Photo Credit: AP

Usually the Bahamas brings to mind sunshine, beaches, and palm trees—but unless you happen to be a tourist, there isn’t so much easy living since Hurricane Irene. Andy Reinach from Alexandria Real Estate is doing what he can to change that.  He’s participating in Habitat Bahamas “Fly-In and Help Out Event” by flying down his ~50 year old 4-seater Bonanza loaded with 800 pounds of building supplies donated by Consigli Construction. Tocci is lending a hand by donating the fuel for Andy’s mission.

The following info is from their website www.bahamashabitat.org

Bahamas Habitat  (not affiliated with Habitat for Humanity) is a Christian organization doing extensive community development, housing renovation and construction throughout the Bahamas.

Since the Bahamas is easily accessible by private aircraft, Bahamas Habitat partners with sponsors involved in aviation like pilots, aircraft owners and aviation industry participants. Our bi-annual Fly-In & Help Out Event allows Pilots and Aircraft Owners to directly support the vital mission of the Bahamas Habitat.

In January 2010 BMH mobilized hundreds of pilot volunteers in response to the Haiti Earthquake.  Our volunteers flew over 400 missions and delivered hundreds of thousands of pounds of critical supplies to unreachable remote areas. Our work in Haiti and the Bahamas in 2010 was recognized by the National Aeronautic Association through their Public Benefit Flying Awards.

Participants in our programs develop as servant leaders and come away with a stronger faith and a meaningful connection to a part of God’s work. You can volunteer to fly missions for us or join a Fly-In & Help Out event to make the trip and see for yourself the need and potential.

We encourage you to bookmark our News Blog, learn about the upcoming Fly-In & Help Out Event or  find out more at News Blog.

You’ll remember from an earlier post, our very own Johan MacKenzie recently completed a Habitat Global Village trip to Cape Town, South Africa. Yesterday, we gathered in the conference room to  hear all about her journey during a special coffee break. Johan’s trip included a cultural immersion experience, Habitat build, and wildlife safari, so she brought back a wealth of information on animals, the apartheid era, HIV’s presence in South Africa, and the meaningful way in which Habitat Global Village affects the community. With the vivid imagery and rich narrative, we felt like we were right there alongside her. Read more in-depth about her journeys at blog.tocci.com.

Tocci will be here lending a hand and we’d love to see you here as well!

Habitat Boston needs over 100 volunteers for a tradeshow:

Saturday, August 20 from 3 pm – 10 pm
Sunday, August 21 from 7 am – 1 pm

Vendors at the ORGILL 2011 Boston hardware tradeshow have agreed to donate their sample merchandise to Habitat after the close of the event. We need volunteers to help us take advantage of this tremendous gift and serve more families.

All volunteers must be at least 18 years old.

You can help us collect the merchandise from the vendors after the close of the show, pack and shrink wrap products, label pallets, and get them ready to move into the warehouse. This opportunity will take place at the:

Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, 415 Summer Street, Boston, MA.

We are anticipating over 200 pallets of donated goods from Orgill’s almost 900 vendors! We need over 100 volunteers over the two days.

Recruit your friends, neighbors, soccer team, and your co-workers!

To sign up for a shift, email  volunteers@habitatboston.org.

Use ORGILL in the subject line and tell us which day (or days) you want to volunteer…We will confirm your participation and provide more details.

Be a part of something big and help us with this great endeavor!

Well yes.  Johan MacKenzie, Tocci’s comptroller, heads out Sunday evening for her Habitat Global Village trip to Cape Town, South Africa.  This trip is a culmination of her service projects over the past 12 years.  A frequent Habitat volunteer, and more recently an annual New Orleans volunteer, she yearned for a greater challenge and a truer test of her mettle.  This yearning led her to apply for a spot on a Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village team.

To her delight her application was accepted—she was properly vetted, references approved, background check cleared– but a bit daunted by the money she needed to raise:  over $6,000.  Resourceful as ever, she applied to her church for a grant to pay for her flight, dipped into her savings for the personal expenses, and asked Tocci for a donation.

Donation?  No, this type of effort—using your vacation to help people who lack the means to help themselves—deserves a matching grant.  Tocci began a program for employees to apply for a matching funds grant, where the company matches employee donations for projects in line with Tocci vision and values.

In April we kicked off the program at a Wednesday morning coffee break and followed up two weeks later with a fundraising lunch:  homemade meatball subs ‘n salad where we raised $310.  A great beginning.

Mid-May when all the donations were counted and matched, and the check was written out for Habitat, we were close to our goal of $2200.  Not bad for our first shot at Tocci-wide charitable giving,  not bad at all.

Johan has promised to communicate via a blog—hoping to have internet access.  We look forward to updating you on her progress as her team builds a world away.

I’m excited to be traveling to South Africa as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village program. I’ll be working side-by-side with people who need a decent place to live, helping to build simple, affordable houses.

Please visit my Habitat Web page, where you can learn more about my trip:

http://www.habitat.org/cd/gv/participant/participant.aspx?pid=93430103

Thanks,

Johan

There’s a lot of talk in Washington, DC about pulling out of Afghanistan, but right now the US has thousands of “boots on the ground”– and boots belong to people.

Lorrie Guthrie, Tocci’s Human Resource Administrator, has her son Jason serving in Afghanistan. Each week she sends him a box of creature comforts.

Her efforts to show Jason and his unit that their service is appreciated birthed Tocci’s latest “We Restore” project:  donating and assembling “care packages” for men and women serving in a very inhospitable environment–120 degrees and a week or more between showering.

Using guidelines from www.anysoldier.org Lorrie sent employees a list of suggested items to donate.  Most of these items could be purchased at Walgreens or Stop & Shop: magazines, powdered Gatorade, wet wipes, granola bars, pop tarts.  Items were collected over a two-week period and packed during lunch hour. Tocci volunteers enclosed personalized notes of encouragement.

Our goal was to gather enough supplies to fill ten large flat pack postal boxes.  We filled almost twice that many.  We coalesced around the mission of sharing our abundance and showing our appreciation—making our world a better place.