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Events/Builds

April 17, 2012

Alachua Habitat for Humanity’s Santa Fe II Home Set to Roll to New Home Destination $65K Bank of America Grant Funded Construction Project

Gainesville – A new home completely sponsored by a Bank of America Charitable Foundation grant and constructed indoors at Santa Fe College’s Charles R. Perry Construction Institute is set to roll to its final destination at 3900 SE 13^th Terrace, Robinson Heights subdivision on Thursday at 9:00 am.

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation, a long-time supporter of Alachua Habitat for Humanity, provides philanthropic support to address needs vital to the health of our community by focusing on community development initiatives such as housing.The Bank of America Charitable Foundation provides philanthropic support to address needs vital to the health of our communities by focusing on community development initiatives, such as housing, educating the workforce for 21^st century jobs and addressing critical needs, such as hunger. The Bank of America Charitable Foundation provides philanthropic support to address needs vital to the health of our communities by focusing on community development initiatives, such as housing, educating the workforce for 21^st century jobs and addressing critical needs, such as hunger.

This is the second Habitat for Humanity home built at the college in collaboration with Santa Fe College students, apprentices and instructors from the Builders Association of North Central Florida (BANCF) Apprenticeship Program, the Student Builders Association, and Alachua Habitat volunteers. The home is built in two sections and each section is transported separately. When construction is completed on the home and ready to move, each section is jacked up and loaded by crane on to a trailer and then slowly transported to the home site. At the home site, a crane then lifts each of the home sections off the trailer and sets them into place on home foundation. After the home is set, then a front porch, back porch, driveway and landscaping will be added before final completion.

Home construction at the college gives the students hands on experience in the college classes for two semesters of Construction Management Techniques I and II and follows the established curriculum. The Santa Fe II house plan, donated by Southern Structures in Ocala, is a 1,248 sq. ft. 52 x 24 modular 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home. The homes final destination is to property donated to Alachua Habitat by G.W. Robinson.

February 27, 2012

Santa Fe College Student Builders and Habitat for Humanity Celebrate with Topping Out Ceremony and Bar-B-Q

Gainesville – Santa Fe College Student Builders Association and Habitat for Humanity invite the community to celebrate the Topping Out of the Santa Fe II house on Thursday, March 1, 2012 from 4-7pm at the Charles R. Perry Construction Institute (Bldg O) at Santa Fe College.

The Santa Fe II home, currently under construction, is a collaboration of the Santa Fe College Building Construction Program, Habitat for Humanity and the BANCF Apprenticeship Program. This is the second home built at the college through the partnership. The plan is to build one home a year at Santa Fe through this collaboration. Developing the funding for each home is an ongoing annual process. This home was funded entirely by a Bank of America grant of $65 thousand.

Habitat volunteers work alongside Santa Fe students and apprentices in building the home inside the Charles R. Perry Institute of Construction and then the home is loaded on a truck and transported to the home site. Habitat selects the homeowners through the Habitat family selection process.

In building construction the “Topping Out” Ceremony is held when the roof of the building is complete. Folklore proclaims that “topping out” is for shelters being constructed of wood. Before cutting the first tree, the builders would formally address the forest, reminding it of the consideration and respect they had toward trees, and ask the forest to grant use of a tree for construction of their home. When the house was complete, the top leafiest branch of that tree would be set atop the roof so that the “tree spirit” would not be rendered homeless. The gesture was to further convince the “tree spirit” of the sincere appreciation of the people building the home and hopes that those living or working in the dwelling would flourish.

Please join us for this rite of passage in welcoming the “tree spirit” to the Charles R. Perry Institute of Construction at Santa Fe College. Proceeds from the bar-b-q will support the Student Builders Association.

The COWBOYZ catered barbecue tickets are $10 and available at the Santa Fe O Building. For more information call 352-395-5361.

Bank of America – Santa Fe College Build Underway

Alachua Habitat for Humanity is happy to announce a collaboration with Bank of America to build a home for the Robert Alexander family in Gainesville. Construction began in the fall of 2011 and will conclude in summer 2012!

Bank of America has a long relationship with Habitat for Humanity International and recently volunteered to finance this home after a nomination by Jon Gardner, Market President. Mr. Gardner has long been associated with Alachua Habitat and has nominated funds for local use in the Gainesville area in the past.

Santa Fe College will also participate in this build, providing much of the work and design on the project. Volunteerism is a basic aspect of completing all Habitat homes. Santa Fe students, faculty, and apprentices work on this home during the week, and volunteers work on weekends. As part of their participation, Bank of America will establish three to four group volunteer days for local bank employees.

The UF Habitat Club will provide student volunteers every Saturday. The UF Habitat Club has a very active and dedicated group of volunteers who come out on weekends to assist.

Mr. Alexander’s family and friends will also be putting in required homeowner hours!

Interfaith Habitat House Build Completed!

Sunday, September 11th marked the Grand Opening of the Interfaith Habitat House built in southeast Gainesville! This was a special occasion for many reasons! First, it is a new home for Habitat homeowner, Regina Stuckey and her family. Second, it completed the 30-home Habitat neighborhood in SE Gainesville called Celebration Oaks begun in 2004. And last, but far from least, it was a celebration of interfaith cooperation among 17 local churches and faith congregations! The Grand Opening included: Ecumenical prayer and musical offering; Scripture quotations by representatives of the three participating faiths; Presentation to homeowners of a book of holy scriptures from each tradition; A ribbon cutting ceremony with homeowner and elected officials.

The interfaith congregations who cooperated on raising funds for this house are: The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints of North Central Florida; Congregation B’nai Israel; Grace Methodist Church; Holy Faith Catholic Church; Holy Trinity Episcopal Church; Islamic Community Center of Gainesville; Parkview Baptist Church; Pleasant Plain United Methodist Church of Gainesville; P’nai Or Congregation; Presbyterian Churches of Gainesville; St. Patrick’s Catholic Church; Temple Shir Shalom; Trinity Metropolitan Community Church; Trinity United Methodist Church; United Church of Gainesville; University Lutheran Church.