About Us

ANNUAL MEETING and
RECOGNITION PROGRAM for 2009

The board of Raritan Valley Habitat for Humanity is pleased to recognize our supporters and thank them for their donations of funds, building materials and professional services. We are grateful for every gift. Our work and our ministry would not be possible without these generous contributions.

Hope Builders Award Recipients

Outstanding Volunteers

Community Partner Awards

Community Builder and Faith in Action Awards

Donor Recognition Categories

Professional & Building Trade Donors/Discounters

Habitat Home Helpers

Complete 2010 Annual Meeting & 2009 Volunteer Recognition Program

Complete 2009 Annual Report

Hope Builders Award Recipients:
Philanthropy has been defined as the desire to help mankind. Over the last two years, we have been truly blessed by the involvement of a number of very special volunteers who embody the real spirit of philanthropy ~ a spirit of caring for others, and a willingness to give freely of their own time and resources to offer a helping hand to our partner families.

Campaign Cabinet
Led by our former Board President, Dick Carr, our Campaign Cabinet began meeting in February 2008 to develop a strategy and framework for our first ever fundraising campaign, providing valuable input on our campaign materials and potential campaign leaders. Although their work took place behind the scenes, their commitment and determination lay the foundation for everything that followed.

Campaign Executive Committee
Led by Judy Lewent, the dedicated men and women on our Campaign Executive Committee met monthly for well over a year to plan and carry out the launch of the More Homes, More Hope Campaign. They have helped us to build and strengthen our connections in the community, broadening our base of support and establishing a firm basis for our future growth.

The members of the Campaign Cabinet and Campaign Executive Committee have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the community, giving of themselves so that more working families would have the chance to build their own simple, decent homes. Their work has truly brought hope to many, and we are delighted to recognize the following individuals with the 2009 Hope Builders Award.
 

2009 Hope Builders Award Recipients:

Outstanding Volunteers
The Board of Trustees of Raritan Valley Habitat for Humanity would like to thank all of the volunteers whose combined efforts have enabled us to continue our mission of building simple, decent homes for families in need. It is with great pleasure that the Board of Trustees recognizes our Outstanding Volunteers and Business Supporters who helped to make 2009 an unqualified success.

Construction: Rich Karig
For a number of years Rich Karig has been a part of the Wednesday-Thursday Crew. In 2009 he topped the leader board in terms of the numbers of days volunteered on our construction sites at Clifton,
Irvington and Bridgewater. Rich has a broad range of skills and knowledge, and he's willing to do whatever needs to be done at any given time. Rich will gladly spend time offering guidance and direction to newer, less skilled volunteers. Not only is Rich an excellent teacher and guide, he is also fun to work with on site.
 

Family Selection: Michele Gracia
Michele Gracia is a dedicated 3 year member of the Family
Selection Committee who frequently volunteers for “extra” duty in assisting at Homeowner Orientation or Applicant Help Sessions. Currently she is compiling a list of resources for applicants that are not yet ready for Habitat partnership. Also, Michele has devised a system of envelopes and check sheets to help applicants track expenses for a four week period. In addition to her contributions to Family Selection, Michele recently completed work as a Family Support liaison for one of the Franklin Township partner families.
 

Family Support: Elisa Maselli
For 2 years Elisa Maselli has served as thorough scribe for the Family Support committee. Her ability to keep an accurate summation of all the committee responsibilities has kept everyone organized and prepared for upcoming activities. Elisa created the presentations for both the Finance and Good Neighbor workshops and she also has served as a reliable and supportive liaison for two families. Elisa supports all of the RVHFH programs and was our top fundraiser for the 2009 5K Run.
 

Photography: Tom Ely
Tom Ely has been a considerable asset to our affiliate in many ways, but one truly stands out.  Tom has consistently offered his gift of photography to capture many Habitat images over the years.  His pictures of construction volunteers, families, house dedications and Habitat events have been used in countless RVHFH newsletters, displays and reports, and published in the newspaper. One of Tom’s photos was even chosen for the sky mural hanging in the center of Bridgewater Commons Mall.  Tom has beautifully captured the essence of program. We thank Tom for his years of dedication, easygoing manner and commitment to our organization.
 

