Now with 3 incredible trips under our toolbelt, we are headed back for our 4th House Raising Challenge/Blitz Build in Hazard, KY with the Housing Development Alliance! Like the previous 2 years, we this will be a 3-house Blitz Build!
TRIP OVERVIEW:
- Trip Dates: June 21st-27th
- Missioner Fee: $750
- Age Requirement: Must have completed 9th grade.
- Maximum of 36 missioners
ABOUT OUR HAZARD, KENTUCKY TRIPS:
A brief video of 2024’s trip can be found here:
Hazard, as well as much of eastern Kentucky, was hit July 28th, 2022 by what meteorologists called a “1,000-year flood.” This means that a flood of this magnitude has historically happened only once every 1,000 years. This flooding damaged close to 10,000 homes, cost over 40 people their lives and left many families already facing financial hardship with nothing. We are partnering with the non-profit Housing Development Alliance (HDA) to help rebuild the homes and lives of affected families and individuals. Our first trip saw a return to our “Blitz Build” format in a strong showing, with our missioners having completed the exterior and rough interior framing of two houses in one week. The stops were pulled out for our second trip, with 36 missioners working on 3 houses. This was repeated on our third trip, and our goal is the same for this one!
Come be a part of this work in 2026! The amount of houses and lives we can help rebuild depends directly on the number of missioners participating in the build and the financial contributions we receive from all who believe in the work of DreamBuilders! Keep your eyes on the website and general meeting if you would like to volunteer, and if you would like to financially support this work, you can give here!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN THE TRIP, PLEASE FOLLOW THE STEPS BELOW:
- REGISTER FOR THE TRIP.
All missioners need to fill out the registration form at the link above. This provides us the information necessary for an organized, effective, and safe trip.
- PAYMENT.
A deposit of $400 for each missioner is due at the time of registration (the remaining $350 is due by March 31st). Payment in full at time of registration is also welcome. Options for all 3 payment types are at the link above.
- DREAMBUILDERS LIABILITY FORM.
All missioners (or their parent/legal guardian) need to print out, review and sign the DreamBuilders liability form found at the link above. Liability forms will be collected at the Mandatory Meeting (meeting date TBD).
- HDA VOLUNTEER CONSENT FORM.
All missioners need to fill out the Housing Development Alliance (HDA) Volunteer Info and Consent Form. In the “name of Church/Group” box put “DreamBuilders” and in the “work dates” box put “6/21/26-6/27/26”
- REVIEW HDA WORKSITE RULES.
HDA has rules for the worksite to help enable a safe and respectful work environment. All missioners need to read and follow these rules. Please find them at the link above and fill out the information requested.
GENERAL MEETING SLIDES
The slides from the General Meeting provide a comprehensive overview of this trip, plus additional information. They will be posted shortly.
ADDITIONAL TRIP DETAILS
Just like the previous trips to Hazard, this summer’s trip will be what we call a “Blitz Build.”
In the span of 5 work days (Mon-Fri), we will go from just a foundation to a house that is completely finished on the exterior- walls, roof, doors, windows and even sometimes a porch (depending on the design)! It is an incredible experience to work with your peers, knowing each day you and the whole team are getting closer to bringing life-changing stability to a family. When you stand back on the final day and see a house standing where there was just a hole in the ground 5 days earlier, well, it makes it hard to wait until the next trip to do it again!
This trip will follow our usual format. We travel on the 1st and 7th days and work in between. Being a faith-based organization, we will have a Christian service during the week and a Shabbat service on Friday.
Our group will be split into house teams, usually with a more experienced missioner who has gone on past trips working as team lead. On each house, smaller groups will work together if the task needs many hands, such as passing roof trusses/framing up onto the walls, and other times small groups are given individual tasks (one group may install windows while another is shingling the roof, etc.). The organizations we partner with also have people on site who supervise and guide us every step of the way.
No prior building experience is required!!! In fact, many people who have gone on these trips have never done anything like this before, and at the end of the week, they come out not just with the knowledge of how to build a house, but having actually done it with their own hands! There will be experienced people who will teach you all the skills you need, and you will not be forced to do anything if you are still not comfortable with it.
On a Blitz Build, the tasks usually are:
- Laying down subfloor
- Framing and raising walls
- raising and setting roof trusses/framing
- putting plywood/OSB/sheathing on the walls and roof
- shingling the roof
- installing doors and windows
- putting siding on the house
- painting (sometimes)
After the work for the day is done (usually somewhere between 3 and 5pm), we head back to clean ourselves up, cook dinner, and take time to enjoy fellowship through games and other activities. Sometimes people are tired and just want to rest in the evenings, and that’s ok, too!
Any further information about the trip will be posted on this page.