Our Stories
As Whitney cut the ribbon stretched across the front door of her new home on Dudley Avenue, she couldn’t stop smiling. This day was a long time coming for Whitney, a single mother of three, and her joy was infectious on the day of her home dedication in Belair-Edison.
Welcoming the 2022-2023 HabiCorps Workforce Trainees! On a chilly morning in November, the quiet neighborhood around Ward Street was filled with the sounds of friendly chatter as Habitat Chesapeake staff, government partners, and neighbors gathered to meet the 2022 class of HabiCorps Workforce Development trainees as they began their daily work.
On October 26, 2022 Habitat Chesapeake was honored to bring together volunteers, partner organizations, sponsors, homebuyers, and HabiCorps alums to celebrate four decades of growth and service. Hosted at the historic Clifton Mansion in East Baltimore, guests mingled as dusk fell and our most dedicated partners shared their stories from the past 40 years emphasizing their commitment of building homes throughout the Baltimore region.
Celebrating the changing of the seasons with Fall Build, featuring Stanley Black & Decker! Longtime Habitat Chesapeake partner Stanley Black & Decker joined Habitat staff onsite for two weeks in August and September for Fall Build 2022. Groups of 10-20 volunteers came out to Ward Street, located in Pigtown, Southwest Baltimore for eight days to work on three new homes.
Congratulations, Graduates!
Congratulations to the 2022 HabiCorps Graduates! Among the congratulations of friends, family, and staff, the 2021-2022 cohort of the HabiCorps Workforce Development program celebrated graduating in late August at Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake headquarters.
Habitat Chesapeake is pleased to be building 9 newly-constructed homes on the 1100 block of Church Street in Curtis Bay, a South Baltimore community. Neighboring Brooklyn and Cherry Hill, this area offers easy access to major highways and interstates, the Inner Harbor, and beautiful outdoor amenities like the Farring Baybrook Park and Masonville Cove. Learn more!
Habitat Chesapeake is teaming up with the Orioles to help build several homes in Southwest Baltimore! Throughout July, September, and October, Orioles staff and players joined our construction team onsite in Pigtown, just a few blocks from Camden Yards.
Observing Juneteenth
Black households in the U.S. are 30% less likely to own their own home as compared to white households, and the racial homeownership gap continues to grow, especially with the additional economic pressure felt from COVID. Addressing these inequities is critical to our work as we serve the populations of Baltimore and central Maryland. On June 19th, we marked Juneteenth.
“We have to know these stories. It’s only in understanding how we got where we are that we can really re-engineer and create a positive future,” said Gregg Mitchell, Habitat Chesapeake CAO, as he introduced Lawrence Lanahan’s seminar at the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University.
Last month, the Johns Hopkins campus chapter of Habitat Young Professionals hosted the first-ever “Beyond the Build” seminar event, which aims to highlight critical housing issues informed by the intersection of race, wealth, history, and socioeconomics.
HabiCorps, Habitat Chesapeake’s groundbreaking workforce development program, hosted its first-ever bowling reunion this past March, with alumni from the past 5 years of graduates as well as instructors and Habitat staff in attendance. Among the crash of bowling pins, alumni were able to catch up and reminisce about their time in the program as well as talk about where they’re headed.
5 Years: Happy HabiCorps Reunion!
HabiCorps, Habitat Chesapeake’s groundbreaking workforce development program, hosted its first-ever bowling reunion this past March, with alumni from the past 5 years of graduates as well as instructors and Habitat staff in attendance. Among the crash of bowling pins, alumni were able to catch up and reminisce about their time in the program as well as talk about where they’re headed.
This AmeriCorps Service Week, we’re highlighting some of the AmeriCorps service members that work with Habitat Chesapeake to bring affordable homeownership to more communities and families across Central Maryland.
Volunteer Spotlight: February 2022
Habitat Chesapeake is honored to partner with dedicated and hard-working volunteers who do everything from build houses, run the ReStores, and work alongside homeowners. As part of our thanks to these incredible groups and individuals who make our mission a reality, we are highlighting a different volunteer each month in a Volunteer Spotlight. Join us to hear the stories of our volunteers and their incredible work. This month, meet Adrienne!
On International Women’s Day, Habitat Chesapeake wants to highlight the many roles women and people of all genders embrace to support affordable homeownership in Maryland. From volunteers, to leaders, to homebuyers, women are a crucial cornerstone for Habitat’s work, and we appreciate their unique perspectives and applaud their work in light of the challenges they face.
