During our 30th Anniversary Gala in September we will be celebrating our first 30 years of serving our resilient community. In this time we have assisted more than 25 families with a hand up toward self-reliance and stability through affordable homeownership, home repairs and our work throughout the community. You can show your continued support of giving a hand up, not a hand out, to local hard working families by participating in one of our sponsorship opportunities. We have a wide range of ways you can support our mission and our event, from purchasing a ticket and attending to sponsoring a specialty drink.

To learn more visit the link below.

Since 1999, Habitat for Humanity and Whirlpool Corporation have worked together to help improve lives and increase access to safe, resilient and affordable homes in communities around the world. Today, Whirlpool and Habitat mark the 25th anniversary of their collaboration.

Over the lifetime of the relationship, Whirlpool has given more than $140 million in funding and donated products supporting nearly 200,000 Habitat households in the U.S. and close to 1 million people in more than 50 countries worldwide.

“At Whirlpool, we believe that the four walls around us have the power to unlock immense opportunity, and we are grateful for 25 incredible years working with Habitat to impact more than 1 million people by helping them build the foundation for a stable life and a bright future,” said Pam Klyn, Whirlpool Corporation executive vice president of corporate relations and sustainability. “Our shared vision of improving lives through homeownership and improving communities as well has been very rewarding for our employees and our organization as a whole.”
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Whirlpool and Habitat have a shared commitment to not only helping build homes and improve communities but to ensure they are both sustainable and resilient. In 2021, Whirlpool and Habitat launched the BuildBetter with Whirlpool program, a three-phase initiative that expands on Habitat’s efforts to help homeowners mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events through the construction of climate resilient and energy-efficient homes. Through the program, Habitat homeowners also have the potential to save on monthly utility bills using their energy-efficient appliances donated by Whirlpool. By the end of the year, more than 260 climate-resilient and energy-efficient homes will have been built across the U.S., and learnings from the projects will help to inform future Habitat builds. In early 2024, Whirlpool Foundation extended support for the BuildBetter with Whirlpool program to add two more phases that will build 50 net-zero ready homes.

Whirlpool has strongly supported Habitat’s advocacy efforts both in the U.S. and around the world. Since its inception, Whirlpool has been a dedicated partner of Habitat’s five-year Cost of Home U.S. advocacy campaign, enabling the housing organization to help 6.6 million Americans access affordable homes and influence more than 350 policies at the local, state and federal levels.
Through its sponsorship of Habitat’s global housing forums, Whirlpool has helped to increase access to shelter for vulnerable populations in communities around the world. Most recently, the company sponsored the Latin American and Caribbean Housing Forum in Bogotá, Colombia, where representatives from private sector companies, public sector agencies, civil society organizations, academia and global institutions came together to discuss critical housing issues in the region.

“Whirlpool Corporation has been an invaluable partner to Habitat for the last 25 years, and we are thrilled to celebrate this important milestone in our relationship,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO, Habitat for Humanity International. “Whirlpool and Habitat have worked together to improve and broaden the ways we can help more families achieve housing stability, and as a result, we have made a profound impact on the lives of millions of families around the world. We are grateful for Whirlpool’s dedication to helping us build a world where everyone has a decent place to live.”

​Social Media has opened so many doors and avenues for so much good. While yes, navigating such a worldwide stage has its challenges, these challenges far outweigh the impact we achieve within our community! We touch lives across the world that otherwise wouldn’t have heard of our mission before and inspire them to take action in their own communities. Our reach enables us to connect a hard working family struggling to build stability has a hand that they can reach out to through our different programs. Social Media also allows us to network with other organizations, prospective volunteers, and local businesses to raise funds, complete projects and make a meaningful difference. Your engagement helps with this in such a big way. When you share, like or interact with our posts you help us spread the message of strength and stability through shelter. You help spread the message that positive changes are coming to our local neighborhoods!
 
So remember, every time you interact with any of our pages, you are helping us build homes, community and hope. Thank you, and I’m excited to see you active on our pages listed below!
 
-Baylee Herron, Marketing Coordinator

One of the benefits of donating your gently used, sellable items to the ReStore is keeping these items out of the landfill, giving them a second chance at life. You can declutter your spaces, tidy up your territory and still help others while you do that.  The biggest benefit is that your donation helps the ReStore provide financial support to Cheboygan County Habitat for Humanity’s mission to build or rehab safe, affordable houses for partner families right here in our community. Cheboygan Habitat also participates in critical home repair and Hospice ramp programs. 

Whether your items are dropped off at the ReStore or picked up by our drivers, each donor is provided with an itemized donation slip at the time of the donation.  Donors can use this information as a deduction when filing yearly income taxes.  The ReStore does not provide a value for your donated items, that part falls to you or your accountant, but there are resources available online that can help you properly value your donations as a tax deduction.

A simple way to start is by doing a Google search and looking for “valuing donated goods for tax purposes.”  You will find many links to solid information, rules and guidelines to properly find donation values.  The best place to start is this link from the IRS.

Publication 561 (02/2024), Determining the Value of Donated Property | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)  or  Publication 561 (Rev. February 2024) (irs.gov)

Once you know the rules, you are ready to get started.  Here are a few good links, though there are many more out there, to help you with values.  

The Salvation Army Thrift Stores | Donation Valuation Guide (satruck.org)

Donation value guide - Goodwill NNE

Donation value guide for 2022 | Bankrate

Valuation Guide For Donated Items (billbrabble.com)

Form 8283 (Rev. December 2023) (irs.gov)

In a nutshell, keep your donation receipts together until you are ready to put them to good use.  Use the great information out there to value the items you have donated.  Print out and complete Form 8283 if your donated goods are valued over $500.00.  And lastly, your donations can do a tremendous amount of good in our community.  We thank you for thinking of Cheboygan County Habitat when it’s time to empty a house, down-size, tidy up or just update.

