Columbia County Habitat for Humanity & Lowe’s Invite Women to Volunteer During
National Women Build Week
Women to build homes in partnership with local low-income families May 4 – 12
Columbia County-area women are invited to grab their hammers and volunteer during Habitat for Humanity’s sixth annual National Women Build Week. During the week of May 4-12, more than 300 Habitat affiliates nationwide will host Women Build projects in partnership with Lowe’s, the underwriter of Habitat’s Women Build program.
National Women Build Week challenges women to come together and devote at least one day to building simple, decent and affordable housing in their local communities. More than 41,000 women volunteers from all 50 states have participated in previous years.
“We are so excited to participate in National Women Build Week. Lowe’s generosity will allow us to complete the Columbia Passive Townhouses,” said Brenda Adams, executive director of Columbia County Habitat. “Mother’s Day weekend, May 11-12, will be a great opportunity for women of all skill levels to come together to help our families and their neighborhood.” read more…
Snapshots: The Columbia Passive Townhouses
Photo credit: Ber Murphy
Columbia County Habitat Dedicates Energy-Saving Columbia Passive Townhouses
The completed Columbia Passive Townhouses at 244-246 Columbia Street, Hudson, NY.
Columbia County Habitat for Humanity (CCHfH) dedicated the revolutionary Columbia Passive Townhouses on Saturday, April 20, 2013 in Hudson, NY. Designed by ground-breaking green architect Dennis Wedlick of BarlisWedlick Architects, the Columbia Passive Townhouses at 244-246 Columbia Street are the first Habitat homes in New York State designed to achieve the Passive House standard, the world’s most advanced building science benchmark for energy efficiency. Heating energy use in the Townhouses is expected to be 90% less than in conventional construction.
Wedlick, who volunteered the firm’s services for this project, explained the concept behind passive design: “Generally speaking, a Passive House is a high-performance residence that is able to maintain a constant comfortable indoor temperature, year-round, with little need for heating or air conditioning. It is able to do so because of its carefully calibrated construction, which includes advanced wall
Pictured on the doorsteps of 244-246 Columbia Street at the dedication of Columbia County Habitat for Humanity’s Columbia Passive Townhouses are, left to right, architect Dennis Wedlick of BarlisWedlick Architects, Habitat President Janis Smythe, Hudson Mayor Bill Hallenbeck and Habitat Executive Director Brenda Adams. Photo credit: Sarah Sterling.
framing and state-of-the-art insulation techniques. This Passive House design standard far exceeds the energy efficiency achieved by LEED or Energy Star 3 homes. While the standard is well-established in several European countries, few single-family homes in the U.S. have been able to achieve this level of energy efficiency. The Columbia Passive Townhouses will be one of the first multi-family homes in the nation to do so.”
CCHfH President Janis Smythe said, “The Board is very proud and happy to be the first Habitat affiliate in New York State to invest in a building that is designed to achieve Passive House standards. This year is our 20th anniversary and we couldn’t have a better way to celebrate. Habitat is all about affordable home ownership for families. The Columbia Passive Townhouses are affordable not only in their purchase cost and no-interest financing. These homes also offer their owners long-term financial sustainability as well because of the nominal energy required for heating.” read more…
Questar Construction Trades students worked regularly on Columbia County Habitat’s Columbia Passive Townhouses. Habitat Executive Director Brenda Adams said, “We really couldn’t have built the house without the skill and energy these young men brought to the site every time.” Pictured above, left to right, are: sitting — Questar Construction Trades Instructor Bill Ebel, Phil Martin, Habitat Board member and Questar site supervisor John Livingston, Habitat Executive Director Brenda Adams, Aaron Jackson, Bruce Hamm and Kevin Kiefer. Standing — John Schermerhorn, Anthony Bashford, Robert Kohler, John Farace, John Dickert, Ronin Turner and Mike Bliss.
ReNew, April 20th Community Earth Day Celebration at ReStore, Offers Lots of Family Fun
ReStore’s 2012 ReNew Earth Day Community Celebration guests enjoy the day and the baby goats. Relatives of the goats will be a part of this year’s celebration. Photo credit: Jessica Willis.
Columbia County Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore will host ReNew, a Community Earth Day Celebration, on Saturday, April 20th. A great way to observe Earth Day, ReNew will feature lots of activities for children and adults, plus local food and live broadcasts from Oldies 93.5 FM and 98.5 The CAT. The fun starts at 11 a.m. and will continue until 4 p.m. at the ReStore, 829 Route 66, just east of the intersection of Routes 66 and 9H.
