Getting Churches involved with Thrivent Builds
Both Lutheran and non-Lutheran churches are needed to be involved with the 2011 Thrivent Builds project on 11th Avenue Southeast in St. Cloud. The Thrivent Builds grant requires that 10% of the cost of the house to be donated by Lutherans or Thrivent members and 35% of the cost to be donated by the community. The grant also requires that 50% of the volunteers to be Lutherans or Thrivent members and 50% of the volunteers to be from the community. So Lutheran and non-Lutheran churches can play a key role in making the Thrivent Builds project become a reality.
A church that wants to get involved with the Thrivent Builds project needs to designate a person to be their Congregation Champion. This person can be a staff person or a congregation member. The Congregation Champion is the main communicator between the church and the Volunteer Manager at Habitat for Humanity. The Congregation Champion finds and coordinates the volunteers from the church that will come out to the build site, or he/she can find someone who will be the coordinator. The Congregation Champion coordinates the donations that the church pledges to give to the Thrivent Builds project, or he/she can find someone to coordinate the donations. The Volunteer Manager at Habitat for Humanity can provide ideas and resources to the Congregation Champion on how to coordinate volunteers and donations.
To find out more, contact Melanie Blake, Volunteer Manager at Central MN Habitat for Humanity, at (320) 656-8890 x. 104 or email melanieblake@cmhfh.org.