Announcements
Fluvanna Habitat for Humanity Has A New Executive Director!
Robyn E. Bolling, Executive Director
Fluvanna Habitat for Humanity is pleased to announce Robyn Bolling as the new Executive Director. Robyn served children and families for 32 years as a teacher and principal. Since her 2018 retirement, Robyn has been working with the UVA Curry School of Education and the Virginia Department of Education as a consultant to graduate students and school principals. Robyn moved from Fairfax County to Lake Monticello in 2012 with her husband, Dean Tistadt. Since her move, Robyn has been eager to find a way to directly serve the Fluvanna community and she has found that with Habitat! Robyn enjoys long walks, kayaking, trying new recipes, and connecting with family and friends.
Rich Bowman, Fluvanna Habitat Board Vice President: “After talking with many people who interacted with Robyn while she was a teacher and administrator, the common threads were that she was trusted by all the people she interacted with from students, parents, teachers and administrators. She is very skilled at bringing people together to address common goals. These skills will serve her and the Fluvanna County Habitat for Humanity well in her new role as our Executive Director.”
Robyn Bolling, Fluvanna Habitat Executive Director: “Through my work as a principal, I’ve known several families who are proud Habitat homeowners. I am honored to now work on the serving side of Habitat as the new Fluvanna Executive Director. During these recent months, families are navigating so many COVID-19 life hurdles. Parents are homeschooling their children, taking care of family members and working hard to make financial ends meet. As Habitat for Humanity begins to reopen worldwide, we are planning now for the future of Habitat in Fluvanna. I am extremely excited to serve our community!”
Mike Himes, Fluvanna Habitat Board President: “I am excited beyond belief that we have found the missing piece to complete our Habitat Team. Robyn’s incredible background and experience will help us tremendously as we deal with the challenges that lie ahead of us so that we may continue serving with our neighbors to improve our community one home at a time.”
Robyn may be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Please follow Fluvanna Habitat For Humanity on Twitter @ForFluvanna and click on the Facebook button on the uppper right corner of this page to follow us on Facebook!
Are you looking for a way to serve in your community and volunteer
with Fluvanna County Habitat For Humanity? Below are a few ways you can become involved!
Faith Relations Committee: This committee works with the local churches to build partnerships. Meetings are held at the Fluvanna Habitat office and members are encouraged to visit and connect with church liasions. Churches are where we get a large amount of our volunteer teams and they provide donations to Fluvanna Habitat throughout the year.
Family Services Committee: This committee is vital to our organization. We are gearing up for another round of orienation sessions in the spring and the family services committee will help to faciliate these sessions and review applications. Indivuals from this committee meet with applicants for home visits and work closely to help them reach their dream of homeownership.
Rusty Nailz: The Rusty Nailz are a dedicated group of reliable volunteers who come together on a regular basis for house builds and home repair projects. The Rusty Nailz are seeking members who are able to schedule at least two work days per build.
If you would like more information on either of these volunteer opportunities, please email our volunteer coordinator at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Celebration & Dedication
It all started with 6 intial directors who wanted to make a difference in their community. With less than $3500 Fluvanna County Habitat for Humanity was born. Josina Bakker was a driving force and led the organization as president for four years.
Early on the organization had to fundraise all the money needed to build a house before construction could start. some of you may remember the white elephant sale’s, tap tap fundraiser, raffle’s, variety shows, silent auctions, spaghetti dinners, pancake breakfasts, habitat golf tournaments and so much more.
The dedication to the then all volunteer run organization was tremendous.
A few key events over the years that helped to guide the organization include:
-
June 1993 officially recognized as a Habitat for Humanity affiliate
-
In 1995 the first Fluvanna Habitat homeowners move in!
-
Over the next 14 years Habitat built 9 more homes throughout the county.
-
2009 Fluvanna habitat started building to earth craft standards with the first home in high mountain acres, a five-home community.
