{"id":35367,"date":"2025-05-29T13:45:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T20:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/?p=35367"},"modified":"2025-06-03T14:53:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T21:53:22","slug":"from-road-trips-to-homebuilding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/","title":{"rendered":"From road trips to homebuilding: Two families share their stories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-and-Grandmas-Buick-HeaderCrop-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"Teen Lilly stands in front of her grandma's silver Buick. \" class=\"wp-image-35549\" srcset=\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-and-Grandmas-Buick-HeaderCrop-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-and-Grandmas-Buick-HeaderCrop-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-and-Grandmas-Buick-HeaderCrop-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-and-Grandmas-Buick-HeaderCrop-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-and-Grandmas-Buick-HeaderCrop.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Earlier this year, when Len Norwitz watched a tow truck haul away his late mother\u2019s Buick Century as a donation to Habitat for Humanity Portland Region, he wasn\u2019t sad. He was proud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His mom, Molly Tulin, bought the car new in 1999 in Connecticut, where she lived and spent her career working in Child Protective Services. In 2004, the Buick was loaded onto a trailer as part of her cross-country move to Oregon, to live near Len, his wife Janis, and their then-toddler Lily.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once settled in Portland, the Buick was a vessel for freedom, fun, connection, and exploration for Molly. She drove it to the Columbia River Gorge to view petroglyphs; to Ashland for the Shakespeare Festival; to Crater Lake and Rockaway Beach; to classes she audited at PSU; to pick Lily up at school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Grandma-and-her-Buick-2010.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-35392\" srcset=\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Grandma-and-her-Buick-2010.jpg 960w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Grandma-and-her-Buick-2010-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Grandma-and-her-Buick-2010-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Grandma-and-her-Buick-2010-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Family photos courtesy of Len Norwitz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-car-CROPPED-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-35395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-car-CROPPED-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-car-CROPPED-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-car-CROPPED-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-car-CROPPED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-car-CROPPED-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-car-CROPPED-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Molly and her granddaughter Lily, both posing with their beloved Buick<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>From Molly to Lily to Habitat<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Molly relied on the Buick until her late 80s, when she moved into assisted living and stopped driving. That was bittersweet, because the timing was perfect for a teenage Lily, ready to learn how to drive. Molly gave her family the Buick and her best wishes. A few years later, the family grieved Molly passing away. Lily took the car on PNW adventures that her grandmother would\u2019ve loved, like camping on Mt. Rainier and carting around their beloved family dog, Waldo.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With Lily living in London these days to study immigration public policy, Len decided it was time to retire the now-retired Buick. At 25 years old, it had traveled 160,000 miles, and Len looked into donating the car to charity. He had several friends who raved about their experiences on builds, so Habitat for Humanity came to mind.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>\u201cYears ago, we had a Habitat build site just a couple blocks from our house, and I always wanted to spend some time volunteering, but that\u2019s when I was working up to 80 hours a week as labor and political organizer, so I never made it to a build,\u201d Len said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cDonating the car to Habitat was gratifying and the process was seamless. As big fans of Jimmy Carter and with our family spending our careers in public service, my mom would\u2019ve liked that donating the car was another way for us to give back.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Retiring a vehicle for DIY projects and play<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, Francis Wankowicz\u2019s family of educators and diplomats taught him the value of service, as well as the importance of having a stable place to call home. \u201cMy family moved around an awful lot,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I was 10, my father had a foreign assignment with USAID but the family\u2019s travel with him fell through and left us scrambling for housing. I believe stable housing is a foundational part of success in life, especially for children. That\u2019s what first connected me to Habitat\u2019s mission.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Work in commercial real estate lending took Francis and his family (his wife Barbara and their three children) from Portland to Phoenix, Arizona. In 2012, they bought a used 2005 Volvo XC90 and named it Ruby for its rich maroon shade. For years, the car was a family and commuting vehicle, as well as transportation to a dozen Habitat build sites where Francis volunteered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cI saw it as offering a hand up to people who need it. For me, Habitat is a way of paying back what I\u2019ve gotten in life and paying it forward.