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Newsletter for April 2025
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A Momentous March & New Volunteer Opportunities!On March 26, Mike Egurola, Jr. of Complete Earthworx started to craft The Homing Project’s future Estrella Village. Even more exciting – micro-shelters will be assembled on that property and, we are hopeful that by mid- to late August we will have our long awaited ribbon cutting. Realizing this dream creates a host of major volunteer opportunities. If you are interested in any of the following tasks or roles, go to the volunteer portal on our website: www.thehomingproject.org We have a wide variety of volunteer opportunities as we move forward with Estrella Village! If you’re interested in helping, here’s how you can get involved: - Micro-shelter Assembly Team
- We’ll need about a dozen strong individuals to assemble the micro-shelters.
- IMPORTANT: These volunteers must attend an on-site training session beforehand.
- Skilled Construction Volunteers
If you have construction experience, we need help with:
Laying bricks for a large outdoor patio Installing a 20 ft. by 24 ft. aluminum patio cover Installing fencing around the property
- Daytime-trained volunteers may be needed to staff the gatehouse and manage access to the site.
- Landscape & Gardening Crew
- Calling all gardeners! We need help planting 10 large mesquite trees and a variety of smaller plants to bring life to the property.
During the first week, we’ll need casseroles and grocery donations to support new residents as they settle in. KEEP IN MIND: Many residents haven’t cooked in a long time. Volunteer cooks are needed to help teach basic kitchen skills, as all residents will participate in meal preparation.
- Help us make each micro-home welcoming and comfortable. We need volunteers to assist with bed linens, rugs, curtains (possibly involving some sewing), chairs, desks, and other essentials.
- Program Coordinators & Instructors
- We’re looking for individuals to coordinate or teach activities such as:
Life Skills Curriculum (e.g., healthy grocery shopping, personal finance, voter education) Leisure activities like art, games, or volleyball
*Some programs are already supported by partner organizations (e.g., United Way teaches personal finance), while others need new volunteer leaders (like basic home repairs).
If you're interested in coordinating or teaching, please contact Kris Olson-Garewal at jk.olsongarewal@thehomingproject.org.
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BBQ Dinner for Volunteers!
As we begin construction on the first Homing Project village, we want to thank all the volunteers who have supported this project! We especially want to remember the initial troop of believers who worked so hard clearing the first offered site only for us to be told that that parcel could not be used because of neighborhood and political concerns. As we respectfully moved on, and thanks to the generosity of the Southern Arizona Land Trust and support of the Keeling Neighborhood, we are now going to begin building the first pilot village. Every hour of your volunteer service and every dollar donated has helped get us to this point. And now, volunteers and donations remain critically important to building the village and then operating it. After the first village demonstrates what is possible, we hope to have the financial support and community support we need to continue with our next villages. Volunteers are invited to a BBQ dinner in gratitude for all of their efforts and support.
Volunteer Appreciation BBQ
Saturday, May 3rd at 4 PM
Dr. Kris Olson-Garewal's Home: 537 S 4th Ave
Please RSVP to yolanda.sethi@thehomingproject.org by Tuesday, April 22.
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Cleanup of village site at 2934 N EstrellaIn preparation for the contractor beginning work on the Estrella property, 35 volunteers worked over 250 hours to clear brush, etc. over one week. They filled four of Tank’s Roll-Off Dumpsters! These volunteer labor hours translate into a big savings in startup cost for The Homing Project. Also, a volunteer named Dino, along with his wife Kira, were on site as part of this cleanup. Dino brought along a backhoe and with it accomplished some heavy lifting, removing some trees that could not be accommodated in the village. The backhoe was loaned by Dino's employer, Mr. Tree. Thanks to them all for showing up to support The Homing Project!
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Jim Click Raffle 2025. Enter to win a 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid SX PrestigeTickets are $25 each or 5 for $100. Every dollar of our raffle ticket sales goes to The Homing Project! Purchase raffle tickets on the project website. | | | |
RMD ExplainerDid you know?
Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are the minimum amounts you must withdraw from your retirement accounts each year. Generally, you must start taking withdrawals from your traditional IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, and retirement plan accounts when you reach age 73. By transferring your RMD directly to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, you exclude that amount from your taxable income for the year.
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Volunteers showed off the micro-shelter at Cyclovia on April 6th.
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Arizona Gives Day helps The Homing ProjectThrough the April 1st, Arizona GIves Day, The Homing Project received over $14,000 in donations. This effort was driven by our donors and volunteers who spread the word of this event and how it impacts our mission. Grateful thanks to each and every one of you! The donations made through Arizona Gives will go towards the tremendous expense of building our first village. Our fundraising will continue. We all see the need for transitional housing, and services that provide a path to self-reliance. Very few of the Tucsonians living in tents, on sidewalks, and in washes, are transplants. Most of these people have lived in our city for years before losing their housing. This is according to studies of unhoused people in Los Angeles County. The Arizona Gives campaign directly boosted our fundraising efforts. Now, we must continue our effort in other ways to raise the $260,000 needed to finish the groundwork at the Estrella site. This will be easier when we pool our resources; not only monetary, but our talents and expertise. Now more than ever, your input is valued and needed. Together, we are a silent force in our community.
