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there is a time there is a reason for every season, to get out of Egypt..the religious song goes..

are we moving towards better land...during this time, when the news strikes of recession, the headline talks of gas at 4 dollars plus..we have a chance to get out of Egypt, to change our patterns our journeys of selfishness and now to take time to cut back, to preserve the earths resources, and to save....

everything is connected...all communities are not seperate..our crisis on gas, is totally tied to the lack of affordable housing in westchester..people now commuting and their gas increasing putting such strains as to change the journey or to cut back on the journey...can we use this opportunity now to see we must make home ownership real here...

I am very proud we have been looking to change things and to make them for the better, by creating interest free mortgages here, by changing the patterns and the grades of our journey to just having luxury to allowing for workforce home ownnership....

 

a Green moment...drive your bicycle today to work, cut back on that extra journey, walk instead of getting the car today for your efforts..you will feel better over it...

 

I leave to go to WVOX to discuss the floods, to discuss what has changed, what has not..

lets see...what patterns can you change today to make this world better. God bless, jjk

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hi from jim at habitat

hope you are well..each day is gift..no question..volunteers are out all over the place today, working in

the whole county..helping to be able to see what is going on with the needs of  housing by helping to build homes..also we see that we have volunteers working in our RESTOREs recylcing and helping all over...

 

Green thought for the day..

we have many great things going on, no question..one is how we changed to Eco Spec paint, low odor paint that is healthier for all of us..no question, healthier in ways that are less chemicals...we need to be able to have less chemicals and more healthier environments for our homes and for our lives..

second thought. the trolley we sponsored was a big success...i am looking into a full time trolley with free public transportation...

 

last , prayer and support are most appreciated during these times we help to build so many homes...

jjk

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A great day yesterday with volunteers people helping, restore pickups..celebrating our work here in new Rochelle…also dialogue on our Sustainable Efforts of our communities continues with great strides..no question..thank God for all we have in Habitat for Humanity of Westchester….ourNew Rochelle homes look so great, our volunteers are doing wonders in our areas, and people like you are contributing.

 

 

This week is a huge week in terms of our 20tyh anniversary tour..May 1^st we have our X20 event and May 8this our event at the Top of the Avalon…we need your help..we need your support.. no question…come out and join us..thanks to Martin Ball for his leadership and for Avalon for their support…so many assist us in so many ways…also if you church or synagogue wants to join us…please do, it is so important in all we do…..may God bles you with a great day…

 

Green thought for the day..

Check out Greenmaniacs web site if you can..

Simple and easy ways to green your workspace, shutting off computers, use a smaller monitor, labtops, save energy..

Provide paper recycling in your office….

Also allow for alterative hours like working longer but les days if people commute…consider caprppooling, taking public transit, biking walking or a mix of these things..

Also in your home, use higher insulation in your walls..

 

 

Jim Killoran

Executive Director

Habitat for Humanity of Westchester

www.habitatwc.org

The Excitement is still building...

  Celebrating 20 years in Westchester

 

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Fred calls me this morning from New Orleans...we just got the windows in Ericas house completed.. it looks great..

what a world we live in..no question..we have so much going on, God is good inour world..and when we know people are multilplying our efforts to get erica and stacy and others in their homes, it is amazing to be part of...

Thanks to those came and joined us..like Broxnville HIgh School..coming back is a challenge sometimes, in a way, because it is easier to help someone in disaster sometimes, than it is dealing with the disaster of exclusionary zoning, economic prejudice and lack of any real plan for workforce condos and housing that exists here in Westchester..politicians that sell out for life long careers versus good politicians and citizens who care about their own community and sustainability are outnumbered..but there is hope in you, yoiur voice your advocacy and helping..I just returned from our homes on Lincoln ave in new rochelle, exciting me that they will be affordable for two families, beautiful in their demeanor, no question...

that inspires me as well as all those who understand our sustainable efforts...

