The March 24th massive clean-up will conclude in celebration as workers and neighbors eat lunch together. To participate in the 2012 Extreme Martin Makeover, download and complete the PDF registration form on the website and bring it to the event.

Anyone who questions the character of today’s youth should have been with the young people who volunteered for Angel Duty on Saturday, February 25th in the Booker Park section of Indiantown. The ROTC Cadets from Martin County, South Fork and Jensen Beach High Schools along with the youth groups from Life Quest and Palm City Presbyterian Church and a number of adult chaperones endured several hours of pouring rain to clean-up the community. Their efforts resulted in 13.7 tons (or 27,400 pounds) of debris. That’s as much as the largest African Elephant! Now that’s a lot of trash!

As impressive as the clean-up in February was, it was only the beginning and the community revitalization continues with a larger event on Saturday, March 24. The 2012 Extreme Martin Makeover, Habitat Angel’s signature event, will enlist the aid of churches and civic organizations like Keep Martin Beautiful, Indiantown Non-Profit Housing and Habitat for Humanity to work alongside the Booker Park residents on cleaning and painting projects in their neighborhood. Twenty-one homes have been identified for revitalization. The March 24th massive clean-up will conclude in celebration as workers and neighbors eat lunch together.

Originally published in TCpalm.com
by Steven Martine

As part of the East Stuart Extreme Martin Makeover, volunteers helped to landscape homes in the community, laying 800 square feet of sod and spreading 320 bags of mulch.

PALM CITY — On Saturday, April 9, a joint effort under the leadership of Habitat Angel and including Keep Martin Beautiful, East Stuart Main Street, the City of Stuart, Hooks Construction, Habitat for Humanity, Lowes and other area volunteer groups painted, beautified and improved homes and churches in the East Stuart community.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., more than 700 volunteers painted 23 homes and two churches, and repaired a total of 40 homes. This was the third year that the Keep Martin Beautiful (KMB) Extreme Martin Makeover focused on the East Stuart community, and the second year that the cleanup included home improvement projects. Residents who benefitted from the revitalization efforts in 2010 were also out in the community, volunteering for this year’s cleanup.

“The turnout from past recipients was one of the most rewarding aspects of the day,” KMB Logistics Coordinator Rob Ranieri said. “These events are designed to not only revitalize and beautify, but also to instill community pride and accountability so the effects will be sustainable and long-lasting. Neighbors helping neighbors is what this is all about, and is exactly what we witnessed during the cleanup.”

The first Extreme Martin Makeover East Stuart project in 2009 was the Gertrude Walden Child Care Center, and this year volunteers again helped to continue improvements to the community center. In addition to the home repairs and painting, volunteers planted 11 trees, laid 800 square feet of sod and spread 320 bags of mulch around all of the homes.

“We had an incredible amount of volunteers from area churches, making our impact even larger,” said Frank Neff, Founder of Habitat Angel. “Never could we have imagined this event would grow so quickly in so few years, but it serves as a shining example of what everyone can do when we work together for a greater purpose.”

While much of the day centered on the revitalization and beautification efforts, litter and waste removal was also a large part of the volunteer work. More than seven tons of bulk material and three tons of vegetation and yard waste was collected during the cleanup.

Thank you to the sponsors who made the 2011 GAC East Stuart Extreme Martin Makeover possible, which include; Keep Martin Beautiful; East Stuart Main Street; South Florida Water Management District; Hooks Construction; Habitat for Humanity of Martin County; The City of Stuart; Lowes; Southern Waste Systems; Red Tail Hawk; Gertrude Walden Child Care Center; Seacoast National Bank; The Firefly Group; GM Construction; Captec Engineering; Lytal, Reiter; Smith, Ivey & Fronrath; Strategic Retirement Group; tc3.org; Alpha Zeta; State Insurance; Surface Doctor; and OxyPros Plus.

Once again, Habitat Angel is leading the charge to continue beautification and restoration efforts in East Stuart. The date is set for April 9, 2011. For the third consecutive year, Habitat Angel will lead other non-profits and individual volunteers in this community effort. Partner agencies include Habitat for Humanity, Keep Martin Beautiful, the City of Stuart, East Stuart Main Street and others.

Last year, over 400 volunteers participated, repairing and painting 16 homes for residents in need of support, removing litter and debris from the neighborhood, and planting trees and shrubs. The program continues to expand, and this year 41 homes, one church and an apartment complex have been selected for repairs and or painting, along with the cleanup and planting efforts. We continue to return to East Stuart every year to strengthen our bond with this community and the groups that support this effort. Our volunteers and community partners work with the residents to have a significant impact on the neighborhood both visually and spiritually.

