Crystal Coast Habitat

06/06/2026

Wanted: People willing to crawl under a house for a good cause.

Found: These volunteers.

One minute they were working on a house. The next they were landscaping, organizing storage, installing window screens, and crawling under a modular home.

Huge shoutout to our 7 volunteers who spent the day bouncing between projects and saying "sure, we can do that" to pretty much everything we threw at them. Together, they logged 31.5 volunteer hours, adjusted a rim joist, leveled landscaping, cleared out the GO Mini, installed window screens, and even volunteered for the crawlspace.

That's not volunteering. That's versatility. Turns out the secret to building homes is finding people willing to say, "What's next?" one more time.

06/05/2026

Most people know Habitat houses don't build themselves.

What they may not know is that the same handful of people keep showing up year after year to make sure they get built.

These are our core construction crew and volunteers.

The crew that helped transform our construction warehouse for HXP this summer.

The crew that shows up when walls need framing, siding needs hanging, ramps need building, and projects need moving forward.

The crew that has donated thousands of hours over the years without asking for recognition, applause, or a spotlight.

Just a hard hat, a tape measure, and another thing that needs to get done.

They're builders, teachers, problem-solvers, mentors, and some of the most dedicated volunteers you'll ever meet.

Quite simply, Crystal Coast Habitat for Humanity would not be what it is without them.

To our core construction crew and volunteers: thank you.

For the years.

For the hours.

For the wisdom.

And for continuing to show up.

We're grateful for every one of you.

06/05/2026

We have reached a point where we need answers.

Not about the fan.

About the chain of events that led to someone owning a fan the size of a garage door.

Because at no point in human history has any fan-related situation required this much fan.

Don’t get us wrong. It’s a beautiful fan.

The painted village is lovely.

The colors are striking.

The tiny people appear content and relaxed.

Perhaps a little too relaxed for people who are one determined fan flap away from starting over in another province.

But we’re getting distracted.

We need to know what situation required this much fan in the first place.

Was it:

• A competitive pie-cooling event.
• Something involving Aunt Linda that nobody wants to discuss.
• A man who severely underestimated the power of humidity.

Or was it something else entirely?

Wrong answers only.

06/04/2026

06/04/2026

You know that one event people start talking about months before it happens?

This is that one.

Not because of the cards.

Not because of the prizes.

Not even because somebody inevitably develops an entirely fictional gambling career by 8:17 p.m.

It's because Casino Night is one of those rare evenings where a room full of people shows up to have a genuinely good time and accidentally does a lot of good in the process.

You'll laugh.

You'll eat.

You'll watch somebody make a decision they are immediately confident about and then immediately regret.

And every ticket sold helps Crystal Coast Habitat for Humanity continue helping local families achieve safe, affordable homeownership.

That's a pretty good trade for one Friday night.

Get your tickets here:
https://www.facebook.com/share/18sAVo7KS6/

🎲 Casino Night 2026
📍 Swansboro Rotary Civic Center
📅 Friday, August 14
🕡 6:30 PM

06/04/2026

Think the Newport ReStore has changed a lot?

You should've seen it before it was on Highway 70.

Before the current store. Before the ribbon cutting in 2007. Before there were thousands of square feet of merchandise to wander through.

The ReStore operated out of what is currently our construction warehouse with an all-volunteer staff.

These photos capture some of those early days.

The building was dedicated by longtime Habitat supporters and volunteers Fran and Bob Sonzognis in memory of their daughter, Carolyn Sonzognis, who passed away in a car accident. Plaques honoring Carolyn remain there to this day.

What started in that warehouse eventually grew into the ReStore many of you know today.

Some things have changed over the years.

The store is bigger.

The inventory is bigger.

The treasure hunts are definitely bigger.

The address changed. The idea didn't. Donations come in. The Crystal Coast benefits.

And speaking of Habitat history...

There's a lot of it standing in that group photo.

Do you recognize anyone?

06/03/2026

At approximately 3:14 this afternoon, Dave and Rachelle became the first people in recorded history to accidentally headline a concert in a Habitat workshop.

Nobody bought tickets.

Nobody booked a venue.

And yet here we are.

Witnesses report a dramatic guitar solo, at least one sustained high note, and enough stage presence to power a midsize municipality.

The entire performance appears to have been fueled by confidence alone.

We're still investigating.

In the meantime:

What's the name of the band?

Or the title of their biggest hit?

06/03/2026

Easton recently attended the Crystal Coast Women in Business Power of Connection luncheon with our friends at Southern Bank.

The room was full of women from across the Crystal Coast sharing ideas, experiences, and plenty of reminders that who you know is often just as important as what you know.

It was a great opportunity to connect with other community leaders, learn from the speakers, and spend time with people who are helping move our region forward.

Thank you to First Flight Credit Union for sponsoring the event and the Beaufort Hotel for hosting another successful luncheon.

We're grateful for opportunities like this to build relationships, strengthen partnerships, and stay connected to the community we serve.

06/03/2026

Meet Sutora.

She's the future homeowner of the Mill Creek Road house and is pictured here with Jowita, our Homeowner Services Coordinator, signing paperwork as part of the homeownership process.

We talk a lot about houses around here.

The framing.

The siding.

The construction updates.

But at the end of the day, homeownership is about people.

Today, we'd like to introduce one of them.

You'll be seeing more of Sutora as she continues working through the program, completing sweat equity, and moving closer to homeownership.

Welcome home, Sutora.

06/02/2026

A couple of weeks ago, we shared Allison's tiny home project and asked if anybody else had a ReStore project they'd like to show off.

Catherine did.

For years, she wanted cabinets in her laundry room instead of the wire shelf that was there. Then one day she saw a batch of cabinets in a ReStore Facebook post, and, as tends to happen, a simple idea immediately turned into a project.

The cabinets came from the ReStore. The paint came from the ReStore. The entire makeover came in at less than $500, and that even includes the impact driver they had to buy to get the job finished.

Now she has the laundry room she had been wanting for years.

Catherine told us she loves the finished space. She also mentioned that she and her husband completed the project without getting on each other's nerves, which anybody who has ever attempted a home improvement project together knows is an achievement all by itself.

Have you completed a project using ReStore finds?

Send your photos and story to mailto:[email protected]

We love to feature projects and show people what can happen when a good idea meets the right ReStore find.