DreamBuilders
If You Had a Hammer, What What Would You Do?
Do you know the song “If I Had a Hammer” that Peter, Paul, and Mary sang in the 1960′s? It’s about the good you can do, the positive changes you can make in the lives of people worldwide using nothing more than a hammer. You could help build or repair homes in your own local community. You could travel to places like West Virginia, New Mexico, Mississippi, Guatemala, and Panama to help remove debris and then rebuild homes that were destroyed by hurricanes, earthquakes, and other powerfully destructive forces of nature. If you had a hammer, you could do incredibly good things for people all over the world. And you can get started with the help and support of DreamBuilders.
DreamBuilders Provides Opportunities For Adults and Youth to Use Their Hammers.
DreamBuilders is a group of local religious organizations who have joined to organize and participate in construction-based mission projects locally, nationally, and internationally. Christ Church joined the core group in 2008, more than seven years after the initial group was started. Thanks to three very dedicated members of the leadership team members, and Mary Keath joined Steve on the team coordinating the group’s biggest fund-raiser, a yearly spaghetti dinner and silent auction that was held on 28 March this year and will be held on 20 March 2010. The event raised more that $12,500 this year and we hope to raise more next year.
Locally, DreamBuilders supports The ARC of Howard County which provides housing to people with disabilities. Many properties are in need of regular upkeep and our volunteers do the work necessary. Do you want to make a difference in the lives of people who are physically unable? The DreamBuilders have made necessary renovations of ARC houses in Howard County
Then over the summer we packed up our hammers, hard hats, nail aprons, etc. and headed out on DreamBuilder trips! Some from Christ Church went to Biloxi, Mississippi, in May to work on a Habitat for Humanity project; some to Madison County, North Carolina for a Timothy Project in June; and, finally, 10 members went to Franklin County in the mountains of West Virginia in August for a blitz build Habitat for Humanity Project. In addition, DreamBuilders had trips to Panama and Ghana.
Each week long trip meant long days of challenging work – learning new skills, being part of a team, helping with meals and clean up, and sleeping in bunk beds and dormitories! The finished products – refurbished home, new home, etc. – were impressive, however, we were about community building as well as house building! Those who participated were blessed with many new friends and a desire to participate in more DreamBuilder projects – including the local Arc projects that will resume this fall!
Fundraising is a very important component for DreamBuilders. As a matter of principal, the group not only works on houses, but sponsors the houses they work on, and sends funds to support each group they coordinate with, such as the local Habit for Humanity organization. DreamBuilders sponsored the house we built in West Virginia at a cost of $40,000. This past year proceeds from the Lenten Mite Boxes, the Shrove Tues. pancake supper and from the HSYG spring flower sale all went towards DreamBuilders. Some of that money is used directly by DreamBuilders, and some is being held as scholarship money for Christ Church members who want to take part in upcoming mission trips. For more information on DreamBuilders, talk to one of the participants in this year’s projects and/or visit the St. Mark’s Highland website and click on “DreamBuilders”!
The ARC of Howard Co. provides housing to people with disabilities, and they have many properties in need of regular upkeep.
