BTB 2023 Table Captains

BTB 2023 Table Captains

Thursday June 8 | Seattle Convention Center – Summit Building

11:00-11:45 am — Check-in

12:00-1:00 pm — Program

Thank you for serving as a Table Captain for our Annual Habitat Benefit Luncheon. We appreciate your ongoing support and are here to help you fulfill your table captain duties and have a great experience.

What Does a Table Captain Do?

Invite: Each table captain hosts a table (or tables) of 10 guests – friends, family, colleagues and business partners, etc. – anyone who wants to support access to affordable housing in our community.

Stay Connected: We all need reminders from time to time – Habitat SKC can help! Direct your guests to our social media pages for event updates and we’ll send them a reminder email before the big day.

Host: At the luncheon, arrive a little early to tour our Showcase Room and answer any questions your guests may have. During the program, sit back and be inspired to make an impact with them!

The Next Step: Encourage your guests to get more involved – invite them to a future dedication or groundbreaking, volunteer, or sign up for advocacy alerts.

The Impact of a Table

Every individual who attends plays a vital role in the success of the luncheon and Habitat SKC’s plan to reach 1,000 total housing solutions by 2025.

10 guests per table x $250 (suggested donation) = $2,500 in support for build projects, critical repairs, and Aging in Place assistance.

Resources

Beyond the Build Luncheon 2023

Beyond the Build Luncheon 2023

Thursday June 8 | Seattle Convention Center – Summit Building

Mark your calendars for our annual Beyond the Build Luncheon!

Join us as we gather at our luncheon on Thursday, June 8th, 2023, where we’ll celebrate accomplishments, look to the work ahead, and honor longtime supporters.

As more families in Seattle struggle to keep a roof over their heads, Habitat and our supporters step up to provide safe and affordable housing to those who need it most.

Resources

Volunteer Energy Powers Habitat for Humanity SKKC’s Success

At our Volunteer & Donor Appreciation Night at Lagunitas Brewing Company in Ballard in December, Habitat for Humanity SKKC celebrated the volunteers, donors and advocates who form the engine that drives our affiliate’s success. Because of the contributions made in 2022 by Habitat volunteers, donors, and advocates, 50 King and Kittitas County families who couldn’t otherwise own their own homes are eligible for homeownership in 2023. And that’s only the beginning.

In more than 30,000 hours of donated time and work, our volunteers were able to build, renovate, and repair 74 homes last year. Volunteers who staffed Habitat stores sold over 400,000 items the proceeds of which provide financial support to augment all that hard work. The hours and results testify to the joy of working with others to create safe, affordable homes for people from all walks of life.

And some volunteers received special recognition for going above and beyond in 2022 – the following individuals were recognized as Habitat “All Stars.”

  • Mary Castillo – Habitat Stores Volunteer of the Year
  • Nancy Blase – Homeowner Services Volunteer of the Year
  • Beverly Skeffington, Diane Lampe, Terie McCunn – Construction Volunteers of the Year
  • Gary Fallon – 2022 Habitat SKC Volunteer of the Year

At the event, Habitat inaugurated the Manny Weiser Volunteer Service Award named in memory of long-time volunteer Manny and the incredible dedication and supportive attitude he brought to the work site every day. The first winners of this award for exceptional service are an itinerant team of young adults from Christian Public Service. This group travels the country fulfilling six-month service terms at places like hospitals and nursing homes. Habitat has benefited from their help and expertise on our build sites twice a week for many years.  

If these people and their accomplishments inspire you, now is the perfect time to reach out and reap the joy of volunteering. Simply email volunteer@habitatskc.org to learn more, and with luck, Habitat will be celebrating your impacts in the years ahead!

Meet Our 2022 Beyond the Build Luncheon Emcee: Aaron Wright

Aaron Wright, evening anchor and reporter at KIRO7 News, will emcee this year’s Beyond the Build luncheon on Thursday, June 2 at the Washington State Convention Center.  No stranger to Habitat for Humanity, Aaron volunteered with the Rockford, Illinois chapter during his first TV news position upon graduating from Hampton University.

Since then, Aaron’s journalism credentials include an Emmy he earned for best evening newscast in San Antonio, Texas, where his news coverage included the deadly Gatlinburg Wildfires of 2016.  His reporting consistently leans toward service to the people in his stories. Aaron’s takeaway from covering those fires is, “People lost a lot, but we were able to get out and show the reality of what they were going through and help the community by making sure they weren’t forgotten when the fires were over.”

