Thrivent Builds Publicity Newsletter Archive

• Thrivent Builds News Recap - from LCS Team and Habitat U.S. Office
• Feature Article: Thrivent Builds Worldwide
• Best Practices: Use Web for Publicity and Volunteer Management
• Program Information: Thrivent Builds Mass Mailings, Thrivent Builds Worldwide
• Upcoming Important Dates and Milestones
• New Thrivent Builds Volunteer Resources
• Media Watch

Thrivent Builds News Recap - from LCS Team and Habitat U.S. Office

LCS Team

• Thrivent Builds Homes application survey responses did not save. (03/17/06)
• Chapters may vote to use operating funds for Thrivent Builds expenses; be aware of guidelines. (03/16/06)
• Sources for Thrivent Builds news — input requested by March 24 (03/15/06)
• There’s more time to apply for corporate Thrivent Builds Worldwide trips. (03/10/06)
• New tools for you to involve FRs in Thrivent Builds Homes. (03/10/06)
• Provide input about 2006 Thrivent Builds Homes chapter application and process by March 15. (03/10/06)
• Thrivent Builds Homes Milestone 1 deadline is April 1 (no fools!). (03/10/06)
• On the Road Again … Thrivent Builds Mobile tours through the country. (03/03/06)
• Banner displays now on sale: Thrivent Builds version added. (03/03/06)
• Your input is important! Interviews taking place about 2006 Thrivent Builds Homes process. (02/24/06)
• Thrivent Financial Bank working hard to open Thrivent Builds checking accounts quickly. (02/23/06)

• U.S. Office staff members involved in the 2006 Thrivent Builds Homes affiliate application process (Refer to Weekly Message to U.S. Office Staff, Focus on Thrivent - March 17, 2006. Can be accessed through the message archive on WorkZone.)
• Sources for Thrivent Builds news — input requested by March 24 (Refer to Weekly Message to U.S. Office Staff, Focus on Thrivent - March 17, 2006. Can be accessed through the message archive on WorkZone.)
• Thrivent Builds Homes Milestone 1 deadline is April 1 (no fools!). (Refer to Weekly Message to U.S. Office Staff – Mar.10, 2006. Can be accessed through the message archive on WorkZone.)
• Provide input about 2006 Thrivent Builds Homes chapter application and process by March 15. (Refer to Weekly Message to U.S. Office Staff – Mar.10, 2006. Can be accessed through the message archive on WorkZone.)
• The ASO would like to interview you for input about the Thrivent Builds Homes process (Refer to Weekly Message to U.S. Office Staff – Feb. 24, 2006. Can be accessed through the message archive on WorkZone.)
• New Displays Available to Promote Thrivent Builds (Refer to Weekly Message to U.S. Office Staff – Mar. 3, 2006. Can be accessed through the message archive on WorkZone.)

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Thrivent Builds Worldwide

While the current trend of international volunteerism is making a big change around the world, the most important change taking place is in the lives of those who participate as volunteers. Thrivent Builds Worldwide is just such a conduit for changing a small area of the world, with each scheduled trip changing the lives of the 10 – 20 participants who make up each crew.

Andy Locke, manager of Lutheran community services for the Chicagoland Regional Financial Office, first heard about Thrivent Builds Worldwide last summer.

“I felt this would be received very well by our membership,” he said. “It complemented the Thrivent Builds Homes program very nicely. While you may not have a build in your area, you still have an opportunity to participate through Thrivent Builds Worldwide.”

Andy enrolled in the Global Village Leader Training in November 2005. This training is required of all who lead trips for either Thrivent Builds Worldwide or the Global Village program of Habitat for Humanity International on which Thrivent Builds Worldwide is based.

Andy asked his wife to join him on the trip, suggesting that it would be a unique and memorable way to celebrate their fifteenth wedding anniversary. She agreed and together they began to recruit some friends and colleagues at Thrivent Financial. Three financial representatives joined the team and they, in turn, recruited the remaining participants from their client lists.