Habitat Youth: Philippe Topdjian
As the leader of the Watchung Hills Habitat Club, Philippe Topdjian joined our Habitat Youth Council. Quickly he became a key member by taking the initiative in many of the council activities to help meet their goals. Philippe was a prime organizer of the March 6th Mr. Habitat event at Bridgewater Commons.  No task was too large for Philippe. He made sure all the contestants were informed and prepared. Without his dedication, the event would not have been the great success that it was.  When Philippe was chosen as Mr. Habitat, everyone agreed there was no one more deserving.
 

Church Relations & Corporate Support: Art Roberts
Art Roberts has used his computer gifts to bring the RVHFH Church Relations into the 21st century. An active part of the Committee, Art created a database with multiple ways of grouping the supporting churches, and set up access to Google for the committee’s documents and calendar.  Art also serves as the interface with Bridgewater United Methodist Church, and has been able to develop a multi year commitment for the church’s support of the Bridgewater project. In addition to his work in church relations, Art has also worked for many years to strengthen support from Alcatel-Lucent, resulting in multiple sponsored workdays and foundation grants.
 

Community Partner Awards

Fundraising & Public Relations: Amy Harris, Bridgewater Commons & General Growth Properties
Amy Harris has been a wonderful friend of Habitat for over three years, helping to bring Habitat events and PR efforts to the mall.  In partnership with the Habitat Cars for Homes program, Amy helped to create a banner display featuring a 12 x 18 foot sky mural in Center Court.  She has run the Breakfast with Santa event at Maggiano’s for three straight years, and has hosted our annual Girls Night Out event every August for our Women Build program. Amy also gladly hosted our Mr. Habitat contest for Habitat Youth, and has underwritten the expenses for all of these wonderful events.  We are grateful to a talented and steadfast supporter, Amy Harris.
 

Fundraising: Kate Walsh & John Covey
Kate Walsh and John Covey (our own John & Kate!) are an amazing couple who became involved with Habitat through a
philanthropic wedding contest offered by Roman Jewelers. As part of the contest, John and Kate hosted a Cakes for a Cause event, initiated a cell phone drive, and solicited monetary donations through a “House Registry”, a twist on the typical “Wedding Registry.”  We are honored to have benefited from their creative and well-thought-out Good Deed plan. In addition, John was able to arrange a last-minute carpet donation for our site dedication and campaign launch, a most important event in the life of RVHFH!  We look forward to working with them in the future, and we are hopeful that The Cake Boss will film the next Cakes for a Cause fundraising event next year! 
 

Fundraising: William Auld and Mike Rosenberg, The Bombers Hockey Club
Bill Auld is a long-time Habitat supporter who has donated architectural work for us for many years.  Bill also happens to be a member of The Bomber Hockey Club, a group of hockey players who are also philanthropic.  Bill recommended Raritan Valley Habitat as the 2009 charity of choice for the team’s annual charity hockey classic with the NJ Devils Alumni Association.  Bill and his teammate Mike Rosenberg orchestrated a very successful event, with hockey fans excited to be in the presence of NJ Devils Alumni Bruce Driver and Chico Resch. The Bombers have again selected Habitat as their charity of choice for 2010, and Mike and Bill are now working diligently to plan another great day. Their efforts are greatly appreciated!
 

Family Support: Alan B. Siegel Esq.
Since 1998, Alan Siegel, Attorney at Law, has helped our partner families as they take the last step in their long journey to homeownership. Alan has been the attorney of record for 30 Habitat families at their house closing. Alan’s years of experience in real estate law enable him to clarify complex issues for our first-time homebuyers, including those that may be unique to a specific property. He makes himself available to both staff and partner families whenever his expertise is needed, even after closing. It takes a special person with a very strong commitment to the Habitat mission to patiently explain the legal obligations our partner families are undertaking when they close on their first homes. Alan is just such a person, and we are grateful for his many years of support.

Construction Supplier: National Seed Company
For many years, National Seed has supplied RVHFH with grass seed for all of our homes. They have consistently provided the necessary quantity of seed and other supplies to complete our work and have maintained an exceptionally high level of service at no cost to RVHFH. They have also gone out of their way to be sure to provide seed mixes that would meet or exceed the governing specifications as well as addressing field conditions such as sun or shade or poor soils. We are lucky to have such a dedicated vendor to assist us in achieving our mission.
 