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Kristin Davis, profiled by Joan HallKristin Davis is The Homing Project’s newest board member. We asked her to tell us a bit about herself. Here is her story: She was born and raised in Palo Alto, Ca. She was an avid reader. She was a competitive diver. At 16, she had to stop due a medical issue. When she graduated from high school, she attended Oregon State studying English grammar for 2 years, but in the second year she took a break and went to South America where her parents lived in Lima, Peru and her father was working. She was there for less than a year, and she learned “kitchen” Spanish and was mostly interested in her boyfriend. (Editor’s note: Ah, young love.) When she returned to the US, she switched to the University of Redlands in California and earned a BA in degree in English/history. She starting working as an underpaid social worker in San Bernadino, CA, and this is where she met her husband. They moved to New Jersey, where her husband was working for Chase Manhattan Bank in NYC, and one day he came home and said “Would you like to go to Paris, London, Frankfurt, or Milan?” And she said “Yes!” So they moved to Paris for a year, and then lived in London for 2 years, and then to Brussels for 4 years. During this time, she was a “corporate wife” with all the trappings. Here she became more worldly and came to understand that people are pretty much the same everywhere. Eventually they moved back to New Jersey, where she suffered a bit of culture shock from the move. Then she went to work in Washington DC for the National Organization of Women (NOW). At this time she and her husband were splitting up, which she says often happens when people who lived overseas return to their homeland. She worked in Washington for almost 2 years. Working for NOW, she helped the organization on the Equal Rights Amendment march in 1978, specifically designing the banners for the women’s march. She continued on and off with NOW for another 2 or 3 years. Then she got a job at Chubb Insurance Company’s Department of Financial Institutions as an underwriter. Soon she was promoted to a risk manager at a Savings and Loan in New Jersey, in fact, she was hired as a vice president. Finally, she worked in NYC for about 15 years as a risk manager and a senior vice president for National Westminster Bank, the tenth largest bank in the country at that time. She highlights: “As a woman in a man’s world, I mentored a lot of women, and this was very satisfying.” Eventually the bank was sold, and then she started working as a senior marketing manager at CNA Insurance. After that, she became a risk management consultant for various banks in the US. Then she had a stroke, now 21 years ago. For the first five years, she did nothing. Slowly she recovered and began volunteering, starting with the Foster Grandparents Program, a nonprofit that engages volunteers older than 55 years in mentoring, tutoring, and social-emotional support to children with special needs. After that she helped at United Way with grant writing. She heard about The Homing Project in 2024 from a neighbor, who was a volunteer. When the neighbor heard that Kristin had expertise in grant writing, the neighbor exclaimed “Great! We need grant writers at THP!” So Kristin signed up to help with the grant writing, and then was asked to be on the board. She is thrilled to be working with other volunteers at The Homing Project. “They are wonderful” she says. She likes that she is keeping herself busy, alert, and creative. She’s glad that her grant writing, English degree, and organizational skills are useful to The Homing Project. She’s still a voracious reader, belonging to three book clubs, and this keeps her sharp and articulate. Her work in corporate America, and her international experiences, have given her unique perspectives and the ability to solve problems. She’s been on fifteen boards, of which ten were corporate boards, and she knows how boards work. For people who might be interested in serving on The Homing Project board, she notes: “We need experienced, enlightened people to join the board.” She didn’t know anything about homelessness when she started, but has developed a passion for helping the unhoused. We’re glad she has – Welcome, Kristin!
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The Homing Project Board Meeting and Volunteer Meeting Dates
Month Board Mtg Volunteers Mtg
April 2025 Wed. 23rd Sat. 26th
May 2025 Wed. 28th Sat. 31st
June 2025 Wed. 25th Sat. 28th
July 2025 Wed. 23rd Sat. 26th
August 2025 Wed. 27th Sat. 30th
September 2025 Wed. 24th Sat. 27th
October 2025 Wed. 22nd Sat. 25th
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Board Meetings convene at Kris Olson’s home at 5:30 PM. Volunteers are welcome to attend.
Volunteer Meetings are held at 10 AM at St. Phillips in the Hills in the Children’s Chapel Room. Park in the North parking lot. Join us to plan new events and to discuss past ones. |
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Thank you for choosing to serve our community with us, from the Board and Newsletter Staff of The Homing Project!
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The Homing Project Newsletter Joe Vaughan and Lisa Ann Landy produced this month’s newsletter. Email suggestions of items for inclusion to: newsletter@thehomingproject.org | | | | | | | | | | | |
