Tom Rooney at the 2018 Power Women, Power Tools at our Globe Ave. site in Culver City.
Our Globe Ave. new construction site in Culver City is bringing out volunteers in record numbers. And it’s also bringing out the best in people as we try to raise the funds necessary to complete the 10 homes.
Tom Rooney, one of our volunteer crew leaders, has been working at the Globe site since it opened, and is spearheading an effort to raise money in memory of former Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl. Rosendahl, who died of cancer in 2016, was a longtime advocate for affordable housing, especially in his district on the west side of Los Angeles. Rooney knew him even longer, dating back to when they were both freshmen at St. Cecilia High School in Englewood, N.J.
Former Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl
Rooney hopes to raise $200,000 from Rosendahl’s friends, family, high school and college classmates, and former constituents. That amount will cover the materials and labor required for one of the 10 Culver City homes. The idea for the memorial arose during a conversation with another high school classmate, Rooney said. When he reached out to other people who knew Rosendahl, they all came back with the same response: “We’re in.” They all loved the idea of building a home within walking distance of Bill’s district, Rooney said.
If you’d like to contribute in Bill Rosendahl’s memory, please visit the dedicated website that we have set up.
Lt. Curtis Massey
Our Catholic Coalition, meanwhile, is working to honor the memory of Lt. Curtis Massey, a Culver City police officer who was killed in 2008 when his car was struck by a driver going the wrong way on the 10 Freeway. Massey’s widow Melody, a member of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Pacific Palisades, is working with Carol Sanborn, who co-chairs the Habitat LA Catholic Coalition, to raise funds for the 10 Culver City houses as a way to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of her husband’s passing.
“Curt was a father of three, a very well-loved police officer, and a huge part of our community” said Sanborn. “His legacy was to create safer neighborhoods, so the idea of these 10 homes being a safe place for families to raise their children would be so much in keeping with his spirit and the wonderful generous person that he was.”
Culver City police, Corpus Christi parishioners, Culver City school employees, Pacific Palisades residents, and anyone else who would like to contribute to the “Ten Houses for Ten Years” drive should contact Chris Untiet, Director of Faith Relations for Habitat LA, at chrisu@habitatla.org or call 424-246-3622.