good luck, just make sure you find engaging stuff for everybody to do. the problem in the MN afh chapter is that three or four people do all the interesting stuff and the rest of us are just spectators and commentators.

i definitely want to second treekiller's comments. if you want you should try and contact all the other group leaders and see what they are doing and where they are at. it is really helpful to get the experiences.

I have attempted to contact some of the other chapters, and have had some response. So, I will try to continue dialogue with them to get advice as to how to do certain things. So far, its just been a lot of running around and doing things out of pocket, so I'd be interested to know how the donations ultimately get filtered down to the local chapters. I mean its just a couple bucks here and there, but I'd ultimately like to be repaid for the money I've put into it so far. Anyway, just a thought.

For the moment some of the items we've been brain storming about have mostly been small items.

-help low income families or elderly get their homes up to minimal maintenance code, through basic repairs or help them facilitate contractors
-help local businesses and non-profits remodel spaces to better suit their need

these were just a few off the top of my head. It's too bad that you are in that situation treekiller. Although, not everything that works well to help communities is always engaging.