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The day awakes after what could be many hours in a great city the Big Easy, of reveling and Laissez bontemps roullez..but thousands awake here, including those like I was just honored to talk with Doug Odell, who works for the President head of the Gulf Coast recovery effort with his assisant Mr Vogel...
their work vital..I ask them how is it coming...after I told him I am with Habitat..he says he was out in Gentile yesterday..where we were on Mirabaux..helping Erica and Sharon get their homes reviewed for work today..a great man..he said it is going great and the rebuilding looks great...lets hope for sure...I was honored to meet him after I took my early monring rpayer walk along the Mississippi after leaving the French Quarter. where Bienville founded thecity, where the Cathedral overloooks the River. where old black waters keep on rollin as the song goes..and where steamboats still ride..this great ctiy of such diverse history stands to recover if you continue to help us...continue to assist us in our work...
History Housing and Hope....as you know i love history..Mark Twain walked where i walked this morning..andrew Jackson, George Bush adn Aaron Neville...al willing to share in this great city..History will be a tool on how we rebuild..knowing the past so we can make the future better...
along with that no great city can exist without housing...yesterday i saw one of hte housing developments built totally knocked down..totally pushed aside..and we spent so much on housing which created little weatlh...for the future..
in this election Hillry wins Pennsylvania..but is anyone really winning now...sub prime crisis,talk of recession. .Gas through the roof and we seem like there is no end in site..but there is no question, there is...with your help and creating communities again that can become whole with rebuilding housig, and pride in a sense of hsitory....

last there is so much HOPE it is flowing abundantly..first with the God that loves us all, from my Pesah brothers and sisters to Muslim to Christian..the HOPE of changing things for the better abounds...join this vital mission to help us rebuilding in New Rochelle, In NOLA, in the country..

Last a Green moment for today...as i looked at the water, and walked along the Missisissppi, and see the city has no real recycling program. recycle tdoay....pick up garbaage along the river..be a HOPE builder of communities iwth us...
YOu give me HOPE today by reading this.. God bless..JJK

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another interesting day in NOLA..Pres Bush adn Caldaron are here from US and Mexico and Mary Landriue as well with the prime minister of Canada and guests on trade in North America..simultaneously there is a confernce on Protect the Gulf Coast, where my mind goes to Protect theShldrake and Mamroeck rivers is needed to help save homeowners...their homes....this is by the way EARTH DAY..the anniversary and HAPPY EARTH DAY..
do something Green, make a donatoin in honor of Green Sustainable Communitities initaitives if you can..help us to thin Green and be Green, help us to sponsor Public Trolley transpsporation and also workforce Condos..help us to introduce Green Building products or buy a So No New Ro, greeen bag at our Restores, reccycle, resue and restore the world...we can do it..

I walked and prayed along the Mississsippi this early morning a great engine of trade and commerce and life and legend... there i remember the history srories of the GreatMiss. and now i know it is truly a great gift frmo God...as  I walked with my youth from Bronxville High, last nite, we talked about how important saving Rivers are for our future, the Hudoson, what type ofenergy can be grasped or created...maybe we need to galvanize the Hudson's energy again..to help us preserve this earth and save energy.

so please say a prayer for our families, here in NOLA, and in New Rochelle and Westchester...Erica McConduit returns form WP, after having her Katrina daughter three years agoa nd we will help to rehab her home as well...God bless all the volunteers...also drive by our Lincoln Avenue Homes today in New Rochelle and see the Carpet in and the great donated landscaping by Larchmont Nurseries and also by the Eastchester high school students..
HAPPY EARTH DAY...wtih Gods help and our work we can save the earth and restore it to great days of old and great new days for our future youth...and seniors...God bless, jjk

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sustainable earth day...april1 9th, what a beautiful day...

our trolley again was a great success. no question...God blessed so many inhelping and seeing how great our history is, as well as encouraging alternative forms of transportation, here in New Rochelle and the county..our volunteers as well were in Tarrytown, helping to plant..and cleanup here in new rochelle, as we continue to change mindsets and communities with the power of volunteerism..by the way from a streetcar named Expires to a Streetcar named Inspires join us May 15th as we encourage all to walk or carpool or use public transportation, with a rally after school at memorial plaza...

 

it is everyones responsibility to help be blessed in our mission to recycle and to help save the earth, to help create sustainable communities that are real and long lasting, that are free from auto dependence and free to walk and bicycle..these efforts we commit to along with the ability for people to live where they work,NOW....

it is vital that this happens now, no question...

 

with that in mind, i leave for New Orleans briefly to setup my Bronxville High school heroes, from habitat who will help there, but will also help with families displaced who need to come return back to their houses, like Sharon Carew and also Erica McConduit...Stacy Addison is back there and we will finish her house as well as work on Ericas..the Road to Recovery has a name, its called the New Yorleans Express....from New York to New Orleans New Orleans to New York one team one dream...