Important Parking Information: 9 AM to 2 PM

It is not too late to join the City of Stuart CRA, South Florida Water Management District, Firefly, OxyPros Plus, CapTec, Lytal Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fonrath, Red Tail Hawk Lures and Hooks Construction as event sponsors to assist in making this effort a success. Volunteers are also welcome to sign up to participate.

Join Habitat Angel

Habitat Angel is a faith based, nonprofit, Christian organization dedicated to loving God and loving others through our actions. We are committed to working together with other nonprofits, churches, civic groups, government entities, and others to repair and rejuvenate homes and buildings, and ultimately people’s lives.

Community Celebration at 6:00PM

Habitat Angel, Habitat for Humanity, Keep Martin Beautiful, the City of Stuart CRA, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Building Bridges for Youth, South Fork High School JROTC, East Main Street Supporters, NAACP, Col. Roberts Venture Group, Christ Fellowship Church, Treasure Coast Presbyterian Church and others will all participate. We look forward to making a difference together!

Fifteen to twenty houses will be repaired and exterior painted on two streets. There will be substantial new landscaping improvements and a general clean up of the area. The atmosphere will be festive with great food and events for the local children.

Mark your calendars for March 13, 2010 for our neighborhood cleanup on Tarpon and Bahama Avenues in East Stuart.

I don’t know if angels are in the outfield, but they were definitely at Gertrude Walden Child Care Center in East Stuart.  Thanks to members and friends of Habitat Angels, the children, parents and East Stuart community had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast.  On Thursday, November 19^th, over 1100 people were fed a traditional Thanksgiving meal thanks to donations from Habitat Angels.  On Thanksgiving morning, over 200 volunteers walked the streets of East Stuart knocking on doors and greeting people with turkey dinners with all the trimmings. 

It was a wonderful event that everyone enjoyed making sure the true meaning of being thankful and caring was realized by all.

Thelma M. Washington

Executive Director

Gertrude Walden Child Care Center

[nggallery id=5]

The project was organized by Keep Martin Beautiful as part of the Great American Cleanup, the nation’s largest community improvement program.  The theme was “Extreme Martin Makeover.”

Habitat Angel organized the volunteers including City of Stuart workers, Boy Scouts, ROTC, the Boys & Girls Club and the Girl’s Soccer Team.  Numerous individuals stopped by to help.   The “more the merrier” seemed to be the rule for the 250 volunteers providing sweat equity and materials.  Smiling faces and fun ruled the day!

We owe a very special thanks to Hooks Construction, Ramey Rug, Home Depot, Plaza Paint, Glidden Paint,  Code Red Roofing, and East Coast Lumber.

[nggallery id=3]

We are looking forward to seeing how God uses you to impact families in Hobe Sound by being the hands and feet of Jesus. Here is what you need to know for this weekend…

What: Hobe Sound Painting Outreach

Where: Meet at Banner Lake Park located at 12200 SE Lantana Ave in Hobe Sound. You can click HERE for directions. The two houses that we are working on are both within walking distance of the park. We will meet at the park to pray together and send out our teams. Please try to carpool as much as possible due to limited parking.

FAQ’s

Are there any supplies that I can bring? Yes! Feel free to any generic paint supplies such as rollers and brushes. We could also use extra buckets, old rags, blue painters tape, ladders, drop cloths, or rakes.

What about food and water? Christ Fellowship will provide small breakfast items to eat as you check in. We are planning on being done with the outreach by 12:30 so you can plan on doing lunch on your own. You are welcome to bring a bag lunch or snack with you.   CF will provided water for everybody serving.

What can I expect to be doing? We will be painting and doing generic yard cleanup at both homes. Please wear old clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty. You will be painting, cleaning painting supplies, picking up garbage, and looking for opportunities to engage with people in the community.

Over 70 people deployed over 20,000 lbs of oyster shell to create 5 oyster reefs fronting the downtown Stuart Florida (Riverwalk) shoreline.

Habitat Angel was delighted to help with the other project partners of:
Martin County Engineering Department
Keep Martin Beautiful
Girl Scouts
JC Penney
Target
Seacoast National Bank
SMS NJHS
TCT
FL Dept of Environmental Protection
Coastal Life Church

Coastal Life Church, a partner church of Habitat Angel, brought a group of 25 students to help Florida Oceanographic Society on April 30th, under the leadership of Aaron Robertson.   Aaron, a Stuart local, was fascinated to learn that oysters were also native to Stuart.  He had no idea that the oyster population was in danger or that there was anything we could do to help, besides eating fewer oysters. The students were also proud that they were able to bag more shell than any other group that had worked with FOS before.

Thanks to the Coastal Life kids for helping procreate a natural artificial reef to provide critical habitat for a number of species and the substrate needed for oysters to attach and build up the reef.