-Melissa Tallman, Operations Manager

Sometimes when you go to community events, you will see the Cheboygan County Habitat for Humanity table with our information. And most of the time you will also see me sitting at that table. That is because part of my job is going to these events, meeting our community members, and discussing our programs. Our hope by going to these events is to connect with those in our community who need our help and may not realize all of what we offer.

We aren’t just building homes in Cheboygan County, we are also helping with repairs in your home, selling gently used items in our ReStore, and building ramps for those who need better accessibility in their homes. Sometimes going to these outreach events helps those who do not have social media and or are not sure who to contact. We are able to connect with everyone, hand out applications, and discuss what our programs may be able to do for you.

So next time you hear of an event like Project Connect, Summer Safety Day, Family Fun Day and Ladies Day at the fair, or the Easter Bunny Party, we are more than likely going to be there to answer your questions and talk to you about your housing needs!

-Hailey Jeeter, Program Services Coordinator

We are excited to introduce Ashley Tribisondi as the new ReStore Manager! She officially joined our team on May 28th and is eager to fully engage in all aspects of the store. Her enthusiasm for supporting the team and promoting growth is truly contagious. Here are three fun facts about Ashley: she enjoys spending time outdoors, staying busy with her family, and reading a good book.

Ashley brings with her years of management experience from Sears of Cheboygan, Lowes and Tractor Supply of Petoskey. She has progressed from a lead to upper management positions. During her school years, she was actively involved in the Cheboygan community, participating in 4H and sports.

Ashley will collaborate with the team to encourage employee development and the overall growth of the ReStore, contributing to our mission of uniting people to build homes, communities, and hope. Habitat extends a helping hand to the community and those in need. Ashley is eager to explore a different approach to retail. She believes this position aligns well with her passion for helping others and is excited to give back to her community by helping people find items they can use or add to their household.

Please join us in welcoming Ashley to the team by saying hello when you visit the store or leave a comment below to say hi!

-Mandy Martin, Executive Director.

A lot of new and exciting things are happening here at Habitat recently! We have finished our two home builds in Indian River, and we are getting ready to start 2 MORE! Along with those builds we will be moving a home to a property in Cheboygan to completely rehab for our Homeownership Program.

On top of our home builds, we are currently working on 3 Home Repairs and looking to add more this year! We are always working hard to help the families in Cheboygan County whether they need critical home repairs, ramps, or seeking homeownership. If are looking for help for repairs on your home or need more accessibility or looking for purchasing your first home with the help of Habitat, call me here at our office! I am available to discuss any options that you may think would be right for you!

Make sure to call 231-597-4663 and ext. 5 will bring you right to me! :)

-Hailey Jeter, Program Services Coordinator

With great pleasure and gratitude we'd like to thank Awakon Federal Credit Union for their donation of $50,000 toward our Home Repair efforts in the Wolverine Community. We have partnered with this great group of people many times before and look forward to the future. When we come together, we can accomplish so much more than if we tried on our own.

Our hopes are to put these funds toward revitalizing neighborhoods, repairing homes and building hope with the families living in Wolverine. We work tirelessly to offer hard working families a hand up, not a hand out, toward a better future. Each donation, each hour volunteered, each home we build, each repair we do, each life we touch is a blessing that we cherish.

Thank you, Awakon Federal Credit Union, for this donation!

In the United States and Canada, Habitat for Humanity is rated 28 out of 100, on the 2023 Builder 100 list, according to the National Association of Home Builders. In 2009 during the subprime mortgage crisis, this was a multinational financial crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010, Habitat was ranked as the largest private homebuilder in the U.S., according to Builder Magazine’s 2008 Builder 100 list. Habitat for Humanity served 11,516 individuals through new-construction homes and 2,788 through rehab construction, in the U.S. and Canada in 2022. The organization defines new houses as structures that meet Habitat for Humanity quality standards and local building codes. Rehabs are restorations of housings that once met Habitat’s standards and local building codes but need major structural work to have them meet standards again and considered livable. Habitat for Humanity serves approximately 22,000 individuals through repair projects in both Canada and the United states per year, which includes minor projects such as patching roofs or walls and replacing materials in houses that still meet Habitat’s quality standards.

There are more than 1500 Habitat affiliates in the Unites States and 550 international affiliates as well. Habitat for Humanity Cheboygan is just a small fish in the water, but we are part of this whole picture. Habitat Cheboygan has built, remodeled and or repaired 53 homes in the Cheboygan area since 1993. Habitat officially started with their charter date in 1993, when a group of individuals ranging from 12 to 16 in number, who were passionate about affordable housing, joined hands to initiate the process of creating a Habitat Affiliate in Cheboygan County. On March 18th, 1994, Habitat Cheboygan officially became an organization with our Articles of Incorporation completed. Our founding board members were Father David Amo, Marty Andres, Todd Christian, Steve Crusoe, Donald Kosorski, George Mikos, Howard and Noreen Purcell, Ron Tebo, Jim Van Deuren, Pastor Bud Wagner, Alice Burandt, Sally Ruston, Sam Fralick, Mike Grant, Peggy Mills, and Mike Wise. Their passion and dreams from 30 years ago continue to thrive and be successful even today!

-Ron Hart, Construction Supervisor