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here in New Orleans..with my bronxville high school habitat club members, my staff Steve andyes three Presidents of countries, from
PresidentBush, President Caldaron and President of Canada Walker I believe..all here for the North American Summit....as we build may they build with hope and prayer and success in joining together in their dialogue.....
What a week in the world...the following is a
GREEN MOMENT....
A green moment, can you make a Green Moment in every part of your day, with a prayer and a thought and action to change the world..
coming on the plane I saw that Jet Blue does not recycle their plastic which upset me, I will be writing them to contact them about changing the policy.
I am working tirelessly now after a hugely successful trolley weekend for us to sponsor a trolly in New Rochelle free, as I make SO NO NEW RO THE GREENEST NEIGHBORHOOD AND WESTCHESTER GREEN.  How surreal it is as i just got a call from a person who said..when does the Trolley run..this is great!!!!! please make a donation now as we continuet to green SO NO NEW RO, and i make the efforts to create Workforce condos combined with
public transporation in Westchester downtowns.
second green moment...stay tuned for ECO ROCK.. a new kind of sheetrock that we have available...amazing!!!!!!
think GREEEN folks, walk bike and save the earth for our Grandkids, for us.. God bless you..

Next and last, look at Lincoln Ave homes, as we put in carpet today, these homes sat empty, they could have been knocked down, but were not..
I want to thank Ron Tocci and George Lattimer who rode the trolley by the way during this past weekend..and realized with the many who got on, saving our earth, saving our history and saving our homes..is a priority. God bless you all...!!!!!!!!
as i sign off from the New Yorleans Express...New York to New Orleans New Orleans to New  York, one dream one team.
Last ....thank you God as we had an emergency landing last nite, on the runway in NOLA with firetrucks..as the  landing gear showed caution.....we made it though thank God!!!!!!!  jjk
pss hats off and miters raised i guess to the Popes successful visit..it is really now a major change for the laity to take leadership though as numbers dwindle...in terms of priests..it can happe with guidance from God.....last Happy Pesah to all my Jewish brothers and sisters as well....

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THANKYOU TO THE SALVATION ARMY..I WAS HONORED LAST NITE AFTER OUR GREAT BENEFIT AT VINTAGE IN WHITE PLAINS...KUDOS TO OUR LPC MEMBERS KELLY FROM COMMUNITY MUTUAL JIM SCULLY FROM SCULLY CONSTRUCTION, KEVIN MCCARTHY, KIM OTOOLE OF OCONNOR DAVIES, MIKE LULKIN FROM NY TITLE, AND DIANE S FROM HELLER REALTY...A GREAT EVENT AS WE KICK OFF HELPING THE GINTER FAMILY...AND PREPARE TO GET MORE HOMES GOING..WHITE PLAINS..

IN YONKERS WE ARE SO HAPPY TO BE PARTNERS WITH GREAT PEOPLE LIKE JIM BOSTIC, THE SALVATION ARMY AND THE CITY OF YONKERS...WE HAVE BUILT SO MANY HOMES AND HELPED SO MANY NEIGHBORHOODS THERE...JUST THE BEGINNING.

 

TOMORROW OUR HISTORIC TROLLEY COMES, TRAVELING AROUND, GOING THROUGH THE AREA..CELEBRATING HISTORY...WHAT A GREAT DAY..IT WILL BE AND AS WE CLEAN UP THE AREA AS WELL....MAKING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES...

 

MAY GOD BLESS YOU IN ALL YOU DO..WITH GREAT GRATITUDE.  JJK

 

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So here we are ..20 years and counting...the speaking engagements contnue, our work continues, but all has been built by HABITAT HEROES, I will call them, people who I will recognize durng this year, up until June 6th...and beyond, who have made this affiliate a success.....

 

Tom Fahy of Carpet One and Mayor Drew Fixell are habitat heroes to me...in Tarrytown and New Rochelle, where this weekend we will be Greening New Rochelle and Tarrytown with our volunteers from Eastchester and Hastings and Tarrytown and New Rochelle..what a great thing.!!!!!

 

Needless to say Millard Fuller who spoke here Sunday in WPlains, is the firebrand, the Mighty Mouse of our world..if you will, but there are many supporting casts and characters..like Ellen Baer, and Jim Casey and Martha Johnson and Terry and Rob and all...

Just yesterday I got a confirmation from our past president Ed Oliver that he will be coming with us to our event...June 6th...Ed who has since moved to the South helped in cold winters with me, on a former crack house, lighting the Heater...(not an easy thing to do) before the volunteers would come in...He says he will be with us...Also like John La Manna who will be helping us, on June 6th, who came as a former construction person and is investments now...or like Larry Marini, who has helped us since the very beginning, no question, all Habitat HEROES...