Collaborative Builder: Dominick Caruso & Gary Trombino, North Bridge Properties
North Bridge Properties is a professional builder currently constructing the new commercial projects near the Bridgewater post office and library. In the course of their work, they had a need to remove some 3500 cubic yards of fill dirt. Coincidentally, we needed approximately the same amount of dirt at our Bridgewater site. North Bridge Properties donated the dirt, arranged for the trucking and paid for the excavator to move the dirt to the required location on our Dutch Lane Site. The value of this generous donation exceeds $45,000.00. We are grateful for the support of North Bridge Properties and look forward to our continued partnership.
 

Organizational Support: sanofi-aventis (Donna Drew and John Stelletell)
During the last two years, sanofi-aventis has provided extensive “behind the scenes” support for Habitat, allowing us to devote more time and resources to our core construction and family support programs. For the last 19 months, sanofi-aventis has donated office space, office furniture, phones and computer lines for our campaign office. The availability of this dedicated space greatly enhanced the efficiency of our campaign, providing much needed work space prior to the expansion of the main Habitat office. Last month, the company generously donated all the furniture required for our newly expanded and renovated main office, including six workstations and a number of tables and storage units. They also handled the office move at no cost to Habitat. We are very grateful to our friends at sanofi-aventis for their generosity, and to John Stelletell and Donna Drew for
coordinating these valuable donations.
 

Community Builder and Faith in Action Awards
Since 2007, RVHFH has presented the Community Builder award to a special organization who has provided five years of significant support for our building and family support programs. This year, we are introducing the Faith in Action award to recognize the long term commitment of one of our supporting churches to the Habitat program. We are so grateful for the dedication of these extraordinary organizations ~ their support has made a lasting impact on the Habitat organization and on the families we serve.
 

2009 Community Builder Award: Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals
Since 2005, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals has provided truly exceptional support for the Habitat building program in
Somerset and Hunterdon Counties. Ortho-McNeil sponsored half a home in Lambertville in 2005. They then provided half the funding for a waterline extension for our Bernardsville project. Next, Ortho-McNeil sponsored half a home on Clifton Street in Franklin Township, serving as the foundation for our first Johnson & Johnson house partnership. Finally, for the last two years, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen has provided much needed funding for our Bridgewater project, contributing both to the cost of infrastructure and to the sponsorship of a second Johnson & Johnson home. During this time, several hundred Ortho-McNeil-Janssen associates have volunteered on the construction site, seeing first hand the impact of their company’s community outreach program. We are so grateful to Peg Forrestel and all of our friends at Ortho-McNeil-Janssen for their sincere commitment to building a stronger community by helping more families to build their own homes.
 

Faith in Action Award: Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church
Since 1999 Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church has provided
extraordinary financial & volunteer leadership support for our housing ministry. Liberty Corner was the first church to sponsor one of our houses. In 1999, they provided all of the funding & sent many crews to build a ranch home in South Bound Brook. They have continued to provide support for our ministry over the years, & sponsored a second house in Bernardsville in 2007. In addition, they were one of six churches that purchased the property for the Bernardsville project & donated it to Habitat. Most recently, Liberty Corner made an exceptional $30,000/year commitment to our campaign for a five year period, helping us to build More Homes & More Hope in our local community. For their exceptional contribution & significant role in our program we are proud to present our first Faith in Action award to Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church.
 

2009 Donor Recognition Categories
This donor recognition program is designed to promote and honor our supporters in a consistent and equitable fashion. Six recognition levels were established. All donors are thanked in writing. Certificates are printed to sent to donors in the top five categories, and small gifts were selected to recognize supporters in the top three categories.

Golden Heart & Hammer Supporter $10,000+

Golden House Supporter $5,000 - $9,999

Golden Hammer Supporter $1,000 - $4,999

Golden Saw Supporter $500 - $999

Golden Paint Brush Supporter $250 - $499

Golden Spade Supporter $100 - $249

Professional & Building Trade Donors/Discounters
A special thanks goes to the professionals who so generously give their time and materials toward our construction projects and the support processes necessary to make homeowners of our partner families.

Habitat Home Helpers
Habitat Home Helpers is a program for the “pre-construction” age groups who cannot participate in on site work. The donate their time and effort toward providing the necessities of homeownership (e.g., mops and brooms) as well a refreshments and support for home dedication ceremonies.