The culmination of Habitat’s Home Builders Blitz Week is Build Community Day (Saturday, October 19), inspired and funded by the Whatcom Community Foundation’s Project Neighborly Program). This year, Habitat is centering the day’s activity around Habitat’s flagship Telegraph Townhomes Project (1050 Telegraph Road, Bellingham), and the surrounding King Mountain neighborhood. This day brings community volunteers and neighbors together to build and mend homes and hearts throughout the neighborhood.
This year’s highlight will be a political forum at lunch on Saturday where volunteers and guests can hear from some very special guest speakers. We’ve invited candidates for Mayor of Bellingham and Whatcom County Executive to discuss how, if elected, their administrations will partner with organizations like Habitat to help solve the housing crisis in Whatcom County.
“This is the entire theme of Build Community Day,” said John Moon, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County. “This is not about politics. We’re not branding anyone as Democrat, Republican, Green Party, Libertarian, we’re not doing any of that.
“This is an opportunity for everyone to come forward and share their ideas to help us solve what we’ve identified as a crisis,” he added. “The wonderful thing about Habitat is that we bring people from across the political spectrum together. They work together, they get dirty together on the job site, and at the end of the day, they can see how they’ve created something that is productive.”
Habitat International is encouraging all of its affiliates to get more involved in the political process and advocacy, which is the reason behind Habitat International’s “Cost of Home” campaign that kicked off earlier this year. Both the Home Builders Blitz, and especially Build Community Day, together are Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County’s statement toward bringing diverse political perspectives into one conversation to solve a crisis that affects everyone.
“These are very challenging times,” added Moon, “and the problem isn’t going to get easier. It’s going to get even harder to solve unless we can get our government officials, both on the elected and the appointed sides, to see the world through the lens of someone struggling with housing. Without that, it’s going to be hard to make changes that take into consideration and provide some compassion for people with limited resources, because they’re essential members of our community.
“That’s my goal, at the end of the day,” said Moon, “to get the elected folks and the department heads to start to see the world through the lens of a person living with limited financial resources.”
BUILD COMMUNITY DAY SCHEDULE
Saturday, October 19th
Shift 1
8:30 a.m. Arrive at 1050 Telegraph Road (the Telegraph Townhomes Project)
11:30 a.m. Stop work and move to Unity Spiritual Center (across from the Telegraph site)
All are welcome
11:45 a.m. Lunch begins at Unity Spiritual Center (generously sponsored by Umpqua Bank)
12:30 p.m. –1:30 p.m. Political Forum followed by Q&A
Shift 2
1:30 p.m. Arrive (or continue) at 1050 Telegraph Road
4:30 p.m. Cleanup and completion
All volunteers, guests, and media are invited to join us for lunch and the Political Forum to hear from some very special guest speakers. We’ve invited candidates for Mayor of Bellingham and Whatcom County Executive to discuss how, if elected, their administrations will partner with organizations like Habitat to help solve the housing crisis in Whatcom County.
FORUM SPEAKERS
April Barker, candidate for Mayor of Bellingham
Seth Fleetwood, candidate for Mayor of Bellingham
Tony Larson, candidate for Whatcom County Executive
Satpal Sidhu, candidate for Whatcom County Executive
John Moon (moderator), Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County
Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County thanks all our generous sponsors for this year’s Build Community Day: the Whatcom Community Foundation, Umpqua Bank, Kulshan Community Land Trust, the Telegraph Townhome Project, LLC, and Unity Spiritual Center.