Homes & Gardens
 |
| Photos by David Husack |
Building Together
By Jenny
Corsey
Photos by David Husack
The sharp winds that cut through the cold,
rainy day lost their bite amidst the cheerful, warming glows
cast by lanterns illuminating a structure well on its way to
becoming a home. Hammers banged and boards clanged, while the
joy evident within clearly prevailed over the dismal, muddy,
outdoor surroundings.
This past Christmas, kids got bikes,
dads got ties, and moms got ornaments. The Vanderford family
got a house.
Volunteers, organized by the Newnan-Coweta
branch of Habitat for Humanity, busily worked to finish the
Fisher Street project, their third house this year, in time
to bring this special family home for Christmas.
Dressed in warm flannel, Susan Pengelly,
president of the Newnan-Coweta branch of Habitat for Humanity,
braves the chill to work alongside of her volunteers.
"We're pushing to get this family in
to celebrate Christmas," Susan emphasizes. "They're living
in substandard conditions right now. Soon they'll have a decent,
well-built home."
The 1,200 square feet translates into
four bedrooms and two bathrooms, just what the Vanderfords
needed to replace moldy walls and floor holes in their former,
cramped apartment.
"We have met wonderful people here,"
Joey Vanderford expresses. "All the
 |
| Scouts from Troop 182 help
outside th home. |
board members are real good people, you
can't beat 'em." Susan adds that the board members who volunteer
"encourage families to get houses complete."
Though the family sat on a waiting list
for three years, they certainly weren't waiting. The Vanderfords
earned more than 1,000 "sweat equity" hours, 700 of which
were completed even before their application approval came
through this past June.
All families must log at least 500 "sweat
equity" hours to move into a Habitat home. Hours can be earned
by working on the site, on another house, at a fundraiser
or even down at the Habitat office. Since family and friends
can complete a quarter of the requirement, the Vanderfords
donate many of their extra hours to families who don't have
outside help.
 |
| Pat Banks |
"Habitat for Humanity is just wonderful,"
Joey says firmly. "They help God's people who need help."
"Plus we get to help other people with
their houses," adds his wife Debbie. "My two daughters wish
they could help, but you have to be 17 to work on a home.
So they assist with lunches and clean up afterwards."
Habitat for Humanity strives to convey
that homes aren't gifts of charity, but Susan says many still
don't understand how the program works.
"We're still educating the community,
the businesses, the churches. So many people think Habitat
for Humanity just gives away homes," Susan says. "The homes
go to low-income families, who must qualify by showing a verifiable,
legal source of income, by showing need. They must give Habitat
a commitment."
Melanie Gross, executive director of
the Newnan-Coweta branch of Habitat for Humanity, explains
that the board must see willingness from applicants to partner
with the house need before granting approval. Then once the
house is built, the family purchases it from Habitat at cost
with no interest loans over a 20-year period.
Susan and Melanie hope to expand the
organization's impact on the community through an increase
in volunteers.
"The number of churches who help us out
has been growing," Susan notes, encouragement lining her voice.
"We get people from all over. They've heard about Habitat
for Humanity, come help and then catch the fever. Between
the churches and donors, we had the volunteers and resources
to build a house."
"We're in a growing phase, but we hope
to increase [building] by one to two houses each year," Melanie
estimates. "I'm extraordinarily blessed to work with such
a crew. They give and give and give. It's amazing to see the
amount of energy they possess."
Retired airline pilot David Olive has
volunteered in Newnan for nine years. "My wife and I decided
to see if we can help this family move in by this Christmas.
It's hard to get fired here. If you admit you can do stuff,
you'll soon be in charge!"
Fayette County resident David Husack,
along with dozens of other North Fayette United Methodist
Church volunteers, has helped build seven homes with the Southern
Crescent branch of Habitat for Humanity. One home joined new
development Faith Park, located in College Park, which will
soon feature nearly 30 Habitat homes.
