Peninsula Habitat Home Map Timeline of Projects Green Building Land Aquisition Current Projects: Lincoln Ave, Redwood City Future Projects: Daly City Resale Homes: Gloria Way, Redwood City Completed Projects: Commercial Ave, So. SF    - Dedication Feb 2008    - Kick off Sept 2006 San Bruno Ave, Brisbane Glen Parkway, Brisbane Plumas Ave, Brisbane Brisbane Projects: Historical Perspective De Long Street, Daly City Habitat Way, Daly City Rolison Rd, Redwood City Hope Court, Redwood City Gloria Way, East Palo Alto Single Family Homes    - (East Palo Alto)    - (Redwood City &      Menlo Park) Home Peninsula Habitat Employees Join Jimmy Carter Work Project in LA In late October of 2007, half a million Southern California residents fled ahead of fires bolstered and borne by the Santa Anta winds. Throughout the region families tense from the unpredictable disaster listened closely to news updates, with many undertaking preparations to evacuate. In Los Angeles, a mere forty miles from the site of the Malibu fires, hope and reassurance arrived in the form of President Jimmy Carter. The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project (JCWP) is an annual Habitat for Humanity event drawing hardworking volunteers, including Peninsula Habitat staffers Jamin Sartor and Vicky Robledo. The positive contrast of 2007's JCWP with the local psychological climate was not lost on the two women. "It was such a great time for us to be doing what we were doing-in such a devastating moment when people were losing their homes," said Sartor, development and volunteer associate at Peninsula Habitat. Over the five days of the Project, President Carter greeted an enthusiastic crowd of staff and volunteers estimated by Habitat to top 4,000. One of the great modern cases of leadership by example, President Carter was described by Sartor and Robledo as "just another volunteer" when it was time to go to work. The number of homes tackled by the JCWP varies from year to year, depending on material costs and other factors. This year's build focused on 30 "slab builds," or homes built essentially from the ground up, and 70 "rehab" homes. This twist on Habitat's usual mission is part of a new pilot program called Brush With Kindness. While Habitat's typical focus is supporting individual families struggling to become homeowners, Brush With Kindness puts the emphasis on raising a community's self-image through improving the quality and appearance of its existing homes. Robledo and Sartor came away from 2007's JCWP energized and mulling fresh ideas for Peninsula Habitat. "It was really inspiring to see the corporate support," said Robledo. "CitiBank had 30 volunteers who took the entire week off to work at the JCWP. It's a wonderful way to attract sponsors." "Participating in JCWP really opened my eyes to the power and motivation that comes along with a blitz build," said Sartor. "As a volunteer coordinator, it was really inspirational for me to see the impact that a well-managed and executed volunteer event can have on the community. Not only does it give volunteers a strong sense of the value of their time and energy, but it truly is a remarkable thing to watch so many people working together for a common cause."