Join us for Bring a Friend to Volunteer Month, a special month celebrating community spirit and teamwork! Throughout the month of October, we’re inviting you to bring a friend, family member, colleague, etc. to experience the joy of giving back. Whether you’re helping to build homes, providing snacks and other hospitality for volunteers, or supporting local families through committee work, your participation makes a real difference. Enjoy a rewarding experience while meeting new people and strengthening our community!
Register today and sign up to build on VolunteerUp.
It’s hard to believe, but our affiliate has been building homes in Hampshire and Franklin counties since 1989! Three homes are nearing completion in Northampton this summer, one more broke ground in Greenfield last week, and another in Northampton is coming soon this summer!
This year, being our 35th anniversary year, we want to talk about Legacies. Legacies take many shapes and come from many origins. The work we are doing here today at Pioneer Valley Habitat was born 35 years ago with a rugged group of dedicated volunteers (check out some of their stories linked below). That legacy continues today with hundreds of volunteers still giving their time annually to provide decent, low cost housing for people unable to afford to buy a home in today’s market.
You can help continue that legacy. In honor of our 35th anniversary as an organization, we invite you to join Pioneer Valley Habitat’s Framing the Future Legacy Society by including us in your estate planning. Designating an estate gift today toward Habitat’s future can make an impact you could never imagine tomorrow. Bequests that come to our local Habitat are nothing less than game-changing, allowing us to create more opportunities for families to build and buy their first homes. We are honored to have been the recipient of generous legacy gifts in the past ten years. These gifts have been pivotal for this small organization, allowing us to make leaps forward that would otherwise take years. And while on the surface we build homes, what we are really building together is the future of our community and the families who live here, one family at a time.
To further honor of our 35th anniversary as an organization, we wanted to get back to the roots of Habitat for Humanity in Hampshire & Franklin counties, and celebrate those whose work made the last 35 years possible. While there are countless more volunteers, donors, and community supporters than those showcased here, these five were each part of pivotal moments in PVHH’s history, from establishing the first Board of Directors to hiring the first employee.
Deborah’s StoryDoris’s StoryMJ’s StorySheila’s Story
Thanks to all who attended and supported the annual FEAST for Habitat, a fun after-work party in a transformed construction warehouse!
New in 2023: Providers of food and drink at this year’s FEAST for Habitat entered a friendly competition. Attendees cast their votes that evening for the FEAST for Habitat 2023 Food and Beverage Fan Favorites awards; while there were many delicious entries, these stood out to FEAST-goers as the best:
Best in Show (entrée or savory dish):The Waxwing, for their Thai chicken boulettes and sesame tofu Confectionery Excellence (dessert): Johnny’s Roadside, for their s’mores milkshakes Best Beverage (beverage): Glendale Ridge Vineyard‘s wine
Also new in 2023: the silent auction went virtual, and anyone could bid from home! Attendees could peruse items in-person at the event, but those unable to attend could still support the event from afar.
For the $50 ticket price, partygoers joined old and new friends, colleagues, and neighbors to raise money to build homes alongside families who are ready to put meals on the tables of their own very first homes. Thank you to the sponsors and attendees for joining Habitat in celebrating the good work being done by so many at Habitat, including our volunteers, building and housing community, and building supply donors. This years FEAST went amazingly and we raised over $25,000 for Habitat!
Week-long Build-at-Home event with a public award ceremony
Teams were provided with a gingerbread kit containing the six basic house-building pieces and a bag of icing. Any teams wishing to enter into the contest in one of the categories listed below used the six pieces of gingerbread provided, and beyond that let their imaginations and decorative additions run wild. Celebrity judges reviewed and make their decisions on the winners, awarded in a public zoom ceremony at 3pm on Saturday December 10th– watch the recording here! All winning teams received 4 buttons to Northampton’s First Night Celebration, and teams that raise the most money and have the greatest number of donors each received a $50 Northampton gift card in addition to their buttons.
Join Pioneer Valley Habitat and our co-hosts rk Miles for the annual FEAST for Habitat, a fun after-work party in a transformed construction warehouse! The FEAST was held this year at rk Miles from 5:30pm – 8:00pm on Wednesday, May 25th.
For the $50 ticket price, party goers mingled with old friends and made new ones while sampling food and drink from local purveyors, placed bids on fabulous silent auction items, and listened to jazz music provided by the Hey Hey Club. Thank you to the sponsors and attendees for joining Habitat in celebrating the good work being done by so many at Habitat, including our volunteers, building and housing community, and building supply donors. This years FEAST went amazingly and we raised nearly $20,000 for Habitat.
Limited tickets were available at the door. Pre-registration was open until Monday, May 23rd. Please note that this event is for individuals 21 years of age and over because alcohol was served. Guests were required to present proof of up-to-date Covid-19 vaccination, including relevant boosters, to enter the event.
Thanks to our 2022 FEAST Sponsors and Contributors!
In 2021, a record 55 teams registered and 21 generous banks and businesses supported the Build. We’re sure you remember: the competition was fierce and fun! On top of that, several teams hosted fundraising pages and together raised more than $1,600 to more than match the $1,500 challenge that was on the table from an anonymous Habitat friend. Altogether the building of small homes from the comfort of contestant homes raised over $18,000 to support real families with low incomes building real homes.
ONLINE TICKET SALES HAVE ENDED. GET YOUR TICKET AT THE DOOR.
Join Pioneer Valley Habitat and our co-hosts rk Miles for the annual FEAST for Habitat, a fun after-work party to be held this year at rk Miles from 6:30pm – 9:00pm on Tuesday May 7th. This year will be a special celebration of our 30th anniversary as a Habitat affiliate!
For the $45 ticket price, party goers will feast on delicious food, enjoy a beverage, meet new people, hear some jazz provided by local musicians, and find some hidden gems at the auction table. Come join us to celebrate 30 years of good work being done by so many including our volunteers, building and housing community, and building supply donors.
Limited tickets will be available at the door. Online ticket purchases available until May 5th or mail your check for $45 per person payable to “Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity” to PO Box 60642 Florence, MA 01062.