Aaron’s attitude toward service as the foundation of his work makes him a perfect emcee for Beyond the Build 2022. Aaron believes journalism is service and, at its best, it uplifts the community, exposes corruption, and helps people in need. It’s that attention to people in need that inspired Aaron to jump at the chance to emcee Habitat’s biggest fundraiser of the year.  Aaron has worked at two TV stations that sent volunteer teams to Habitat builds, and he was impressed by the outcomes. “When I think about Habitat, I think about seeing families walk through their new homes for the first time. The joy they show is like no other.”

Newly arrived in Seattle, Aaron’s journalism career has taken him from his home in Spartanburg, South Carolina to Rockford, Illinois, San Antonio, Texas and Knoxville, Tennessee. He’s happy to be here in Seattle working with “…a team that takes news seriously.” He enjoys sharing the city’s great parks and the region’s hiking trails with his wife and two daughters.  Of course, there is the seafood, “Between oysters, clams, crab, and salmon I am in heaven here.”

In keeping with his joy of service, Aaron is passionate about children of color learning to swim, “Black kids drown at a really high rate compared to others.” His first job as a YMCA lifeguard showed him the value of water skills in saving lives. He also supports animal adoption because he’s seen “… how much they (rescued pets) can help an owner live a really full life, while saving theirs.”

The bottom line for Aaron Wright is community connection and storytelling.  He’s sure to bring that spirit to his emcee duties on June 2 and his partnership at the head table with keynote speaker Nomadland: Surviving America in the 21st Century author Jessica Bruder. If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still time – please do so here: Beyond the Build Luncheon Habitat SKC. We hope to see you there!

Thanks to YOU We Surpassed Our Fundraising Goals at the 2021 Beyond the Build!

Wow – our community stepped up AGAIN to help us surpass last year’s amazing fundraising goals at this year’s Beyond the Build virtual event. We are thrilled to announce that we raised $1.64 million – even more than the record-breaking $1.42 million raised last year.

The June 3rd event was emceed by Dave Wagner of KIRO 7, and featured a keynote by Matthew Desmond, winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, the 2017 PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award, and the 2016 National Book Critics Circle Award for Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. Funds raised will support Habitat’s partner families and ensure the ability for Habitat to continue to move forward with an ambitious agenda to provide solutions to the Puget Sound region’s affordable housing and homeless crisis. Attendees donating $1,000 or more also gained entrance to an exclusive live VIP reception with Mr. Desmond following the event. View individual presentations, the full hour-long program and the VIP reception here

“Our community has again stepped up with amazing support during an unprecedented time in our region where housing affordability is increasingly unstable and homelessness at crisis levels.  It is clear we were able to communicate the urgency of our mission, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with and grateful for this result.”

Brett D’Antonio, Habitat SKC CEO

This year Habitat for Humanity Seattle–King County is celebrating 35 years serving hard-working and deserving families in King County, and while the organization is proud of what it has accomplished, it recognizes the urgency to address an even more significant need in the region. With 200 units in eight projects currently in its development pipeline, the organization has implemented innovative partnerships with private and public entities in order to help meet the need. Projects sites include those in South Park, Lake City, Renton, North and Central Seattle, North Bend and Burien. Additionally, two more will come online soon in West Seattle and Capitol Hill.

Brett added, “We couldn’t have achieved this amazing result without the support of our corporate and foundation partners, that at the platinum and gold levels included Microsoft, Bank of America, HomeStreet Bank, Regence, BECU, Blueprint Capital, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The ROMA Foundation, Lenore Hanauer Foundation, Credit Union Home Mortgage Solutions, FHLB, KLB Construction, The John C. & Karyl Kay Hughes Foundation, Satterberg Foundation, Suskin Foundation, Joshua Green Foundation and the Harnish Foundation.”

The Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBAKS) was honored with its Community Leader of the Year award, and Nancy Williams with its Volunteer of the Year award for serving as the local leader for Habitat’s annual Women Build Week. Nancy has been instrumental in volunteer recruitment, event support, and providing supplies to our build sites. In 2019, she recruited over 40 volunteers to join us at Habitat’s Sammamish site for a Women Build that raised $250,000 for the affiliate.

MBAKS’ partnership with Habitat has spanned 20 years, and incorporates engagement of its employees and members with significant financial support. Former MBAKS Executive Director Kat Sims is a valued Habitat Board Member, and Habitat credits MBAKS’ COVID construction toolkit as critical in ensuring that construction was able to continue on Habitat project sites.