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Habitat builds were also where Francis and his son Evan, by then a teenager, could spend hours away from daily stress to connect side by side, painting or landscaping for others. Francis soaked up all of that bonding time, not to mention knowledge from experienced contractors on the build sites; he\u2019s since renovated six homes using what he learned from Habitat builds, including doing his own framing, insulation, drywall, tiling, and cabinetry.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Francis-car-Ruby-blurred-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-35401 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Francis-car-Ruby-blurred-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Francis-car-Ruby-blurred-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Francis-car-Ruby-blurred-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Francis-car-Ruby-blurred-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Francis-car-Ruby-blurred-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Francis-car-Ruby-blurred-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>When the family moved back to Portland in 2017, Ruby the Volvo came with them. The car carried supplies while Francis renovated his current house, including sheets of drywall, pocket doors, and lumber on the roof rack. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Ruby was also loaded up with kayaks for river days, and made trips to the coast for clamming and an annual family campout. Francis even took the family to Timberline one winter, partly to see how Ruby did in the snow.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe drove the wheels off it,\u201d Francis recalled.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With well over 220,000 miles on Ruby, Francis knew the car had limited resale value. \u201cIt was an easy decision to donate it to thank Habitat for all our family gained from volunteering over the years,\u201d he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Donating your vehicle to Habitat<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Len and Francis are some of the many generous donors to give vehicles a second life by donating them to Habitat. Since launching Cars for Homes, the national vehicle donation program, in 2005, Habitat has accepted more than 160,000 vehicles. In just the past five years, vehicle donations raised over $72 million nationally for Habitat\u2019s work building and repairing homes. Habitat receives funds for each vehicle according to the region where it was donated, so donations stay in the community. Revenue from cars donated from within Habitat Portland Region\u2019s boundaries goes directly to support Habitat\u2019s work in our area.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have a vehicle (car, truck, motorcycle, RV, boat, etc.) that\u2019s ready to retire,<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/donate\/goods\/donate-a-car\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">learn more<\/a><\/strong> about how it can be turned into funds for building affordable homes! It\u2019s a tax-deductible donation. And even if the vehicle isn\u2019t running, our partners pick it up and take it away, where it can become transportation for someone else or recycled. Either way, your old vehicle can help people in our area get into safe, affordable housing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier this year, when Len Norwitz watched a tow truck haul away his late mother\u2019s Buick Century as a donation to Habitat for Humanity Portland Region, he wasn\u2019t sad. He was proud. His mom, Molly Tulin, bought the car new in 1999 in Connecticut, where she lived and spent her career working in Child Protective [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":35549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[119],"class_list":["post-35367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-supporter-story","tag-cars-for-homes"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>From road trips to homebuilding: Two families share their stories - Habitat Portland Region<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From road trips to homebuilding: Two families share their stories - Habitat Portland Region\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Earlier this year, when Len Norwitz watched a tow truck haul away his late mother\u2019s Buick Century as a donation to Habitat for Humanity Portland Region, he wasn\u2019t sad. He was proud. His mom, Molly Tulin, bought the car new in 1999 in Connecticut, where she lived and spent her career working in Child Protective [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Habitat Portland Region\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/habitatportland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-29T20:45:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-03T21:53:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-and-Grandmas-Buick-HeaderCrop.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Melinda Musser\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@habitatportland\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@habitatportland\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Melinda Musser\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Melinda Musser\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#\/schema\/person\/e298185b9faa178aaaff24bf42c46d71\"},\"headline\":\"From road trips to homebuilding: Two families share their stories\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-29T20:45:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-03T21:53:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/\"},\"wordCount\":984,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-and-Grandmas-Buick-HeaderCrop.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"cars for homes\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Supporter Story\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/\",\"name\":\"From road trips to homebuilding: Two families share their stories - Habitat Portland Region\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-and-Grandmas-Buick-HeaderCrop.