Dear friends of Golden Crescent Habitat for Humanity:

Golden Crescent Habitat for Humanity (GCHFH) is closely monitoring the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the precautions governments, health organizations, local businesses and other non-governmental organizations are taking to limit its spread and impact in a growing number of Texas counties.

Our topmost priority is always the health and safety of our staff, volunteers, partners and the people we serve. Our Leadership Team is talking daily and as of March 16, 2020, GCHFH is taking a proactive approach to minimize potential exposure for our employees and volunteers to the virus in the following ways. Today’s actions are driven by our commitment to provide a safe work environment, whether in our facilities or the field. We will continue to monitor daily and to update our response as appropriate until the virus is contained, and these measures are no longer necessary.  Effective March 16, 2020, GCHFH has voluntarily enacted the following measures until May 1, 2020.

• Habitat offices and ReStore will maintain regular business hours. Please call for an appointment before visiting our Administrative offices.

• Hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes are available at the entries of our facilities for visitor use. 

• In-home client visits, inspections, interviews, and repairs are suspended. 

•  All volunteer activities are suspended. 

• Group meetings will be held by conference call or rescheduled. 

• All business travel is canceled.

ReStore: Health Is The Top Priority

The health and well-being of our valued customers and associates are always our top priority, and as we navigate through this rapidly evolving coronavirus (COVID-19) situation together, we want to share with you the extra precautions we’re taking at the Victoria Habitat ReStore.

1) All donated items wiped down with disinfected wipes and furniture sprayed with Steri-Fab is a best practice we have always used and will continue to use, especially through this current situation.

2) Front counter wiped down continuously throughout the day to ensure a clean surface for our customers and employees.

3) Latex gloves are available if employees feel the need to use throughout the day.

Additional precautions are being taken at the cash registers, restrooms and all areas. Surfaces are wiped regularly, with a minimum of once per hour. Sanitizer and disposable wipes will be made available for staff and customer use. Merchandise will be cleaned on pick-up and extra efforts are being made to wipe down and sanitize all donated product. For donation pick-ups, we may suspend pick-up of donated merchandise in selected areas, if we feel it presents a risk to our staff. 

Individual/Team Building Volunteers:

In order to protect our communities, Golden Crescent work sites and ReStore will be closed to volunteers through March 30, 2020. This policy will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. Groups who were scheduled to volunteer during this time will be rescheduled once our sites reopen.

Habitat Events:

Out of an abundance of caution, we will be reformatting or postponing two of our major events until later this year. This includes the following:

Deutsch & Deutsch Diamond Dig
Backyard Boil

Staff Safety:

GCHFH is asking staff to refrain from attending non-essential business events or gatherings through the end of April. We are also increasing office sanitation procedures.

Additional Resources:

Please visit the following sites for an overview of the virus, up-to-date information on the status of the outbreak, and health resources should you become concerned about your own condition or that of a loved one.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Healthiest You

We are, of course, watching the news, local public health agencies, and the public-school response and will modify our response as necessary. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our offices at 361-573-2511.

This is a tough time for our community and our country. Please join us in using common sense to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Grace and Peace,
Cynthia J. Staley