Dates:

June 14-29. All work on the houses was completed in two weeks. To see some of the work done click here for the photo album.

Location:

St. John Lutheran Church Neighborhood, near South Third and South Fourth, between Janes and Federal, in the City of Saginaw. The church, celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, donated most of the Blitz Build land after it bought the property from the DNR and pledged $15,000 for the project.

Number of houses due for construction:

Eight, a bit of a scale back from last year's eleven. "It has to remain fun and manageable," says executive director John Perna. "We probably tried to do too much last year." To learn more about what's involved in building eight houses see our Blitz Bits page.

Confirmed house sponsors:

Ameritech, Citizens Bank, Church Workers United, United Methodists, Lutherans, Catholics. Each house sponsor pledges a minimum of $25,000 toward the $65,000 construction cost of its house. To see the houses our sponsors helped to build last year, click here.

Number of volunteers needed:

1,500 to 1,700 Interested in volunteering for the 2002 blitz build? Please go to the Volunteer Form.

Honorary Chair (also known as the head cheerleader):

Wilmer Jones Ham, newly elected as the mayor of Saginaw.

What is a Habitat Blitz Build?

A distinctively Habitat way to build houses is the blitz build. The most well known blitz is the annual Jimmy Carter Work Project, which the former president heads. Many affiliates have adopted "blitz building," including SHFH. SHFH blitz builds are high-profile, community-wide efforts that not only enable deserving families to own simple, decent homes, but also bring together over 1,000 volunteers each summer from Saginaw and nearby communities. These spirited Habitat supporters--along with hundreds of individuals, churches, foundations and businesses who contribute financially or with gifts-in-kind--bring new life to struggling neighborhoods, new hope for many who live in substandard housing, and new excitement to the ministry of Habitat.