Good News Group

In Partnership With Habitat for Humanity

2023 in Review

The 2023 build season was very successful. We gave $14,300 to Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley. Over the 5 work days, we had 10 lunch crew volunteers and 26 construction crew volunteers. Our teams worked at three different sites. Photos of the FUMC team can be found here.

Volunteering in 2024

Work days will be available in May. Look for announcements of the 2024 Habitat season here and in the bulletin. Ways you can be a part of this mission:

  • Be a construction volunteer. Must be at least 18 (or 16 with accompanying adult). Learn more.
  • Be a member of the lunch crew. Work with other team members to obtain/prepare/deliver food to the work site (11 a.m. – 1 p.m.). Learn more.
  • Be a short notice volunteer where you are willing to take last minute (1 or 2 days prior) requests to work at a site.
  • Be part of the FUMC GNG Team by helping at the volunteer sign up table or with other organizational tasks. Contact Mark Wickham if interested.
  • Pray for workers, homeowner families and Habitat for Humanity.
  • Contribute to the church’s 2024 pledge of $10,000 for construction materials and downpayment support. This can be done by: writing a check payable to FUMC-AA (with habitat on the memo line), put in the offering or online here.

2024 Build

This year’s GNG House will be a new build from the ground up. The house will be located at 349 Firwood St, Ypsilanti, MI 48197.

Links & Members

Good News Group

Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley

Please note that any donations made through the links above will not apply to FUMC’s pledge. You can make an online donation to FUMC here. To give to Habitat, replace 2023 Operations with Habitat for Humanity.

Other Good News Group Members:

  • Bethel African Methodist Church
  • Chelsea Church of the Nazarene
  • Chelsea First United Methodist Church
  • Cherry Hill United Methodist Church
  • First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor
  • First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor
  • First United Methodist Church – Brighton/Whitmore Lake
  • First United Methodist Church – Saline
  • First United Methodist Church of Ypsilanti
  • Huron River Methodist Church
  • Manchester United Methodist Church
  • Marble Memorial United Methodist Church
  • St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church
  • West Side United Methodist Church

Mission

Through Good News Group (GNG) in association with Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley (HHHV), First United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor carries out a mission to enable home ownership for families who would otherwise not have this opportunity.

The need for affordable energy efficient housing in our community is critical, and home ownership provides a lot more than four walls and a roof as protection from the elements. It also contributes to physical health, safety and security, financial stability, increased success in school and an increased ability to reach out for new opportunities. In short, it helps to break the cycle of poverty for families. We know that the Habitat program works. Of the more than 200 families served in Washtenaw County by HHHV in the last 30 years, 97 percent of the homes are still well-maintained and occupied by the original homeowners.

History

FUMC AA member, Bob Whitacre, founded Good News Group (GNG) in 1997. GNG is now a partnership of 16 congregations. Each congregation provides a member to the GNG steering committee. The steering committee works with Habitat of Huron Valley (HHHV) to determine the house and build schedule. GNG organizes the volunteer construction teams that build the house. Initially, GNG built a single house from scratch each year. In 2009, GNG and HHHV switched to renovating homes instead of building from scratch. Since 1997, GHG has provided homes for 38 families.