YPAL – Green Team

Photo Courtesy of PinkOwl Photography

Talk about a shovel-ready project! On May 6, YPAL and Habitat for Humanity hosted the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the first LEED-Certified house in Louisville, and only the second such house in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Check out some of the coverage here: http://www.fox41.com/global/story.asp?s=12440338.

We hope you’re wondering how to get involved and lend a hand for this historic and worthwhile all-volunteer construction effort. We encourage you to volunteer with a group of colleagues as a team-building exercise. We encourage you to volunteer with a group of family and friends for a day of bonding. We encourage you to volunteer on your own and meet other young professionals. Check the website to register you and your group to volunteer most Thursdays and Saturdays from June through October.

Through the hard work and sweat of young professional volunteers like you, a single mother and her young son will have an energy-efficient, affordable home of their own. As Rob Locke, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity, describes the organization’s mission, “Building houses is what we do, but changing lives is why we do it.” Pick up a hammer, pick up a shovel – dig in and help change this family’s life.

Sujata Barai Chugh is a freelance writer & editor in Louisville. She is also the Volunteer Coordinator for the YPAL LEED House Project. You can reach her at sbaraichugh@gmail.com.

Hey everybody,

I dropped by the site yesterday and found the concrete footing has been installed!  Many thanks to all the construction type folks that made this happen.

I got off the Watterson at the Jackson St exit and came east to Clay so I had a few miles of traveling on S. Clay before I got to our site.  I was struck by the contrast between a few rough-looking structures (most of them multi-family) and the great many well-kept single family homes added to the tranquility of Shelby Park.

While this concrete foundation is incredibly strong, it is not the only one we’re building on Clay St.  We’re giving Wendy the opportunity to build a foundation for her family, her self-confidence, and the Shelby Park community where she’s grown up.  As most of you know, Habitat is not a give away program.  Wendy will pay back a zero-interest affordable mortgage over 20 years and become a financial partner in building her neighbors’ homes.  Maybe her mortgage payments will help rehab one of the rough looking houses a couple of blocks to the south.

Rob Locke

And so it begins

Greetings all,

My name is Rob Locke and I’m the Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Metro Louisville. YPAL put on the most amazing press conference this morning. Not only was the weather superlatively springish; the turnout was great.

2010 really seems like a year of transition for our community. With the changing Mayor, the departure of Charles Cash at city planning and Habitat’s 25 anniversary in Louisville, I can think of no better way to mark this year of transition than by building a home with the Young Professionals Association of Louisville.

I’ll loosely paraphrase a comment made by Habitat’s founder: Our community has all the building materials and all the construction knowledge required to end substandard housing; all that we lack is the will. Today’s groundbreaking felt like the collective will of YPAL exerting itself.