Good News Group
In Partnership With Habitat for Humanity2024 Build Schedule
8/9 Construction crew 8-10, lunch crew 2-3, house GNG
8/17 Construction crew 8-10, lunch crew 2-3, house GNG
9/14 Construction crew 4-5, lunch crew 2-3, house GNG
2024 Build
- This year’s GNG House will be a new build from the ground up. The house will be located at 345 Firwood St, Ypsilanti, MI 48197.
- View June workday photos here.
- View photo of the April 15th Ground Breaking here.
2023 Build
Volunteering in 2024
Ways you can be a part of this mission:
- Be a construction volunteer. Must be at least 18 (or 16 with accompanying adult). Learn more here or register here.
- Be a member of the lunch crew. Work with other team members to obtain/prepare/deliver food to the work site (11 a.m. – 1 p.m.). Learn more here or register here.
- Be a short notice volunteer where you are willing to take last minute (1-2 days prior notice) requests to work at a site.
- Be part of the FUMC GNG Team by helping at the volunteer sign up table or with other organizational tasks. Contact Mark Wickham if interested.
- Pray for workers, homeowner families and Habitat for Humanity.
Donating
Contribute to the church’s 2024 pledge of $10,000 for construction materials and downpayment support. This can be done by: writing a check payable to FUMC-AA (with habitat on the memo line), put in the offering or online here.
Money raised as of June 26:
Mission
Through Good News Group (GNG) in association with Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley (HHHV), First United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor carries out a mission to enable home ownership for families who would otherwise not have this opportunity. The need for affordable energy efficient housing in our community is critical, and home ownership provides a lot more than four walls and a roof as protection from the elements. It also contributes to physical health, safety and security, financial stability, increased success in school and an increased ability to reach out for new opportunities. In short, it helps to break the cycle of poverty for families. Of the more than 200 families served in Washtenaw County by HHHV in the last 30 years, 97 percent of the homes are still well-maintained and occupied by the original homeowners. To clarify a frequent misconception, Habitat does not give homes away. For a Habitat home to qualify for a mortgage, it must be sold at fair market value. Habitat makes the home affordable by providing a substantial portion of the down payment.
History
FUMC AA member, Bob Whitacre, founded Good News Group (GNG) in 1997. GNG is now a partnership of 16 congregations. Each congregation provides a member to the GNG steering committee. The steering committee works with Habitat of Huron Valley (HHHV) to determine the house and build schedule. GNG organizes the volunteer construction teams that build the house. Initially, GNG built a single house from scratch each year. In 2009, GNG and HHHV switched to renovating homes instead of building from scratch. Since 1997, GHG has provided homes for 38 families.
Links & Members
Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley
Please note that any donations made through the links above will not apply to FUMC’s pledge. You can make an online donation to FUMC here. To give to Habitat, replace 2023 Operations with Habitat for Humanity.
Other Good News Group Members:
- Bethel African Methodist Church
- Chelsea Church of the Nazarene
- Chelsea First United Methodist Church
- Cherry Hill United Methodist Church
- Dixboro United Methodist Church
- First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor
- First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor
- First United Methodist Church – Brighton/Whitmore Lake
- First United Methodist Church – Saline
- Manchester United Methodist Church
- Marble Memorial United Methodist Church
- St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church
- West Side United Methodist Church
