Imagine walking out your office doors and seeing walls to a house standing in your parking lot.

We can make this happen!

Habitat Panel Build Events have gotten increasingly popular over the years. This is a unique sponsorship opportunity in which a company, church or school can have Habitat come out to their location and build. We completed 23 panel builds in 2009 and expect to do the same in 2010.

Habitat brings all the wood materials and tools needed to build the interior and exterior wall panels of a home in an organization's parking lot. This event allows more people to participate at one time on a Habitat building project in the comfort of their own "backyard" at work.

Panel Build events need a minimum of 60 people and a maximum of 200 people to volunteer in 1, 2 or 4 hour shifts during 4 hours between 8am - 12pm. By noon, the house is standing in the parking lot, allowing all those who volunteered, as well as though who did not, to walk through the home and see what a Habitat house is like. We also have sharpies on hand for all volunteers to sign their name or leave a message to the homeowner on the walls. This is a fun way to leave your mark! It is also fun for the sponsors and volunteers at the permanent build site to read the walls as they are working on the house.

The Habitat homeowner is also invited to participate in this event. It gives an organization "one-on-one" time to get to know the person(s) whose home they are building. The homeowner typically gives a "tour" of the home once it is standing. This is exciting because most Habitat homeowners have children and the volunteers are told which bedroom is for which child. Additionally, it is touching when the homeowner can express their gratitude to the volunteers building their home.

If you are interested in a panel build event, please contact Sheila Carlson, Community Relations Coordinator at 317-921-2121 ext. 117 or [ Email ].

To see pictures of Panel Build events, go to the following link Photo Gallery .