Habitat for Humanity San Benito County will be holding its
Second Annual Habitat Harvest Ride Oct. 21.
Habitat for Humanity San Benito County will be holding its Second Annual Habitat Harvest Ride Oct. 21.
The ride will begin at 9:30am, winding up into the Gabilan range south of San Juan Bautista. After the ride, participants will enjoy a Running Rooster catered lunch in an olive grove overlooking the San Juan Valley, followed by a live and silent auction and dinner later in the evening at San Juan Oaks, said George Lewis, president of Habitat San Benito County. Proceeds from the ride, dinner and auction, and donations will help renovate housing for those in need in San Benito County.
“If you have a low income you can’t afford a house,” Lewis said. “Even if you have a moderate income. It’s a real sad situation in our economy.”
The ride will start at the Demaggio/Brigantino Ranch and cross parts of the Holtehouse Ranch and San Juan Oaks Golf Course. David Brigantino and Brian Holtehouse will lead the ride.
Reservations for the ride, lunch and dinner are $150. Riders must provide their own horses, Lewis said. Reservations for the dinner only, which starts at 5:30pm, are $60 and will feature dancing and entertainment by Colby and Johnny.
Habitat Harvest Ride 2005 was a huge success, Lewis said. The event brought in $40,000 for Habitat SBC, with 80 riders participating and more than 300 enjoying the dinner and silent auction at San Juan Oaks.
“It was an incredible turnout,” said Cynthia Holtehouse, vice president of Habitat SBC. “It was a wonderful community effort.”
Habitat SBC celebrated its official affiliation with Habitat International and the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce in September 2005. It took founding members three years of planning to get Habitat SBC up and running, Holtehouse said.
“I’ve been in the mortgage industry for 25 years,” Holtehouse said. “And there was a need for affordable housing.”
Habitat for Humanity exists to help low-income families find such housing. Habitat considers a family of four with a household income of $35,000 a year or less a low-income family.
However, the sewer moratorium makes it difficult to provide low-income families with new housing. Instead of building new houses, Habitat SBC will focus on bringing sub-standard housing up to code, Holtehouse said.
People who receive help from Habitat SBC will be expected to pay for the materials used over time and put 500 hours into physically working on the house, Lewis said.
Habitat SBC has not started any projects because of lack of funding. But with two fundraisers soon to be under their belt, projects should commence soon.
“We should be able to start something in spring 2007,” Holtehouse said.
To make reservations call Habitat San Benito County at 831-635-9904 or visit www.hfhsbc.com.
