Habitat for Humanity Lake-Sumter |

Jingle Build-Off 2023: Wrapped Up In a Bow

Jingle Build-Off 2023 Playhouse Pros award winning Spiderman and Friends themed playhouse built by Garney Construction

Habitat for Humanity of Lake-Sumter’s Jingle Build-Off 2023 was a jolly success!

The fifth annual playhouse build competition, Jingle Build-Off, was held on Saturday, December 2^nd and was the largest Habitat Lake-Sumter playhouse build to date. This year, Jingle Build-Off teams created 24 individually designed playhouses gifted to children from Lake and Sumter Counties. Winning by a single vote, Garney Construction was crowned with the title of “Playhouse Pros” for the best playhouse for 2023 with their Spiderman and Friends themed playhouse.

Together, these 24 teams’ dedication to Jingle Build Off 2023 raised $60,942 towards new home construction for Lake and Sumter County!

Teams of every kind build the playhouses with us each year – corporate groups, faith congregations, youth and school groups, members of community organizations and groups of friends too. Each playhouse takes 3-4 hours to build and paint with the help of 8-10 volunteers on each team. The wood for each playhouse was pre-cut by volunteers and brought to the event site where it was built and decorated with the children’s dream themes creatively applied to the design. This year’s competition entries were exceptional, with a beautiful tiny home, a space ship complete with control panels, a yellow schoolhouse with a ringing bell, a cafe and a coffee shop, a few imaginative mermaid and superhero themes, and even an ice cream party train!

The playhouses were displayed in the heart of the Tavares Christmas Celebration in Town Square on the parade route and lined the pathway to Santa’s throne for the Tavares Holiday Celebration. Recipient families were selected through referrals from local schools and community members, and the families received their playhouses just in time for the holidays.

Community members were invited to view and vote for the playhouses online at www.HabitatLS.org with all of the proceeds going to support affordable housing in Lake and Sumter Counties. Online voting for Best Playhouse occurred for one week, with local employee owned GARNEY CONSTRUCTION announced as the winner of the “Playhouse Pros” title on December 12^th, with 1,449 votes for their Spiderman and friends themed playhouse. Congratulations to Garney Construction for their contributions to affordable housing in Lake and Sumter County.

This playhouse build not only provides special playhouses to 24 different families during the holiday season but raised funds towards building REAL affordable Habitat homes in Lake and Sumter Counties throughout the coming year!

Together this event encourages community engagement for affordable housing and empowers these kids to dream big when it comes to their futures!

Upcoming Events

You’re Invited! 2024 Pink Champagne Party!

Join us for our sixth Women Build project constructing Habitat Lake-Sumter’s 300th Habitat home!

Women Build is an annual nationwide initiative that invites women from all walks of life to join together to fundraise and build a brand new home in our community.

Gather your friends and come build with us!

WHAT: Pink Champagne Party kickoff for Women Build 2024

WHEN: Wednesday, March 20th from 6p-8p

WHERE: RoMac Training Center located at 200 E Main Street, Leesburg, FL

RSVP by March 15th via email to melanie@habitatls.org

If you feel that it’s your time to sign up and create a fundraising team, or to simply give a donation. Contact Melanie at 352-483-0434, extension 141, for details.

Save the Date – Giving Tuesday, November 28th!

The daylight is shorter and pumpkin spice is in insatiable demand. It’s autumn, and as thoughts turn to turkey dinners and the brief chance to wear cable-knit sweaters in Florida, Habitat Lake-Sumter has been busy planning with the Mount Dora Community Trust for a different special day: Giving Tuesday.

#givingtuesday

SAVE THE DATE: NOVEMBER 28th

Mount Dora Community Trust has partnered with Habitat Lake-Sumter to give back to our community by matching your Giving Tuesday donations.

Stepping away from shopping to do something a little more meaningful, Giving Tuesday is your opportunity for generosity and gratitude!

Support Habitat Lake-Sumter and have your gift matched to further our mission of building decent, safe, and affordable housing by donating through The Mount Dora Community Trust during Giving Week 2023 – click for details.

