Help Build A House, A Front Porch, Or Garden Bench

On Saturday May 7th, Madison Cares and Habitat for Humanity of Greater New Haven will stage a live ‘build’ in downtown Madison to benefit Habitat for Humanity.

Entitled “Raise the Roof,” the day-long event will include multiple sites in town where volunteers can assist in pre-building components of a Habitat for Humanity home. These sections will be trucked to one of Habitat’s home sites in New Haven for a deserving family.

Program books indicating the various projects will be available on the Town Green on May 7th. Activities will run from 10 am to 4 pm. No construction or building experience is necessary.

On the Green, volunteers will construct a front porch and the exterior walls of a future Habitat home. Three work stations located in the downtown area will be dedicated to smaller-scale projects such as porch railings, work benches, headers and other miscellaneous parts.

One station will be dedicated to youth and families for the building of garden benches that participants can take home for a donation of $30. Volunteers age 8 to 12 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who will sign work waivers; maximum 2 children per family.  All funds will go toward the construction of a Madison Cares/Habitat for Humanity home.

Volunteers may sign up online for May 7 work slots.  Additional details on sign-ups are available at www.madisoncares.org.

The event will also feature a “Raise the Roof Expo,” a continuous schedule of how-to demonstrations by skilled tradesmen and contractors. Their focus will be home maintenance and repair. The first demonstration will start at 10:00 am on the Green.

“This is an amazing opportunity for the entire town to get behind a great cause. Volunteers will literally see their contributions of sweat and hard work form the house that becomes a Habitat for Humanity home. The event will be like nothing Madison has ever seen before—civic organizations, faith communities, merchants, businesses, professionals and caring neighbors coming together to ‘Raise the Roof’ for a deserving family," said  Maureen Lopes, President, Madison Cares, in a prepared statement.

Volunteers at “Raise the Roof” will be able to donate to the Madison Cares cause by purchasing a “virtual” piece of the next home. All proceeds will go directly toward funding the next Madison Cares Habitat build, and the donors’ names will be presented to the new homeowners at the house dedication in 2012.

An arts component promises to add special color to the event. Six different music acts, featuring local artists from teenagers to adults, will entertain volunteers throughout the day from a stage on the Green.

In the afternoon, the Best of the Nest—Birdhouse Art Auction will conclude on the Green. Through the Madison Arts Council and other art associations, many of the shoreline’s most gifted artists will apply their creative skills to the decoration of wooden birdhouses.

These birdhouses will be transformed into unique, signed pieces of art. From April 17 to May 6, they will be displayed at participating Madison merchants so that shoppers can bid on their favorite pieces. At “Raise the Roof” on May 7th, the birdhouses will be displayed on the Green for final bidding, to be sealed at 2 pm.

All proceeds from the auction will go to Madison Cares/Habitat for Humanity. The Madison Chamber of Commerce has announced that its participating merchants will be donating to this event through advertising and program book sponsorships.

Capping off the day will be a blue ribbon panel discussion at 7 pm entitled “Building Community in Changing Times – The New Role of Nonprofit Partnerships,” featuring Governor Dannel Malloy, former State Representative Deborah Heinrich and others. The panel, to be hosted by WTNH anchor Ann Nyberg, will take place at the First Congregational Church on the Green, 26 Meeting House Lane. It is open to the general public.  For more information, go to www.madisoncares.org.

Founded in 2003, Madison Cares has raised over $350,000 and has built six Habitat houses in New Haven. Dedication of the seventh house will occur in late spring 2011.