Working with Sheila Crowley, Thrivent Builds Worldwide coordinator, Andy scheduled his crew to travel June 1-17, 2006, to Khao Lak, Thailand, to assist in rebuilding this tsunami-devastated area. As leader, he informed each volunteer that they would need to raise approximately $2,550* for the 17-day** trip. Eight of the 12 members of Andy’s crew were already Thrivent Financial benefit members and therefore each qualified for an $800 grant that's part of the Thrivent Builds Worldwide program. Two non-member participants, who had previously mentioned their interest in becoming members, found that the $800 grant was just one more good reason to become Thrivent Financial benefit members—and so they did.

One of the best means of promoting Thrivent Builds Worldwide is through word of mouth—not only one-on-one, but to groups, as well. Speaking to clubs like Rotary and Kiwanis and giving presentations at churches during a service or as an adult education class can guarantee a captive audience. Upon returning from a Thrivent Builds Worldwide trip, consider offering your story to local newspapers as a way to spread the word to a broader community and garner interest. Andy and other crew leaders have found that the Thrivent Builds Worldwide program comes equipped with a number of great tools that can assist with these efforts.

Do you want an experience that is guaranteed to change your life and the lives of others? Would you like to learn how participation in Thrivent Builds Worldwide can give you new insight into the issue of affordable housing? Visit www.thriventbuilds.com/worldwide/ and begin the adventure of a lifetime!

* This amount includes airfare, room and board, and a contribution to the construction costs of the hosting Habitat for Humanity affiliate. Amounts will vary from trip to trip.

** Trips can range in length from 1 to 3 weeks.

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Best Practices

Add a Thrivent Builds page to affiliate/chapter/RFO Web sites
Want to generate more interest in your local Thrivent Builds Homes project? Add a page to your Web site or encourage others to do so!

You can use the approved Thrivent Builds Homes Announcement Newsletter/Web Text (Word, 56K), available in the Thrivent Builds Homes Awareness Toolbox, as the main content for your page. You can also request the Thrivent Builds logo to add to your page. To obtain the logo, send an e-mail to logoreq@thrivent.com requesting the Thrivent Builds logo. Include the e-mail address of the person who should receive this logo. Also indicate whether the logo file should be sent in one-color black, reversed white, or full color and whether the logo file should be sent in .jpeg or .eps format.

Use the Thrivent Builds Web site as a volunteer management tool
Are your affiliates or chapters looking for a way to capture all your volunteer data? Discuss with them the possibility of sending all potential Thrivent Builds Homes volunteers to the online sign up, from the Build Locations page on www.thriventbuilds.com. As you know, an e-mail with the volunteer’s data is sent directly to the LCSS-TB. This should then be shared with the project team monthly. Nearly 400 volunteers have already signed up online—take advantage of this tool!

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Program Information

Thrivent Builds Homes

Q: Can Thrivent Financial share contact information for all Thrivent members in an area or chapter with a Habitat affiliate, so the affiliate can do a mass mailing to that group?

A: No. Thrivent Financial's privacy policy does not allow member information to be shared with Habitat because it is a non-Lutheran nonprofit organization. That is what is disclosed when members give their personal information to Thrivent. The LCS teams in Thrivent Financial's regional financial offices do have access to member information via Thrivent Financial's FieldNet system. Habitat affiliates could partner with the local LCS Team to do a mass mailing. When doing that, the Thrivent LCS team would need to be careful to exclude those individuals who have requested no fraternal/chapter mailings.

Thrivent Builds Worldwide

Q: Where can I find a listing of the 2006 Thrivent Builds Worldwide trips currently scheduled?

A: Upcoming Thrivent Builds Worldwide trips can be found at www.thriventbuilds.com/worldwide. Once on that page, click the link for Worldwide Trip Locations. Please note that listed trips without "hyperlinks" are closed congregational trips and are not open to individuals.