Donate to Habitat Lake-Sumter through the Mount Dora Community Trust Giving Week from November 28th to December 5th and your gift will be matched! Giving Tuesday was launched in 2012 to start a conversation about the good we may do in this world. Ultimately, making the world a better place requires generosity and a dedication to measuring impact, talking about what we want to achieve, and gaining a better understanding of the problems we’re trying to solve. Your partnership with Habitat Lake-Sumter and Mount Dora Community Trust is your chance to make a difference regardless of the size of your contribution.

Together, we’re building a more compassionate and giving world while building homes, communities, and hope.

Give more when you give back this holiday season with Habitat for Humanity Lake-Sumter.

For the past four years, your Hometown Habitat has participated in Giving Week hosted by the Mount Dora Community Trust. During Giving Week, a portion of all donations made to Habitat are matched by the Mount Dora Community Trust. This makes your dollar go even farther is supporting our mission of providing safe, affordable housing in your community.

Giving Week is the perfect opportunity to give a gift to your community that keeps on giving. When you donate to Habitat Lake-Sumter during Giving Week, your generosity makes a deeper impact than ever before, and you move us one step closer to ensuring that our community has decent housing for all.

All donations must be made through that link, mailed to the Community Trust and received during Giving Week, or taken directly to the Mount Dora Community Trust offices to be considered for matched funds. If you have questions about Giving Week or how you can ensure your donation is eligible for matched funds from the Mount Dora Community Trust, please contact Hannah at hannah@habitatls.org or call (352) 531-5223 x114

Do You Want to Build a Playhouse?

Build a Playhouse. Compete as a Team.

Win Bragging Rights and Title of BEST Playhouse!

Plus, put a priceless smile on the faces of children? (*Right in time for the holidays!)

Teams sponsor the build of each playhouse to support building and preserving safe, affordable homes for families in Lake and Sumter Counties.

Teams of any kind can build playhouses – corporate groups, faith congregations, youth and school groups, members of community organizations and groups of friends.

The 2022 Winner of Best Playhouse was Team Shuffield-Lowman with their Princess themed playhouse, which was decked out with a pink fur rug, bookcase full of books, and even a tiny pink chandelier!

Sign up today to build a playhouse!

Contact Melanie at 352-483-0434 EXT 141 or email at melanie@habitatls.org to make magic happen with Jingle Build Off 2023!

Credit Education Workshop – October 23rd, 2023

RSVP Today!

RSVP Now!

To learn more about our programs, contact Veronica Troxell at (352) 483-0434 x 124 or Veronica@HabitatLS.org

The Villages Habitat Club Creative Emporium – Grand Opening

Join The Habitat Lake-Sumter Villages Club at the grand opening of The Creative Emporium at the Leesburg ReStore!

Join us on Monday, October 2^nd, 2023 at 9am for the Official Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Visit the newly-renovated location, shop eclectic home décor, artisan pieces, and much more!

Need to Know:

Grand Opening on Monday, October 2nd at 200 N. Lone Oak Drive, Leesburg, FL
- Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at 9am
- Co-President, Kevin Tucker will be grilling and serving lunch at 12pm
Store Hours:
- Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday; 9:30am – 4pm
Store Closed: Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday
The Habitat Villages Club member creations include eclectic décor, handmade gifts, and more
Every purchase supports Habitat’s mission to build and preserve local homes

The mission of the Habitat Villages Club is to directly support Habitat Lake-Sumter’s construction and preservation of homes in our local area. The Habitat Villages Club completed it’s third new home build in November 2022, from fundraising to hands-on construction, the clubs members did it all. Through club activities, the members help provide strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter to the families throughout Lake and Sumter Counties. There are many facets to the club and they welcome all Villagers, whether they are handy with a hammer or not – all skills and talents can be put to good use.

Sally Read, co-president of the club, said, “All the members love their involvement with Habitat, but they could not build homes without the support of the community.”

When you purchase items from The Creative Emporium at the Leesburg ReStore, you make it possible for The Habitat Lake-Sumter Villages Club to build and repair homes for the families in Lake and Sumter counties.

Here’s a little snippet of fun that the creative, hardworking members of The Villages Habitat Club have: