When Brian Granger of New Lisbon won a new Toro lawnmower in a raffle at the New Lisbon Community Center, his first thought was how he could use his good fortune to help others.

Granger, the owner of G-Line Fence and Landscaping in New Lisbon, had previously volunteered with Habitat for Humanity at the ReStore in Mauston, and offered his landscaping skills at a Habitat house built in New Lisbon. The lawnmower seemed like a perfect way for him to once again support the organization. “I just thought, why not pay it forward?” Granger said.

The mower, a Toro SR4 Super Recycler, usually retails for around $500. It will be donated to a future Habitat homeowner family to help keep the yard of their new house tidy and beautiful.

Habitat for Humanity of Adams and Juneau Counties has built 17 homes in the area since 2002, and are currently completing the 18th and 19th, which will be finished this summer. To find out more about how you can help, call 608-847-2000 or visit www.habitat-ajc.org.

MAUSTON, Wisconsin – (April 18, 2014) – On Saturday, May 3, the Mauston Habitat for Humanity ReStore will celebrate its fourth anniversary with a full day of events, including free workshops on various aspects of home repair and maintenance.

The celebration, which will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the ReStore, also will feature a brat fry, free hot dogs for kids, door prizes, a bucket raffle, silent auction and crafts. In addition, there will be great sales throughout the ReStore, located just two miles south of Mauston at N3696 U.S. Highway 12.

Doors open at 9 a.m., with activities beginning at 10 a.m.

The workshops, taught by the ReStore’s knowledgeable volunteers, are designed to save homeowners money on common repairs and maintenance, such as basic electrical wiring, heating-air conditioning, plumbing and lawn mower tune-ups. An additional workshop will explain how to apply for a Habitat home. Each session will be held twice during the day.

The workshops are also a great way for the ReStore to give back to the community and say “thank you” to our volunteers, donors and customers. You all play a key role in making Habitat work!

Our Habitat ReStore is pleased to be participating in a national program to provide high efficiency lighting.  As part of that program, through a company called MaxLite, customers can get four 60 watt-equivalent energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) at a fraction of their usual cost – $1 for a 4-pack of 60 watt lights. These lights are ENERGY STAR certified CFLs with an actual retail value (for 4 bulbs) of $7 to $8.  The energy savings are significant, about $6 per year per bulb (for 3 hours use per day, 7 days a week).

These lights have been made available to us through the Wisconsin Focus on Energy residential lighting program, created to promote efficient lighting and to generally conserve energy. While these lights offer the same brightness (900 lumens) as a 60 watt incandescent, they only use 13 watts and are estimated to last over 9 years. Stop by the ReStore to grab some lights, save money, and become more energy-efficient.

On April 18^th, Habitat for Humanity of Adams and Juneau Counties welcomed two new AmeriCorps VISTAs (Volunteers in Service to America) to our staff, Julia and Heather. VISTA is an AmeriCorps program that places volunteers in nonprofit organizations that help to reduce poverty in the United States. VISTAs generally serve for a one year term, and have the goal of building capacity to allow easier fulfillment of their role after they leave.

Julia graduated from Beloit College in 2013 and is originally from Des Moines, Iowa. Julia will be managing our websites, helping us find and manage volunteers, and working on a number of other tasks. Heather grew up in Tomah but has lived and worked in the Mauston area for the last six years. She will be involved with our outreach to volunteers, donors and shoppers at the ReStore. Together they will help our affiliate complete projects that would not be possible without VISTAs.

Heather and Julia represent the third year of Habitat’s partnership with the AmeriCorps VISTA program. They will be an excellent addition to our affiliate as we continue to fight substandard housing in Adams and Juneau counties.

This March, Habitat for Humanity of Adams-Juneau is asking our community to start your spring cleaning by getting rid of tools you don’t need or use any more, including hammers, saws, shovels, rakes, drills, mowers, power tools, tractors, yard tools and more. Donate your excess tools to Habitat and we’ll use them to build houses. Tools that we cannot directly use to build houses will be sold at the Mauston ReStore, where all proceeds will go towards the cost of building houses. This event is part of a wider effort at Habitat for Humanity ReStores across the state to replace or supplement the tools used to build habitat houses.

We will be happy to make your donation more convenient for you by picking up your tools directly from your home or business. Call us at (608) 847-2000 to schedule a pickup. Otherwise, you can drop off donations at the ReStore, located at N3696 U.S. 12, Mauston, WI 53948. Our hours are 10-5 Tuesday – Friday and 9-4 on Saturday.

Based on a flyer from our ReStore, on a church bulletin board, we have become the recipient of a large quantity of commercial quality doors thanks to Harry Cherney. Harry, an industrial engineer at Marshfield Door Systems, saw one of these flyers and called us to see if we might be interested in some new, perfectly good doors that his company would otherwise need to scrap.

Marshfield Door Systems produces roughly 5,000 doors each week. Occasionally customers will reject the doors they order based on minor imperfections or changes in their building design, or for other reasons. The company has approximately 500 doors that are in this surplus status. To help reduce the number of doors being thrown away due to rejection, Habitat ReStore in Mauston is now in the process of picking up these doors and plans to share them with other Wisconsin ReStores. This donation partnership has already been beneficial to both Habitat and Marshfield Door Systems, as these excellent doors are now available for sale in the Mauston Habitat ReStore. We currently have two types of doors from this donation, and other types will likely be available in the coming months.

Habitat for Humanity and the Mauston ReStore are now recruiting candidates for two AmeriCorps VISTA summer positions. AmeriCorps VISTA has been fighting poverty by placing volunteers in nonprofit organizations like Habitat for Humanity since 1964. Full-time positions run from June 15 through August 15. As a summer VISTA, you will be expected to work on a variety of projects such as Habitat house construction, donation pick-ups, office/computer work, and other projects as needed. Strong communication and computer skills are a plus for this position.

This position will provide an opportunity to help low-income families get affordable housing in Adams and Juneau Counties. Summer VISTAs receive a monthly stipend and a small housing allowance, as well as $1,194 for tuition or student loans after completing the summer term. For the right candidate, it is possible the position can begin before the current June 15 start date.

These positions will be located at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore – N3696 U.S. 12, Mauston, WI 53948, just one hour from Madison and La Crosse. Call 608-238-5214 or email jimabbs@gmail.com for more information.

Habitat for Humanity of Adams-Juneau County is always looking for new volunteers. With spring just around the corner, our need will grow in the coming months. Our volunteers donated over six hundred hours last year to help our affiliate and our ReStore get things done. This is just a small part of an international effort by over a million people who volunteer with Habitat each year.

Volunteering with our affiliate does not require any knowledge of construction. Volunteers can work on construction, repair, or various other roles. Advocating for Habitat is another important volunteer role which helps build the visibility of our organization in the community.

Volunteers help out in all sorts of areas at the ReStore. Do you enjoy working with customers? Cashiering and customer service might be a good role for you. Have knowledge of doors, windows, and hardware supplies? Work in our back room to help prepare, stock, and display our products. Other roles include donation pick-up, office work, deconstruction, and testing or repairing of items. For more on all these opportunities, click here.

In addition to all these individual roles, we invite large groups to take on special events and projects. Call 608-847-2000 to sign up with your friends, business, youth group, Key Club, or any other type of group. We look forward to working with you.

Photo credit Chris Haugen/Habitat for Humanity International

We are happy to announce that Sarah Manning has been chosen for the Habitat home currently under construction on Cedar Street in Adams. The Adams-Friendship High School construction class is building the home, and should be finished by the end of the school year.

Sarah has lived in the Adams area her entire life. She and her children Shawn (7) and Seth (4) are currently staying with her aunt. She works at Moundview Memorial Hospital & Clinics as a Medical Assistant. Shawn and Seth go to school in Adams.

Sarah and her kids are looking forward to moving into their new home this year. Shawn and Seth are thrilled that they will be able to choose the paint color in their own rooms, and Sarah is excited for the family to have a place that is truly theirs.

The Manning family will contribute hundreds of hours of “sweat equity” to help build their new home. Sarah will be volunteering at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Mauston. The family will buy the home with a modest interest-free mortgage offered by Habitat. As Sarah put it “I’m ready to have my own space, and my own responsibilities.”

Since becoming an AmeriCorps VISTA at Habitat for Humanity of Adams-Juneau County last April, Dane DeVetter has left his mark on the organization. As our Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator, Dane developed two new websites, managed volunteers, planned events, and took on all kinds of tasks around the Mauston ReStore. The VISTA program is designed to fight poverty by putting people in roles that help increase the capacity of non-profit organizations. AmeriCorps members have served with our organization since 2010, and Dane’s contributions to the volunteer program and online presence of our local affiliate and ReStore will last long into the future.

After completing his one-year service commitment in April, Dane will continue working with Habitat for Humanity of Wisconsin as he takes on the role of VISTA Leader. In his new position, Dane will help ensure a positive experience for VISTA members and their respective Habitat affiliates around the state. “I am very excited to start in my new role and get a better idea of all the great work that VISTAs are doing around the state,” says Dane, whose new role is based at the Habitat offices in Milwaukee but will take him to Habitat affiliates throughout Wisconsin.

Upon assuming the role of VISTA Leader in April, Dane will be starting his third term of service with AmeriCorps. His first term took place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa where he worked with volunteers to rebuild homes and businesses damaged by the flood of June 2008. He hopes to serve in the Peace Corps following his term as VISTA Leader.