HABITAT FOR HUMANITY ANCHORAGE GLOBAL VILLAGE CONTACT

Thursday, April 2, 2009

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY ANCHORAGE GLOBAL VILLAGE CONTACT

Affiliate Office:

Habitat for Humanity Anchorage
500 W. International Airport Road, Suite E
Anchorage, Alaska 99518

(907) 272-0800 phone
(907) 272-1508 fax
hfhanchorage.org email address

Anchorage Contact:

Margaret Forbes
Global Village Coordinator

(907) 272-0800 phone
(907) 230-3785 cell...ok to call day or night
HYPERLINK "mailto:mforbes@hfhanchorage.org"

We will be staying at First Congregational Church. Please do not phone the church or send mail there. Direct calls to Habitat's office or Margaret and mail to the office. If you want to send packages ahead, send them to the office. They will be more than happy to receive your package.

No comments:

Steve

Since retiring, I have been actively involved with Habitat for Humanity. I led a team to Braga, Portugal (May 2008) and co-lead two teams to Biloxi, Mississippi (October 2008) and Eagle Butte, South Dakota (July 2009). Also, I have been on two international trips; Lampang, Thailand (June 2007) and Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (July 2008). I was a volunteer to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Region (January 2009) for a month. Looking forward to meeting and working with everyone on our Habitat adventure in Anchorage!

Chris

My name is Chris Acton. This will be my first HFH adventure and I'm excited to co-lead for the first time with my dad! I am an elementary school teacher currently teaching 4th grade. I recently got married last fall. We have 2 golden retrievers named Bailey and Sugar, plus a cat named Squirt. I enjoy health and fitness, and being outdoors. I have been very busy over the last four years remodeling our home and I hope to bring those skills with me to help in Alaska. I am looking forward to meeting everyone in Anchorage!

Toshi

This picture was taken at Santiago de Compostela, October 2008. I'm a 62 year old grandfather (on left), born, raised and worked in Tokyo, Japan. I retired 5 years ago from Hitachi, Ltd. as a systems engineer. I have been on 7 Global Village trips, two with Steve to Lampang, Thailand and Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. I'm learning English but not quite satisfactory as of now. I enjoy diving, paragliding and trekking in Japan and other countries. I hope to hike in Denali National Forest and John Muir Trail. Looking forward to meeting you all!

Dana

Hi! I'm Dana Smith, 35 years old and live in Seattle. I'm an administrative project manager for a data center management and consulting firm. This will be my 8th GV trip, the most recent one being last May to Portugal where I met Steve. I also participated in the Jimmy Carter Work Project in Georgia/Alabama in 2003 as part of my job as Volunteer Relations Manager for the Los Angeles Habitat affiliate. I love to travel, learn about other cultures and people, read, volunteer and participate in and/or watch most sports. I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone, working hard and playing hard in Anchorage!

Kelly

I hail from Toronto, Canada and currently live and teach in Beijing, China. In addition to my teaching responsibilities in the classroom, I am currently enrolled in Graduate School at the University of Toronto. I am pursuing my third degree in Comparative, International and Developmental Education. My area of academic interest lies in the provision of non-formal educational experiences for students and educational policy in developing nations. The latter interest is a result of time I spent teaching in township schools in post-apartheid South Africa. This will be my second Global Village build. In 2006, I co-chaperoned fourteen students to San Salvador, El Salvador for a building blitz during the Holy Week.

I have an appetite for seeing and experiencing the new and try my best to embrace the unknown. I'm fairly active, have been playing soccer for over 25 years and now find myself biking all over Beijing.

I look forward to meeting everyone in Anchorage!

Johanna

I was born in Chile and moved to Canada when I was 17. I've been married to my lovely Luis (who's also from Chile) for 19 years. We have two sons...Gabriel (17) and Sebastian (15). I'm the youngest of 6 kids, 3 boys and 3 girls, so I'm used to sharing.

My first and only trip with HFH was to Tajikistan (March 2008) with a group that, just by chance, ended up being only women. Luckily, we had great chemistry and everybody worked very hard. The Tajiks are beautiful people, inside and out!

I truly enjoy learning about the other cultures and people, traveling and seeing new places, and I don't mind getting my hands dirty...that's why I love HFH.

Martin

Hi, my name is Martin Burgess, living in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. I am 52 going on 25, and am married with two sons - 19 and 17. I run my own business...doing most of the trades involved in the renovation of houses. I enjoy most sports, while trying not to fall in love with golf too much. I come from a farming background (vegetable grower) and have a theology degree.

I like meeting people and learning their stories--everyone has interesting stuff to tell. I have travelled to various parts of Asia, New Zealand and Africa.

Am looking forward to this trip and catching up with everyone. While I have run a number of "work" parties, this will be my first Habitat venture.

