The site for the home was donated to
Habitat for Humanity by the Joe Pelc family.
The public is invited to celebrate
with the family, take a tour of the home after the program and enjoy
refreshments.
Habitat for Humanity's goal is to
provide decent and affordable housing to those unable to secure it
through more traditional means. Eligibility is based upon need,
income and a willingness to partner with the organization.
Families and individuals chosen for
Habitat for Humanity homes do not receive a handout but a hand up.
Habitat homes are financed with affordable, no-interest loans.
Mortgage payments are made locally to Habitat for Humanity of Logan
County, which in turn uses the funds to build or rehabilitate other
homes within the county. Families must have the financial ability to
make monthly mortgage payments. In addition to a monetary down
payment, families must provide 350 hours and individuals must
provide 250 hours of "sweat equity" into the completion of their
home and homes of others.
Habitat for Humanity builds homes,
lives and a sense of community.
For more information on Habitat for
Humanity of Logan County, call 217-732-6412 or visit
www.habitatlogan.org.
'We
Are Lincoln'
Putting words into action — Part 4
Last week Wednesday as the second meeting of the "We Are Lincoln"
group began to wind down, Patrick Doolin said he would like to see a
progress report at the January meeting that showed: "This is what we
talked about, and this is what we did about it."
He noted that he wanted this movement to progress from talk to
action, and in one month he wanted them to be able to check off what
they have done.
Doolin's comments then segued into a discussion about smart
goals. Moderator Michael Gowin said the group needed to set smart
goals that are measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound.
Gowin said the action to take place should be identified, and
then the progress documented to show how it is moving along. The
goals chosen should be reasonable and attainable goals. He said each
goal should have a timeline of sorts that outlines when the goal
should be achieved.
Patrick Doolin also commented that what the group is talking
about is a master project that will never be completed; it will
always be changing and evolving into another step.
Jeanette Harris said one project she would like to get involved
in would be a collaboration of all public service agencies, where
multiple agencies could meet and share resources and information.
Aaron Cantrell said he would volunteer to work with her on that
project.
April Doolin said she would post a comment on the Facebook page
asking people to list their action item from tonight. She asked the
group to be proactive in posting to the page, letting the public
know what is being worked on and encouraging others to join in.
Another member of the group said there needed to be something
that addressed the youth and young adults in the community. She said
there are lots of young people wandering about aimlessly because
there isn't much for them to do in Lincoln.
Patrick Doolin said this had come up at the last meeting, and it
was Craig Lindvahl who said that no matter what town you live in,
the kids of that town are going to say there is nothing there for
them to do.
This moved the group into talking about education and retention.
Andi Hake, director of the Lincoln/Logan Chamber of Commerce, said
the chamber does have a college outreach program and scholarship
programs. She said she didn't know how many other organizations in
town have scholarship programs for the local colleges.
Robert Bagby talked about the Lincoln High School Foundation and
said it has given out $72,000 in local scholarships. He said the
high school partners with Lincoln College to give kids an
opportunity to earn college credits while in high school. The high
school also offers a vocational program and is working on a
partnership with Heartland College to get vocational students
enrolled there to finish their associate degree. He said LCHS also
has its own alternative school and will soon graduate the 100th
student from the alternative school.
Also on hand was next year's president of the Lincoln Jaycees.
Tom Hackett said that while the Jaycees have been in Lincoln for 60
years, they are currently one of the lesser known organizations in
town. However, he said one of his goals this coming year is to
correct that and bring more attention to the organization.
He told the group that Jaycees is a youth-oriented program for
young business people. He wants to increase involvement of those
young professionals, and he wants to do more in the community to
help local youth. He encouraged those in the room to offer comments
and suggestions and to get involved with the Jaycees.
At the end of the night, Gowin had a list of projects that will
be the first priorities of the We Are Lincoln group. He asked if the
group could get together in a month and talk about the list and what
has been accomplished. After a few moments of discussion, the group
came up with a tentative date of Jan. 9 for the next meeting. The
date and time will be confirmed on the Facebook page.
The Facebook page for We Are Lincoln can be found by pasting the
following URL into your browser:
https://www.facebook.com/wearelincolnillinois.
[By NILA SMITH]
Past related articles
'We Are Lincoln'
County
announces holiday hours
The Logan County chief
justice has announced that the circuit clerk's office and all courts will
observe the Christmas holiday by being closed the entire day of Christmas
Eve as well as Christmas Day.
The state's attorney's office will
also be closed all day on Christmas Eve.
All other Logan County offices will be
open until noon on Christmas Eve by order of the Logan County Board.
Darla Ludolph named 2013 ALMH Employee of the Year
Darla Ludolph of Williamsville has been named
the 2013 Employee of the Year at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital in
Lincoln. Dolan Dalpoas, CEO of the hospital, presented the award to Ludolph
at the ALMH Holiday and Award Celebration on Dec. 6 at the Knights of
Columbus in Lincoln.
Ludolph works as
a radiologic technologist at ALMH. Her caring and professional
approach is what caught the attention of her nominator and the
co-workers who gave her the honor.
