Habitat

It is a great disappointment that Congress is considering complete elimination of the AmeriCorps program. During my tenure at Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake, our AmeriCorps members have been invaluable. In my eight years as CEO, I have seen approximately 60 men and women who have spent one or two years with one mission in mind — giving back to communities in need. These struggling areas in the Baltimore and Anne Arundel region need their help and AmeriCorps members learn valuable lessons from working in these communities.

Many teens associate a 16th birthday with wheels and the first chance to drive, but for Alexander E. Hill, that milestone means tools and the chance to build a home for a needy family. When Alexander turns 16 in two years, he will be eligible to build a house with Habitat for Humanity, an international nonprofit organization that makes homeownership possible for low-income families. In the meantime, the 14-year-old Owings Mills teen who plays baseball and the harp and excels in academia, woodworking and karate can add fundraising to his accomplishments.

John Elsen III, a mechanical engineer who owned a roofing business, died Nov. 15 of injuries from a fall off a roof in North Baltimore. He was 62 and lived in Overlea. Born in Chicago and raised in Evanston, Ill., he earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Minnesota State University. Mr. Elsen moved to Baltimore more than 20 years ago and founded C. Joy Roofers, a business named for his daughter. He had many customers in North Baltimore. "He became a fixture in this neighborhood," said Andrew J. O'Brien, who lives in the Tuscany-Canterbury neighborhood.

During his last State of the Union speech in 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveiled his "Second Bill of Rights. " Among them was "the right of every family to a decent home. " Nearly seven decades later, we have not reached Roosevelt's goal. Next week, Baltimore will welcome a former president who followed him to the Oval Office 30 years later to remind us that Roosevelt's vision is just as important today. Indeed, President Jimmy Carter's engagement with Habitat for Humanity is an acknowledgement of what hasn't been reached but the potential that lies before us. For too many, the dream of owning one's home is a distant dream; to many others, the presence of decent housing is equally unattainable.

Sandtown Habitat for Humanity in Baltimore is getting more than $100,000 from the Home Depot Foundation to add "green" elements to 45 homes. The foundation, which said Thursday that it is awarding grants to Habitat affiliates across the country, will give Sandtown Habitat $3,000 to $5,000 per home. The amount depends on the amount of green upgrades — such as energy-efficient appliances — the nonprofit chooses to add to the properties it rehabs or builds. That means the value of the grant could range from $135,000 to $225,000.

When people hear the term "green building," most think of homes covered with solar panels, bamboo floors and metal exteriors that make them look like spaceships. In other words, homes that most people wouldn't want to live in. At The Home Depot Foundation, our definition of a "green building" is different. For us, a "green building" is simply one built with environmentally friendly materials such as nontoxic insulation, caulk and paint and that uses water-saving faucets and energy-efficient appliances.

Habitat for Humanity needs lots of help to build affordable homes for lower-income residents, but one particular volunteer is especially prized. Every year, former President Jimmy Carter dons a tool belt and joins construction efforts in a handful of communities for a week — and helps raise the profile of the international Christian charity. Every Habitat affiliate wants to be picked. This year, he's spending a day of his annual "work project" week in Baltimore and Annapolis, and leaders from the Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake are thrilled.

The recent "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" trip to Baltimore drew attention from every major news outlet in town. As the cameras rolled, hip celebrity carpenters and throngs of local volunteers showed up to work long hours in the Maryland heat. At the end of the week, a great charity received a truly needed new space to help further its mission. And in just a few months, the weeklong ordeal will be broadcast for the nation to see. Squeezing a months-long project into a week makes for great television, and when a prime-time TV show comes to town, that's news.

With packing boxes and invoices everywhere, Bob Bealle's studio hardly resembles the place where he created the oil painting that graces this year's Federal Duck Stamp. "It looks like a factory. I don't have a place for my easel," said Bealle, a Waldorf farmer and former taxidermist. "I don't have time to get too excited. I'm too tired." Then he laughs. When you've dreamed about something for nearly three decades and had your heart broken a half-dozen times, you're allowed to be a little giddy.