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-29T20:45:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-03T21:53:22+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-and-Grandmas-Buick-HeaderCrop.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-and-Grandmas-Buick-HeaderCrop.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":960,\"caption\":\"Teen Lilly stands in front of her grandma's silver Buick.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"From road trips to homebuilding: Two families share their stories\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/\",\"name\":\"Habitat Portland Region\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Habitat for Humanity Portland Region\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/HFHPortlandRegionOR_Sgl_Black-e1610659332535.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/HFHPortlandRegionOR_Sgl_Black-e1610659332535.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":51,\"caption\":\"Habitat for Humanity Portland Region\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/habitatportland\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/habitatportland\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/habitatportlandregion\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/habitat-for-humanity-portland-region\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#\/schema\/person\/e298185b9faa178aaaff24bf42c46d71\",\"name\":\"Melinda Musser\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d50b694c1d9d19f1f6e5b87f3d24afaae9fac5a923b8c8d2d42689fe1d0b4b3a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d50b694c1d9d19f1f6e5b87f3d24afaae9fac5a923b8c8d2d42689fe1d0b4b3a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Melinda Musser\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/author\/melinda-musser\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"From road trips to homebuilding: Two families share their stories - Habitat Portland Region","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"From road trips to homebuilding: Two families share their stories - Habitat Portland Region","og_description":"Earlier this year, when Len Norwitz watched a tow truck haul away his late mother\u2019s Buick Century as a donation to Habitat for Humanity Portland Region, he wasn\u2019t sad. He was proud. His mom, Molly Tulin, bought the car new in 1999 in Connecticut, where she lived and spent her career working in Child Protective [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/","og_site_name":"Habitat Portland Region","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/habitatportland","article_published_time":"2025-05-29T20:45:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-03T21:53:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":960,"url":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-and-Grandmas-Buick-HeaderCrop.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Melinda Musser","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@habitatportland","twitter_site":"@habitatportland","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Melinda Musser","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/"},"author":{"name":"Melinda Musser","@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#\/schema\/person\/e298185b9faa178aaaff24bf42c46d71"},"headline":"From road trips to homebuilding: Two families share their stories","datePublished":"2025-05-29T20:45:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-03T21:53:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/"},"wordCount":984,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-and-Grandmas-Buick-HeaderCrop.jpg","keywords":["cars for homes"],"articleSection":["Supporter Story"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/","url":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/","name":"From road trips to homebuilding: Two families share their stories - Habitat Portland Region","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-and-Grandmas-Buick-HeaderCrop.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-29T20:45:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-03T21:53:22+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-and-Grandmas-Buick-HeaderCrop.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lily-and-Grandmas-Buick-HeaderCrop.jpg","width":1920,"height":960,"caption":"Teen Lilly stands in front of her grandma's silver Buick."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/from-road-trips-to-homebuilding\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"From road trips to homebuilding: Two families share their stories"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/","name":"Habitat Portland Region","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#organization","name":"Habitat for Humanity Portland Region","url":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/HFHPortlandRegionOR_Sgl_Black-e1610659332535.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/HFHPortlandRegionOR_Sgl_Black-e1610659332535.png","width":300,"height":51,"caption":"Habitat for Humanity Portland Region"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/habitatportland","https:\/\/x.com\/habitatportland","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/habitatportlandregion\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/habitat-for-humanity-portland-region\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#\/schema\/person\/e298185b9faa178aaaff24bf42c46d71","name":"Melinda Musser","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d50b694c1d9d19f1f6e5b87f3d24afaae9fac5a923b8c8d2d42689fe1d0b4b3a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d50b694c1d9d19f1f6e5b87f3d24afaae9fac5a923b8c8d2d42689fe1d0b4b3a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Melinda Musser"},"url":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/author\/melinda-musser\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35367"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35557,"href":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35367\/revisions\/35557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}