Gina

Hello everybody! My name is Gina Sotira and I am 24 years old, will be 25 by the time I meet you all (yikes!!) and I live in Roselle, Illinois. This will be my first, and hopefully not my last Habitat trip. I am very excited to be involved in such a great cause and to be able to help these wonderful families. A little bit about myself...I am currently working as a Visual Merchandiser/Sales for an Eco-Friendly & Vintage Boutique. My interests are interior decorating, dancing (hip hop & jazz mostly), yoga, bike riding, thrift store shopping, watching funny movies and going to comedy & improv shows with my boyfriend John and friends. Well, I'm looking forward to meeting everybody and I'll see you all soon!

Vanessa

Hi! Im Vanessa Nomura from the southwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. I am currently a High School English teacher and softball coach. I really enjoy being outdoors and like hiking, kayaking, golfing, snowboarding and playing 16" softball. I like reading, watching movies and going to live events whether it be a concert, hockey, baseball, play or musical. I have a wonderful supportive family which consists of my parents, Val and Ken, and my younger brother, Ryne, 21. I also have two beagles who were a gift from my parents named, Jordan and Scout, and they are my whole world. I think it's hard to find someone who loves their dogs more than I do!

I have volunteered with Habitat for Humanity numerous times and love how the program provides affordable housing without taking away the dignity of the people it is helping. I am excited and looking forward to meeting new people to partake in the Habitat Alaska adventure and working with people from different walks of life to achieve a common goal: To somehow, someway better the life of someone other than themselves!

Ashley

Hi, my name is Ashley Kurcz. I am 21 years old studying to be a Special Education teacher at Lewis University. I will be graduating in the fall of next year. I am an adventurous person, I love doing new and fun activities with my friends and family. Whether it be seeing a movie or taking a road trip, I believe you can make every day fun and exciting. I live in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. I am a huge Chicago Cubs and Blackhawks fan. I love to make people laugh; I guess you could say I'm pretty sarcastic and witty. I am the youngest of 4 girls in my family and we're all pretty crazy, but they are all my friends. I have had previous experience with HFH last summer in Louisana and it was honestly the greatest experience of my life. I have no doubt in my mind that this trip will be just as rewarding and wonderful as the last. See you all in July, I can't wait!!!

Axel

Hi Everyone! I'm Axel Robin from Paris, France. I am 21 and currently studying French and American law in Paris and plan to pursue my studies in the United States in 2 years.

I enjoy meeting new people, talking and discovering new cultures. I also like nature and animals. I love traveling very much! I already know many parts of the United States and I have already been to many different countries including China, Sweden, Italy, Mexico and Canada. Concerning sports, I like hiking, biking, playing tennis and golf.

I am so excited to be a part of this team and I'm looking forward to going and building with all of you in wonderful Alaska. This will be my first Habitat experience and I'm very motivated to work hard with all of you to help people. See you soon!

Shawna

Hello everyone! I am looking forward to meeting all of you, working side by side on a Habitat home and exploring the cultural and natural wonders of Alaska. This will be my third Global Village trip, following two amazing experiences in Portugal (2007) and Poland (2008). My non-Habitat travels include Finland, Scotland and Cuba, as well as many regions in Canada and the United States. But Global Village trips have become my favorite way to travel since I first set foot on the build site in Portugal two years ago. Alaska is a little closer to home, as I am from Alberta, Canada. In my spare time, I can usually be found taking a class of some sort, whether language, dance, photography, martial arts...anything that catches my interest. I enjoy the challenge of learning something new and pushing beyond my comfort zone...I'm sure Alaska will bring plenty of opportunities for that! See you soon...Shawna

Kerri

Hey! I'm Kerri Odom, 31 years old from Salt Lake City, Utah. I love traveling, culture, outdoors, reading, drawing and painting, volunteer work, being "Mommy" to my 3 kids and wife to my crazy husband. I was a general contractor and building inspector for custom homes until my 3rd baby arrived and I decided to stay home and play. My first experience with Habitat was 2 summers ago in Romania and last May with Steve in Portugal. I can't wait to work hard and play hard with all of you!

Mandie

Hello everyone!!! I'm so excited to be part of this great opportunity. My name is Mandie Vinck and I am 27 years old, living in sunny San Diego, California. I currently work for a catering company and UPS at night. Talk about some hard work! I graduated from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and played on their women's basketball team. Playing basketball has allowed me to spend time in many different countries such as Japan, Germany and Argentina. I love doing anything that is physically challenging and extreme. I spend a lot of time training mixed martial arts which has enabled me to study under some of the worlds best fighters in Thailand. Enough about me...can't wait to meet everyone and work hard together!

Habitat for Humanity - Anchorage, Alaska July 2009

Thursday, April 2, 2009