 

Last Nite i was with two prestigious Habitat HERO GROUPS..the Lions club of Eastchester, part of a District and National effort that has supported habitat, as well as theTHRIVENT, which both were meeting at Pinnochios restaurant..in Eastchester..The Lions stated, we want you to help a family in need Jim and we want to support our golf tournament for you Sept 22nd....Thank you !!!!!! and then following that we met with the Thrivent group when I say Rev. from the Yonkers Trinity Lutheran church, a Habitat hero, who supported us in the Porach Street Hollow neighborhood, now a nine house neighborhood for us...both huge supporters of HABITAT...

Last as I took my early morning downtown walk and prayer march if you will..i saw Steve Falvey an  Administrative Judge from New Rochelle, who volunteers any day he can usually two days a week, with his painting skills, professional...like days of old...when he learned in College...Man I am blessed to have so many HABITAT HEROES around me..

 

 

and unsung heroes like you who read this..with great gratitude to God!  The Excitement is Still building..

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what a day it is..our volunteers from Bronxville High school are working in mamoroneck helping with a Lions club cleanup..thank you ...the anniversary of the flood comes, this week, where overdevelopment in white plains along with not fixing the problems creates environmental fear for homeowners every time it rains.. the one year anniversary occurs April 16th in three days..Darlene Green one of my heroes stops by our Restore yeserday to say hi to Tom, Mary and I...what a blessing..   a  year ago, she sat this Sundayin her nice home...a week later a year ago next Sunday her home was flooded, devestated for the second time....yet heroes are made out of people who continue to abuse the average homeowner, large developers, not all, who demand tax breaks and say they will not respect the law of the council, while people continue to get taxed out of their own savings due to tax breaks for such people..unhappy citizens, feel disempowered over the lack of listeiing, wile fear continues.......however there is hope..first on this Sunday, April 13th there is HOPE AND PRAYER AND ACTION...a new force of strong willed leaders and people is arising speaking up with Gods help to make peoples righrs protected, to have homeowners have the ability to protect their dreams and have dreams to be able to occur again so people can have homes.... the founder of Habitat speaks today as well in white plains...Millard Fuller...a messenger of HOPE...

as we embark on this special anniversary surreal, with April 15th be a Tax day and April 16th being the flood anniversary, know there is always HOPE...AND HOMES AND HEARTS LIKE YOURS..JJK

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A GREAT DAY YESTERDAY NO QUESTION..GOD WAS BLESSING SO MUCH, WE HAD WORK IN DIFFERENT AREAS THAT WERE HELPFUL FROM ASSISTING FLOOD VICTIMS, THANK YOU BRONXVILLE, TO ASSISTING THOSE IN NEED AND AT THE RESTORE..ALSO IT WAS GREAT TO HEAR FOUNDER MILLARD FULLER ADDRESS THE GROUP IN WHITE PLAINS AGAIN AT THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH,...A GROUP WILL GO TO WEST VIRGINIA, AND ALSO THE CHURCH IS INTERESTED IN HELPING BUILD IN WHITE PLAINS WITH US AS WELL..

WE ALSO CELEBRATE OUR GREAT GROUP BYRAM HILLS OUT WORKING, AS WELL AS ST JOHN AND PAUL YOUTH MINISTRY AND SO MANY OTHERS...AS THE SPRING IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER, OUR BUILDING CONTINUES SO STRONGLY...

LAST THIS WEEK OUR EVENT AT VINTAGE IS THURSDAY APRIL 17TH, CALLED VINTAGE HABITAT...NO QUESTION.

WITH GRATITUDE..TO GOD FOR ALL OFYOU, COME AND JOIN US THE EXCITEMENT IS STILL BUILDING. JJK

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AS morning breaks, another day with anticipation of great things, or life that can be, or homes that can be built..of hope and dreams for families...last nite at Solomon Schecter School in Hartsdale some of our families were there who celebrated getting together with teens and a school that has been so supportive....the theology of the hammer, tzedekah, mitzvahs, real love..Todah Solomon Schecter and my two high school leaders there, who helped so many going off to U. of Michigan and Cornell they led so many of their school volunteers to help...

and to the school, Eric and John the advisors, thank you..