"From the time
she greets me with a smile in the lobby until the time we say
goodbye, Darla makes the mammogram an experience I no longer dread,"
said the patient who nominated her for the recognition. "She is
caring, yet professional, and I appreciate her explanation of the
X-rays in a manner I can understand. To sum it up, she is a jewel,"
Ludolph was
born at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. Growing up in a
military family, she lived in 10 states, including Hawaii, and in
the Philippines. 1974 was a momentous year for her. After graduating
from St. Francis School of Radiologic Technology in Peoria, she took
a position at ALMH and also married Rich Ludolph. Her marriage and
career are both going strong after 39 years.
"ALMH has
always been like a family to me," she said. "I work with great
friends. And most importantly, I work with state-of-the-art
equipment, which allows me to perform excellent exams for my
mammography patients."
Ludolph was one of the 12 ALMH Employees of the Month in 2013.
The others were Brian Bishop, a dietary employee; Rita Wells, in
accounting; Cheryl Boyd, environmental services; Kathy Hopwood,
acute care; Moses Hernandez, environmental services; Ariel Stanton,
dietary; Tim Sedlacek, emergency; Ina Tjelle, patient accounts; Judy
Hamrick, medical records; Roger McCoy, emergency; and Tom Frost,
special services.
ALMH, at 200 Stahlhut Drive in Lincoln, is a 25-bed
critical-access hospital affiliated with Memorial Health System.
ALMH employs over 310 in a variety of roles. For more information,
visit www.almh.org.
'We
Are Lincoln'
Putting words into action — Part 3
When the "We Are Lincoln" group met last week, a large portion of the
meeting was a continuation from their first meeting, in November. At that
session, lists were compiled by those in attendance, naming projects that
needed to be started or completed in Lincoln. The goal was to identify what
is needed in order to make Lincoln a better place, and also how to draw
attention to the good things that are already going on in the city.
Later in the evening, moderator Michael Gowin moved the discussion
to identifying new issues that were not already on the pages on the
wall.
Jeanette Harris said there was not enough information regarding
services for those in bad situations. Harris spoke about those who
are in poverty and also have other issues in their lives, such as
difficulty finding work because they have a criminal background.
Harris reminded the group that in society, most of those who live
in poverty are victims of generational poverty, where children are
following in the footsteps of their parents and grandparents. She
said there needed to be more done in the community to help break
these generational cycles.
Patrick Doolin also updated the group on what is going on with
the downtown revitalization programs. He told them that the steering
committee had presented two recommendations to the city council for
actions to be taken in 2014 that would start showing physical
evidence of the revitalization.
He said that in addition to what has been recommended, there are
other projects that other groups are trying to get going. He
mentioned as a for-instance, an empty lot near the Lincoln Public
Library that will be developed into additional downtown parking.
David Doolin said there are several things going on in the
community that are not just a "snapshot in time"; they are ongoing,
continual efforts. He named specifically the Together for Lincoln
program that annually does work to improve the lives of those less
fortunate or unable to maintain their homes due to health or age.
He said the We Are Lincoln group could be an aggregate for new
ideas for existing movements, and that they could team together and
help each other in making improvements in Lincoln.
Aaron Cantrell, who is involved with Together for Lincoln, said
there is a new men's group forming at Jefferson Street Church as a
spinoff of Together for Lincoln. He said the group is going to be
starting soon with a new outreach that will offer assistance to
widows and single-parent families.
Gowin then moved the topics along, asking members of the group to
talk about why they were there.
Andi Hake of the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce spoke
up first, saying that she had missed the first We Are Lincoln
meeting because she had to attend another meeting, but that she had
been very excited to hear how many people had come to the initial
session.
She said the work this group wants to do is something that in
the big picture will make her job easier. As the executive
director of the chamber of commerce, her role is to promote the
community, bring new business into town and help the city grow.
She said groups working together and making Lincoln a better
place through projects such as the dog park make Lincoln more
attractive to those looking to come here.
Another member of the audience said Lincoln was her husband's
hometown. As a couple they had left Lincoln, but they returned 10
years ago to raise their family here. She said she wanted her kids
to be proud of their hometown and to want to stay right here.
David Lanterman said he was part of the group because he wants to
help improve Lincoln.
Harris spoke again. She explained that she is a single mom with
kids, and she's working to receive her education at Lincoln
Christian University. She said typically those who are poor and
struggling don't often participate in meetings like this one.
However, she said she had built up her courage and come to the
meeting because she wanted to be a voice for those who are afraid to
participate, and she wants the betterment of Lincoln to include the
betterment of those people.
Blinn Bates said he felt that many of those who were in the room
were there for the betterment of the city, and they had come from a
desire to be a part of it. He commented that on a very cold night,
his home was safe and warm, but he felt a need to be a part of this
movement that would move the city forward in the future.
As the one-hour mark passed at the meeting, the question was
asked, "Can we make a list of things we want to do?"
___
In the final segment of this series, the group discusses how to
promote the We Are Lincoln group and the community as a whole.
[By NILA SMITH]
Past related articles
'We Are Lincoln'
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