For the ReNew festivities, a number of local businesses and creative community members will return this year. Etsy will have earth-friendly crafts; Jody Rael of Solaqua will bring his solar gem car (totally cool); Hudson Acres Co-op will have info and bags for sale; Habitat will have paint-your-own house wind chimes for children. Mitchell Motsinger of sewandsewbymitchell has crafty plans for adults as well as youngsters. Mitchell will have materials to help kids make button bracelets, and she’ll also be prepared to show folks how to slipcover an ottoman. Food will be available from Ponto Brasil, a Jamaican food table and other vendors. Last but definitely not least will be baby goats for looking and petting.
Earth Day will also mark the grand ReOpening of Habitat’s newly-expanded ReStore. Since it opened in November of 2009, the ReStore has salvaged and sold over 230 tons of usable materials that would otherwise have gone to landfills. The ReStore’s expansion will provide 1900 square feet of additional retail space, bringing the store’s total area up to 7000 square feet. ReStore’s retail hours are Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. read more…
Ichabod Crane H.S. Habitat for Humanity Gives Money & Muscle to Columbia County Habitat
Ed Herrington, Inc. Donates $10,000 to Columbia County Habitat
Pictured below at the Columbia Passive Townhouses, 244-246 Columbia Street in Hudson, are, l-r, Ed Herrington; Allison Herrington Neumann; Janis Smythe, President of Columbia County Habitat; Larry Ostrander, manager of Herrington’s Hudson location; Brenda Adams, Habitat Executive Director; and Rich Herrington. Ed Herrington Inc. gave Habitat $10,000 to support the Columbia Passive Townhouses build.
Columbia County Habitat for Humanity President Janis Smythe announced today that Ed Herrington, Inc., the family-owned supplier of lumber, millwork and building supplies, has given the organization $10,000 to support the construction of the Columbia Passive Townhouses at 244-246 Columbia Street in Hudson.
“Columbia County Habitat has enjoyed a long relationship with Herrington’s. The company has generously supported our work in many ways: providing high quality building materials and products as well as professional advice and financial assistance,” said Smythe. “This $10,000 gift comes at a critical point in the Passive Townhouses build. We are deeply grateful to have the confidence of a major business leader like Ed Herrington, Inc.”
Ed Herrington, President and CEO of the well-known business, said, “Working with and supporting Columbia County Habitat is not only the right thing to do for the community; it makes sound business sense. Ed Herrington, Inc. has been serving building professionals and homeowners alike for over 100 years, and we owe our success to the loyal support of our customers throughout the tri-state area. It’s a privilege to have the resources to give back to the community through this donation to Columbia County Habitat. We’re also very pleased to support the innovative Columbia Passive Townhouses project, which we hope will serve as a model for energy-saving, sustainable construction and remodeling in the future.”
read more…
SNAPSHOTS from HOME BASS
Photo credit & many thanks to David Lee, Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
Souvenirs from the smash concert
HOME BASS: 4 Strings, 4 Hearts for Habitat
Hand-screened Posters, Tees, and Bandanas for sale NOW at the ReStore!
Left photo: t-shirt on top of poster; right photo: posters. Bandanas have the same design, screened on cream or charcoal scarves with charcoal or cream ink.
We have a few remaining pieces of concert merchandise, designed and hand-screened by Hudson artisan Rebecca Meek.
- 100% cotton, charcoal gray t-shirts in M, L & XL – $25
- 100% cotton, 22″ by 22″ bandanas in either charcoal gray or cream – $10
- posters approximately 13.5″ x 19″, silk-screened on different shades of heavy gray paper in complementary ink colors – $25
Columbia Habitat Awarded $45,000 in Grants for Passive Townhouses
Meet GreenFiber, Columbia Habitat’s New Partner in the Columbia Passive Townhouses
Columbia County Habitat for Humanity’s (CCHfH) newest corporate partner is GreenFiber read more…
Erin McHugh, One Good Deed Author, To Speak at Columbia County Habitat Brunch At Local 111
in Philmont on November 3
Erin McHugh, author of the just-published One Good Deed: 365 Days of Trying To Be Just a Little Bit Better, will be the featured speaker at Columbia County Habitat for Humanity’s celebrity fundraising brunch read more…
Columbia County Habitat To Host September 9th Brunch at Helsinki Hudson Featuring
Green Architect Dennis Wedlick
Nationally acclaimed green architect Dennis Wedlick will star in Columbia County Habitat for Humanity’s (CCHfH) first celebrity fundraising brunch of the season at Helsinki Hudson on Sunday, September 9 at 11:30 a.m. read more…
2012-13 Build of Energy-Saving Columbia Passive Townhouses Underway
Columbia County Habitat for Humanity (CCHfH) has started work on two attached townhouses that will bring energy efficiency to unprecedented levels in affordable housing. Designed by ground-breaking green architect Dennis Wedlick Architect LLC (DWA) read more…
Designer ShowHouse Big Hit
In late March, Habitat hosted our first Designer ShowHouse, organized by volunteer Timi Bates around the theme of “BIG IDEAS/small spaces.” read more…