 

Our families have been inspired, thank you...one girl is in college, who i used to pick up as a little girl..I am going to study pre med, she states..what a blessing, I am going to be able to graduate with a 3.5 average...remember i just met a philadelphia woman at the conference, I state, who lived in a Habitat house, and now was working in Washington DC...we are successful all the time, we do so much, we are blessed, she states...thank you all the volunteers readers donors, families, and hammerers who helped dreams come true so that the day those families woke up with anticipation Habitat made it a reality that nite to move into their first home...continue to help us be dream makers, college graduates, great citizens and community leaders...jjk

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 GOING GREEN, WHAT DOES IT MEAN..WE ARE ANNOUNCING SHORLTY OUR GREEN SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES, FOR GREEN WESTCHESTER COMMUNITIES AND NY...WHICH WILL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING..

ENCOURAGING

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION..INCLUDING TROLLEYS PEDICABS AND BICYCLES

SOLAR AND WIND ENERGY

RECYCLING KNOWLEDGE

WORKFORCE HOUSING, OWENRSHIP IN COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTY

 

 

WE HAVE ONLY JUST BEGUN.

WE HAVE ALSO STARTED A GREEN SUSTAINABLE COUNTY WIDE COMMITTEE..JUST BEGINNING....

...JJK

 

 

 

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Hi to all,

 

a great day, customers in the Restore...volunteers helping, getting ready for us to help to make it possible for us recycle, reuse and resell to generate money for the creation of affordable workforce ownership homes...generating taxes and helping to save communities and lives...what a great thing it is..

 

a time to save our earth and families together...jjk

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a blessed Monday morning..the Psalmist stated..Praise the Lord, ye children, praise ye the name of the Lord...

this in Psalm 112, if we could all only start with that every day a prayer of praise, we would be able to start with `no matter Jewish or Christian or Muslim or whatever..Someone came to my door yesterday and said JIm can you say a prayer for me, one of our major donors, a great person, told him i would be honored...very successful, we are all called to support one another, to pray for one another to help one another...

Interesting times..as I took my morning walk to the train station..a long time homeowner in New Rochelle stated to me as he caught the train to his financial job..seems like they want to push people out of New Rochelle...remember the day when no one would be pushed out...when people were welcomed. a taxpayer feeling this way,  is really very sad, but there is hope..there is you and I who can ask that each municipality works to make a priority to those residents the grew up here, worked h ere, spent their tax money here..  They should be able to do that shouldn't we...everyone looks to be that glimmering person that brings in something new...no problem, but what about that elected official that would want to support the people that were their teachers, their police, their bank tellers, their bus drivers, their working force...

 

Last as we celebrate this anniversary of Dr King..who had a dream..who continues to inspire me every time i hear one of his speeches on pbs or the history channel, let us fight for the dream makers for people of all backgrounds, who want  a simple decent home.. please make a donation today if you can..Know that all of you are in my prayers during this time.. with gratitude..jjk

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a long day but productive..one of our board members, Joe French, great person, developer golfer, stops by our new headquarters...great place and he loves it no question..

Joe is one of those quiet unsung heroes on the board, shadowed by my voice..who gets too much credit...and he has gotten the golf tournament going every year, Bronxville Reformed Church support and many people helping us in so many ways...like so many of my board, like Mary or Bernard, or Bob, they came out building first..on our first condo building an old run down building we preserved, rehabbed and now three families live on Willow, what a God send, no question....thank you Joe, Mary Bernard, Bob, Jim all of the great people who help us in the background..

an emotional interview today by the Journal news of Darlene and Linda and myself up on Howard Avenue...the anniversary is April 16th of the floods..what a world...we rehabbed so many homes, i often stop and wonder how we did it..non stop..for a year..just on flooded homes..while doing our own work..needless to say I give thanks to the one God that blesses us all and protects us and helps us...

so many great things come our way with blessings, because of all those mentioned, because of all of you..as i take inventory of another successful day, i say thank God for you reading this, please spread the word, we need help to continue this vital mission, to move ahead....with gratitude, jjk

 

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an interesting mornng. .no question.. we have much going on...a blessing, today we have our luncheon for SO NO NEW RO neighborhood group.. and businesses are coming regularly, a great day..tonite our High schools come from across the county who are helping us..helping us to be able to continue to build, WALK FOR HOMES, help run Habitat, and more..what a great day..no questoin..

This is what we live for to see volunteers in action, helping to change communities for the better for the future..

With that in mind, remember April 19th is our Green Earth Day Blitz buildathon..and build week.

We can get this right now..while many go away, we will be here helping in a big way...

jjk

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