Carpenters for Christ

What's Happening Right Now.......

"The House That Steve Built" begins Saturday, February 18th!  This is our annual joint project with SMU, and it honors the contributions by Reverend Steve Matthew to the Carpenters for Christ ministry over the past 16 years.  We're actually building two houses at the same time in a two week period.  Street addresses, build days, work schedule and driving directions follow on this page.

Come be a part of this rare chance to say "Thank you, Steve, for everything."  Don't miss it!

REMEMBER: No experience is needed to volunteer with Carpenters.  

To volunteer contact Jane Parker at jhp01@aol.com.

To make a financial gift you can: 

     1.   Go to the bottom of this home page and follow the prompts for the Internet.

     2.   Mail a check to:  Carpenters at Highland Park United Methodist Church

                                           3300 Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, TX  75205                                                                                                                                                                                       

     3.   Contact Joe B. Fortson at fortsonj@hpumc.org.

For driving directions click here.

For general information contact Joe B. Fortson at fortsonj@hpumc.org.

Project Location: 

3618 and 3622 Metropolitan Avenue, houses #80 and #81 respectively, are only 3 blocks south of the southern boundary of Fair Park.  Habitat and Carpenters for Christ have been actively building there for a number of years, our most recent homes having been completed there this past fall.   For driving directions click here 

Project Work Days:

Project Work Hours::

•  8:00 a.m.      Arrival and check-in.
•  8:15 a.m.      Orientation followed by commencement of work.
• 12:00 p.m.     Free lunch provided for workers.
• 12:30 p.m.     Afternoon orientation and work session.
• 4:00 p.m.       Site clean-up and conclusion of work. 

Workers may also sign up to work a half-day session.  Lunch is served to the morning volunteers.  Water and cold drinks are provided.

To volunteer for this build: 

     Contact Jane Parker, Volunteer Coordinator, at jhp01@aol.com .

Be sure to bring to the worksite:

     Season appropriate work clothing (We work rain or shine)
     Closed-Toed Shoes
     Head covering
     Work Gloves (a necessity)
     Sunscreen
     Hammer and Nail Belt if you have them. 

Volunteer Age Limits:

Every volunteer under 18 must have parental signatures on liability forms.
     Under 14:  Not allowed on the site while construction is ongoing
     Ages 14 & 15:  Can help with landscaping and clean-up on last day.
     Ages 16 & 17:  Can help with construction but no power tools or roof work.
     Ages 18 and over   No restrictions.

 Please come out and join us!

For further information, contact:
Joe B. Fortson, Outreach Associate at fortsonj@hpumc.org

 How to Get Involved 

It requires about 200 people and approximately 2,000 volunteer hours, to complete a single house. That translates to 10,000 - 12,000 volunteer hours a year. Volunteering to help build is open to ages 16 and over. We’ve had persons in their 80s volunteer for construction!

You can also help by providing 35 lunches for volunteers each work day. Lunches may be simple or elaborate, homemade or store bought.  To provide lunches, contact Carpenters Volunteer Coordinator, Jane Parker at jhp01@aol.com.

Become Part of Our Team

Carpenters for Christ uses email distribution lists to communicate volunteer opportunities and committee information.  You can add or delete yourself from these lists by sending an email to the appropriate addresses below:
 
Add yourself:
     hpumc-cfc-subscribe@yahoogroups.com   (volunteer list)
     cfc-committee-subscribe@yahoogroups.com   (committee list)
 
Delete yourself:
     hpumc-cfc-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com    (volunteer list)
     cfc-committee-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com   (committee list)

How to Become a Carpenters for Christ Sponsor

Each home undertaken by Carpenters for Christ requires a contribution of $55,000 cash upfront paid to Habitat. Currently Carpenters is building at the rate of 6 homes per year. In an ordinary year that comes to $330,000, very little of which is funded by the HPUMC budget (our regular pledges and offerings). That means that the Carpenters Committee and its friends raise the equivalent of $1,000,000 every three years to attain the goal of 100 completed homes by 2016. Donations come in all sizes and are greatly appreciated. Carpenters is fortunate to have received from Habitat a temporary discount, to $40,000 per house for the next year. Persons giving now, at any level, will get more for their contribution than ever before.

History

With determination, purpose and encouragement by Senior Minister, Mark Craig, Carpenters for Christ formally organized in 1996 and set out on a plan to build 100 homes with Habitat for Humanity.  Currently, the number of completed homes totals 77.  True to its calling, the group still builds one home at a time with their only purpose to provide a simple, decent place to live for one family at a time. Our mission has been blessed by the financial support of very generous individuals and organizations within HPUMC. Without this critical support, we could not continue to pursue our goal of sponsoring 100 Habitat homes for truly deserving families. We are also blessed by the friendships and camaraderie that we have developed with our partner families, volunteers from HPUMC, and other volunteers who have joined us at the work sites. It is safe to say that, at the end of each workday, the volunteers feel that we have been blessed much more by our experiences than we have given through our labor and financial contributions.

Directions to 3618 and 3622 Metropolitan Avenue

Dallas, Texas

(From the intersection of Mockingbird Lane and North Central Expressway)

1.  FromMockingbird Lane proceed south on Central Expressway for 3.6 miles.

2.  Exit to I-30 eastbound at Exit 284A and proceed 1.1 miles to 2^nd Avenue exit, Exit 47.

3.  The ramp will take you due south on 2^nd Avenue. Proceed 2/10 mile and  bear right     at FairPark for 1/10 mile. Then curve back left toRobert B. Cullum Boulevard.

4.  Proceed south on Robert B. Cullum Boulevard 3/4 mile toMetropolitan Avenue.

5.  Turn left on Metropolitan Avenueand proceed 1/8 mile.

6.  3618 Metropolitan will be on the right, as will be 3622.