-
With house number 15 habitat started using the 502-mortgage program allowing the organization to do more
-
In 2012 groundbreaking took place at Cedar Ridge a five home earth craft community
-
In 2017 the first home with completed here at Houchens place a 27 lot affordable housing community
-
In 2018 a home repair program was added as way to help community members age in place.
With the completion of this house, house #22. 29 adults and 47 children have a safe, affordable place to live. We look forward to the next 25 years. Our hope is that you will walk alongside us; in fact we have another house that will start going up in September and you can help by volunteering on one of the build days or financially contributing to the organization.
The reason why many of us volunteer, financially and prayerfully support this organization is because we want to make an impact in someone’s life. It’s not so much that we built 22 houses but that we have created homes for 76 people and with your continued help we have the opportunity to do so much more.
Some Early Memories
By: Rich Kalchbrenner
I began attending meetings in the spring of 1997, held at the then not renovated Community Center in Fork Union. Preston Smith was President, an inspiring leader who had dedicated himself to doing all he could to keep our Fluvanna Habitat from failing. Only two houses had been built since becoming a Habitat International Affiliate in 1993. The situation was bleak, but Preston somehow kept positive. I will always remember the low point at our June meeting when our checking account balance was reported to be $624.46. This is not a typo!
The situation began to improve over the next few months. Preston received approval from the Lake Monticello Golf Committee to allow us to hold a tournament. This new annual event not only evolved into an important fundraiser, but new people and businesses became involved in Habitat’s mission. With visits to many congregations where we appealed for prayers, volunteers, and financial support, we were able to bolster our committees with new, energetic members. Five congregations became Covenant Churches. Their support and assistance in many fundraising events, such as spaghetti dinners, silent auctions, and giant yard sales, were fundamental in our remaining a recognized, functioning Habitat Affiliate.
Notable Momentum Building Events
In late 1997, after obtaining a bulk mailing permit, getting an updated mailing list from the county, composing the solicitation letter, printing the addressed envelopes, and coordinating a date with the Palmyra Post Office, Habitat successfully held its first “County Wide Mailing Envelope Stuffing Party” at Palmyra UMC. The “party” became an enjoyable social happening for our volunteers as well as an important annual fund raising event. Between 6,000 and 7,000 letters were mailed the first year, and grew to over 10,000 letters by 2006.
In 1998, Miriam Liggett of Kinder Care contacted Oprah Winfrey’s Angels about Fluvanna Habitat in hopes of receiving a gift to be used for building a home. We received $25,000 for House #3 for the Shelby Hill family! The added publicity of Oprah’s Angels gift resulted in an increase in donations and gifts from other businesses and individuals in the vicinity. The home dedication service was held on June 6, 1999.
In 1999, Angell Husted set a Guinness World Record for tap dancing. Her hope was to raise $10,000 for Habitat, which was reached. Angell broke her own record and raised over $10,000 for Habitat in 2003. Again, the publicity surrounding the events increased donations from many other contributors.
By the end of the year 2000, we were well on our way to building three houses in five years, and our checking account balance on June 30, 2001 was $31,000. The USDA Rural Development 502 Program’s first loan to us came in 2010. Prior to that, we had to raise enough money to purchase a lot, and then raise enough money to begin building the next home. Also, we had to manage the mortgages of the existing homeowners. Their monthly payments were an important part of our yearly income. With God’s blessings and countless hours of volunteer work, Fluvanna County HFH has grown to be an organization vital to the welfare of the community.
Koinonia Farms & Habitat
Koinonia Farm was founded in 1942 by Clarence and Florence Jordan and Martin and Mabel England as a “demonstration plot for the Kingdom of God.” For them, this meant an intentional community of believers sharing their lives and resources, following the example of the first Christian communities as described in the Acts of the Apostles. Koinonians shared not only faith and resources, but also work. They farmed the land for their livelihood, and sought ways to work in partnership with the land.
Koinonians focused on the poor quality of local housing and began a project to build decent, affordable homes for their neighbors. The housing ministry evolved into Habitat for Humanity International under the leadership of Millard and Linda Fuller, who were members of Koinonia.
