I HEREBY CALL THIS BOARD MEETING TO ORDER. Volunteers work in November on a house being built by Chippewa Valley Habitat for Humanity in Menomonie.

With the current holiday season in mind, it’s tempting to say that Chippewa Valley Habitat for Humanity is preparing an amazing Christmas gift for a local family in need: Volunteers for the charitable group are busy building a new house in Menomonie, a house that will be occupied as early as May.

Yet the homes that Habitat builds – more than 40 in the Valley since 1991, and more than 800,000 worldwide since 1976 – aren’t really gifts. Yes, they’re built with the help of volunteers and often with donated materials. Yes, the homes are only available to families with low incomes and a need for better housing. But they aren’t gifts – at least like the ones you’ll find under your seasonal evergreen.

“One thing we pride ourselves on is a hand up, not a hand out.” – Aaron Czappa, executive director, Chippewa Valley Habitat for Humanity

“One thing we pride ourselves on is a hand up, not a hand out,” explains Aaron Czappa, executive director of the Eau Claire-based group, which moved into a new office on Stein Boulevard in early December. Partner families aren’t simply handed the keys to a new home. Instead, they must invest their own “sweat equity” in the project through 400 volunteer hours – 200 toward building their own home, and 200 toward another Habitat project. They must also go through a lengthy, formal application process to ensure that they are a good fit. And they must be willing – and able – to make mortgage payments on the home.

However, because Habitat offers 30-year no-interest mortgages, and because the homes are built with donated labor and materials, these payments are significantly lower than they would otherwise be, Czappa explains.

And, as a nonprofit, Habitat isn’t pocketing the money that comes back in the form of mortgage payments. “Literally, for every house we build, the money is recycled back through the mortgage,” Czappa explains. “That’s what’s able to sustain our program and grow our program.”

And growing its programs is what Habitat hopes to do starting in 2016, its 25th anniversary in the Chippewa Valley. First, the organization plans to ramp up to building two homes a year. That will allow the chapter not only to assist two local families but also to pursue a new fundraising avenue: opening a ReStore, a retail store and donation center that sells new and used appliances, furniture, building supplies, and the like. All the proceeds from the store will go back to Habitat’s programs in the Chippewa Valley, Czappa says. The chapter hopes to open a ReStore in Eau Claire or Menomonie in two to three years.

Of course, increasing the number of houses Habitat builds in the Chippewa Valley will require increased resources, both in terms of volunteers and donated supplies and funds. “We are looking for people who are willing to help us financially to build the home in Menomonie and to help us reach our goal of building two homes a year,” Czappa explains.

As you ponder the needs of the many worthy local organizations such as Habitat for Humanity this holiday season, keep this statistic in mind: According to a Red Cross survey of Americans, 79 percent of us would rather have a donation made in our honor than receive a gift we don’t want. Instead of giving a loved one something they don’t need, you can help some of your neighbors meet their basic needs.

Interested in volunteering or donating? Wondering if your family may be eligible for help from Habitat? Contact Chippewa Valley Habitat for Humanity, 2620 Stein Blvd., Eau Claire, at (715) 833-8993, info@cvh4h.org, or www.cvh4h.org.