Thrivent Builds Worldwide has completed trips to Papau New Guinea; Slidell, Louisiana; Ecuador; and New Zealand. These Thrivent Builds Worldwide teams have raised a total of $46,769 (includes Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grants and $6,500 second house sponsorships).

Featured Country and Trips!
This month's Featured Country is Romania. Featured trips for this month are Jackson, Mississippi and Fairbanks, Alaska.

Gulf Coast Update
Habitat affiliates are hosting Thrivent Builds Worldwide teams for limited opportunities through the end of May. Summer dates are not yet available, but if you wish to be placed on a waiting list, please contact Sheila Crowley at scrowley@habitat.org.

Q: Can minors participate on a Thrivent Builds Worldwide trip?

A: If accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, minors can participate.

Q: How do I become a team leader for a Thrivent Builds Worldwide team?

A: Follow these steps:

• Contact Thrivent Builds Worldwide coordinator, Sheila Crowley at scrowley@habitat.org to express your interest and request a team leader application.
• Complete and submit the team leader application.
• Interview with the Thrivent Builds Worldwide coordinator. If approved, you will receive an invitation for team leader training.
• Attend team leader training.

A: We cannot guarantee dates for worldwide affiliates until the fall. Also, in order to post trips we need leaders to lead them. No leaders, no trips!

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Upcoming Important Dates and Milestones

Thrivent Builds Homes milestone extension deadline approaching — April 1st (no fools!)
Starting Monday, April 3rd, the ASO will begin the process of reallocating awarded dollars from affiliates that missed the deadline to affiliates that are on the supplemental list. The supplemental list is made up of affiliates that were approved for funding above and beyond an RFO's top 10 but did not receive funding, due to the dollars being exhausted. Help affiliates get their documentation in and celebrate the end of Milestone 1. If affiliates have questions, they can contact Bill Brown in HFHI's Finance Dept at 800-422-4828, Ext. 2295, or jbrown@habitat.org. Affiliates can fax documentation directly to Bill at 770-909-9418.

Important dates

• April 1 or two months before volunteers on site (whichever is first) – Partner family selected and finalized for Thrivent Builds Homes
• One month prior to volunteers on the Thrivent Builds Homes build site – Documentation completed for Milestone 2 (50% volunteer slots committed, 50% of Thrivent funds pledged and 50% Habitat affiliate funds pledged)

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New Thrivent Builds Volunteer Resources

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Media Watch

Coverage continues to come in about the 312 homes through Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity, and the Thrivent Builds Mobile grabs more headlines, as it makes its way around Florida.

Thrivent Builds Homes:

• "Thrivent’s Habitat partnership giving nation’s homeless families a new start" Metro Lutheran - Minneapolis - March issue (print)
• “A North Tulsa resident's dream of owning a home came true today” Channel 2 (NBC) News at 5 Saturday - Tulsa, Okla. - March 4, 2006
• “Habitat for Humanity is building new homes in North Tulsa” Fox 23 TV 9 PM News Tulsa, Okla. - March 4, 2006
• "Community Album – Habitat for Humanity” - The News-Press - Cape Coral, Fla. – March 4, 2006
• Habitat, Thrivent align to help build 35 new homes - Winona Daily News - Winona, Minn. - March 7, 2006
• "Bless this house/Mom prayed for Mobleys to own a home" Hutchinson Leader – Hutchinson, Minn. - March 7, 2006 (print)
• Boone plans for initial Habitat home Rockford Register Star, Ill. – Feb. 27, 2006
• The Fight to Eliminate Substandard Housing – Sacramento News and Review, Calif. Feb. 23, 2006 (print)
• Thrivent is a Driving Force in Community Building and Improvement – Guest column by Gregory Foulke, Thrivent Builds Specialist, Sierra Northwest. Sacramento News and Review, Calif. Feb. 23, 2006 (print)
• Volunteers needed to built homes for needy Deerfield Review, Waukegan, Ill. Feb. 23, 2006 (print)
• Volunteers needed to built homes for needy Libertyville Review, Waukegan, Ill. Feb. 23, 2006 (print)
• Volunteers needed to built homes for needy Gurnee Review, Waukegan, Ill. Feb. 23, 2006 (print)
• Volunteers needed to built homes for needy Lake Forester, Waukegan, Ill. Feb. 23, 2006 (print)
• Habitat for Humanity St. Louis, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans team up The St. Louis Countian, Saint Louis, Mo. - Feb. 17, 2006
• Montgomery Advertiser, Montgomery, Ala. — Feb. 16, 2006
• Habitat for Humanity building dreams one nail at a time - Twin Falls Times-News - Twin Falls, Idaho - Feb. 16, 2006
• High Cost of Land Limits N.Va. Housing Group to Condos - Washington Post – Feb. 15, 2006
• Grant will allow Habitat to build, after all Carroll County Comet - Indiana – Feb. 15, 2006
• Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities and the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Rock Island County… River Cities' Reader - Feb. 15, 2006
• Habitat for Humanity received an $88,000 grant from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans - Roanoke Times, Roanoke, VA - Feb. 15, 2006
• A GROUP EFFORT - The Coulee News, West Salem, Wis. – Feb. 9, 2006 (print)
• Thrivent Financial donates $63,000 for local Habitat home - The Daily News, Iron Mountain, Mich. – Feb. 9, 2006 (print)
• Lutheran Habitat home ceremonies planned Jefferson City News-Tribune – Feb. 9, 2006 (print)
• Thrivent Builds with Habitat For Humanity in Barron Co. Bloomer Advance, Bloomer, Wis. – Feb. 8, 2006 (print)
• Habitat for Humanity South Bay's Neighbor – Lindenhurst, N.Y. – Feb. 8, 2006 (Print)
• Habitat for Humanity Home to be built in Golden Area - Camp Point Journal – Liberty, Ill. Feb. 8, 2006 (Print)
• Habitat for Humanity Home to be built in Golden Area – Golden-Clayton New-Era – Liberty, Ill – Feb. 8, 2006 (Print)
• Habitat for Humanity Home to be built in Golden Area – Mendon Dispatch-Times - Liberty, Ill. – Feb. 8, 2006 (Print)
• Habitat for Humanity to build Liberty Home - Easley Progress – Easley, S.C. – Feb. 8, 2006 (Print)
• CHURCH TO HELP HABITAT - Local Lutherans offer assistance with houses in '06 – Commercial-News - Springfield - Decatur, Ill. – Feb. 7, 2006 (Print)
• Habitat for Humanity and the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans joining effort to construct more than 300 homes – Ogle County Life – Oregon, Ill. – Feb. 6, 2006 (Print)
• Cheers and Jeers - Faribault Daily News– Feb. 4, 2006 (print)
• DC Habitat Joins Forces with Thrivent Fin. to Construct Affordable Homes Washington Sun– Feb. 2, 2006 (print)
• Habitat for Humanity needs volunteers for Canton project - Organization hopes to build six town homes this year Cherokee Tribune - Feb. 2, 2006 (Print)

• A walk into how housing changes lives - A display by Habitat and Thrivent in Orlando shows how new homes help some escape poverty. Orlando Sentinel, FL, March 12, 2006
• WFLA, Tampa’s NBC affiliate News Channel 8 Morning Show, March 8, 2006
• Karen Gammage, Habitat for Humanity, was on a live talk radio show on WAVP 1390 AM, a Gospel music station in Avon Park, Fla., March 8, 2006
• Habitat's new home for habitat builders Sarasota Herald Tribune, Sarasota, FL– Feb. 28, 2006
• Habitat Community Volunteer Center opening today Charlotte Sun-Herald - Charlotte, Fla. – Feb. 17, 2006

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