Community Corner
Rockland Is Blessed That It Is Home To A Habitat For Humanity Chapter
Please note that this Article is not intended to be a scholarly document. It is intended to be a written casual conversation among friends.
Our conversation begins many years ago when a very remarkable lady/mother, who worked at the then named the Rockland State Hospital in Orangeburg, decided that she wanted a home for her two children, close to where she worked. Ergo, Maggie Conway bought a house on the edge of the Hospital. To make ends meet, Maggie took in 4 adult men as boarders who were being discharged from the hospital with no place to go. It was the birth of a legend.
When my team that created and operated Loeb House, a not-for-profit Charity that exists to provide homes for our mentally ill, learned Maggie was retiring, we created a new not-for-profit Charity, Joseph's Home [named after my late Brother], to purchase Maggie's home to serve our homeless. It's a small 20-bed Boarding House that struggles to survive and does so in part because of the kindness and caring of many private people, including the Girl Scouts.
Our latest such people are the Habitat For Humanity family.
Find out what's happening in Pearl Riverfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Habitat for Humanity International, generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization, which was founded in 1976 and has built many private homes for many years in Rockland County.
Habitat for Humanity is a global nonprofit housing organization working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S. and in approximately 70 countries. Habitat’s vision is of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.
Find out what's happening in Pearl Riverfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
They also offer home repair services like painting, landscaping, weatherization and minor repairs, ensuring that families live in safe, decent homes for years to ..
They are volunteers that can and do anything/everything. They have made many repairs, upgrades, improvements that old houses always need, but can't always afford to do anything about it.
At the present they are about 15 volunteers, 7 of which are working on Maggie.
Our former County Executive Scott Vanderhoef is the top member right now and is continuing demonstrating his compassionate spirit. We worked together on the County Government for more than a decade and I can testify that he governed with compassion.
That's my story. I close with suggesting if you want to help in any way, reach out to www.habitatrockland.org. You might enjoy it.
