant from the Department of Natural Resources, has opened up other partnerships for Habitat, including a partnership with Bass Pro Shops to disassemble deer stands and resell the metal at the ReStore, Sederholm said.

“There’s just a huge avenue for us to explore partnering in the prison partnership,” she said.

In fact, the tabletops at Tool Belts and Bow Ties will feature wooden houses made in Fordland.

Sederholm expects 350 attendees and at least $10,000 in profits from Tool Belts and Bow Ties. However, she said, in addition to being a fund-raiser, the event also is a celebration.

“The most important thing is celebrating all the work of all the volunteers on building those 10 houses for 10 families this year,” Sederholm said. “It’s a huge accomplishment, and we just want more people to know about the work of Habitat and all the volunteers are doing locally.”