"Our mission work is outreach to those
who need us and our members can give
 |
| Darin Lickfeldt |
back to the community part of which
our Lord has given us," Husack comments. "Habitat homes are
long lasting missions that provide a real need for affordable
housing."
Veteran Coweta County volunteer and board
member Banks Glover began helping without possessing any construction
background.
"I learned everything from other volunteers
who were good teachers. Now I mainly teach others," Banks
explains. "People work together here. Take a look around,
and you'll see a bunch of gray hairs and teenagers. We've
developed a wonderful camaraderie with volunteers and the
homeowners.
"It's a pain to give up Saturdays," Banks
states honestly. "But if it's easy to give, it's not a sacrifice.
We're supposed to help other folks. This is a Christmas present.
We continue to do what we have to do, and it grows on you
and becomes a joy."
Local church youth groups and college
mission teams have helped to fortify volunteer forces in increasing
numbers. College commuter student Amy Kerlin, 19, first began
volunteering for Habitat with Southern Crescent Baptist Church
last November.
"It's actually really fun, we're having
a great time," gushes Amy excitedly, who brought her boyfriend
to help. "I carried in materials, helped my mom cook lunch,
helped with that closet over there. I recruited three people!"
The impact of Habitat for Humanity can
be seen through the satisfaction homeowners experience by
working to earn their treasured new homes.
"There are so many wonderful people in
this community that can have a hand up, not a hand out, from
this program," Susan reflects. "God has led me to serve Him
in this way, and I can't think of a better way to serve Him.
I feel like God has blessed me so much... it's only right
to give back." 
|
One Square Foot at a Time
by Jenny
Corsey
Fayette
County churches have recently formed Square Foot Ministry,
a non-denominational coalition designed to meet Fayette
County resident shelter needs, big or small. The houses
of worship work together to raise resources and recruit
volunteers to complete residential work projects ranging
from fixing plumbing to building an entire house. Board
member and co-founder Doug Higgins, from Fayetteville
First United Methodist Church, has observed "great response"
as the organization grows with vigor, almost a church
each month.
Doug
notes that Fayette County has needy folks just like
any other corner of the world, just perhaps not as many
as other places. "There's this stigma that there's no
need in a wealthy county. However, we have found that
there's a tremendous need for housing here in the county,"
Doug observes. "The surprising thing is that there is
need in Fayette County, one of the most affluent counties
in the nation. There's need everywhere, you just gotta
find it."
Square
Foot found that need right around the corner last fall.
More than 350 volunteers built a new 1,428 square foot
Fayetteville house for Ms. Claudette Star in a single
week.
"We
go out into the community and knock on doors. We network
to find out where the needs are," Doug details. "We
go out and look for people that are living in deplorable
conditions. And we find hopeless people who can't change
their own lives."
"This
was Claudette. She had accepted her fate. But we came
and saw her living conditions, thought it was an unacceptable
way to live, and offered our assistance to her."
"God
calls us to use our gifts to better the lives of others.
I feel like this is something that we're obligated to
do," Doug explains. "I'm a home builder by trade and
I've got to do what I'm good at - building houses and
providing shelter."
The
group aims to build at least three houses next year
in addition to several smaller projects. Voting members
from every participating church attend monthly board
meetings to determine the next projects.
"That's
another one of our goals, to do the small stuff not
just build a house," Doug resolves. "For every house
we build, our goal is to do 10 smaller projects."
"We've
come up with a list of people around the community with
repair needs, plumbing, ramps, water heaters, etc. Many
families are unable or unwilling to help."
Research
turned up an elderly Fayetteville woman, 90, who didn't
have running water for 20 years after her well dried
up. Square Foot installed a water line. Another woman
in her seventies was boiling water to take her nightly
baths because she couldn't afford to fix her water heater.
The
name Square Foot originated from a fundraiser, a main
source of income besides allocated funds from church
budgets and grants.
"We
took the floor plan of a house we planned to help build
and mapped it out on a big poster board," Doug remembers.
"We sold each square foot for $25 as a fundraiser. Then
we colored a square with each donation. It's a good
visual for everybody to see the progress."
|
