EDITORIAL: Humanity at work

Posted 6/26/12

Volunteers are joining alongside Mountain Spirit Habitat for Humanity to build a home for Dustin and Eva Linton and their three young children. Work began on the East Madison Street home earlier this month, and the project will gain momentum this …

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EDITORIAL: Humanity at work

Posted

Community involvement crucial to construction of habitat home

In a quiet Powell neighborhood, an exciting project is under way.

Right now, it consists of a foundation, blueprints, the vision of volunteers and a young family’s hope for a home of their own. In the months to come, it will become just that.

Volunteers are joining alongside Mountain Spirit Habitat for Humanity to build a home for Dustin and Eva Linton and their three young children. Work began on the East Madison Street home earlier this month, and the project will gain momentum this week with the arrival of a team from Illinois.

Aiming to frame up, set trusses and sheet the house in one week, the group from Laurel United Methodist Church in Springfield, Ill., has arrived ready to work.

While the Illinois volunteers provide a great kick-start on the home build, opportunities exist for local residents to get involved financially or by volunteering.

Local churches are providing teams to work Saturdays at the site, but several weekends remain open.

Beginning July 12, work will start by 9 a.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, and volunteers can work for an hour or more each day as they’re able, according to Kenny Lee, executive director for Mountain Spirit.

It truly takes a community to build a Habitat for Humanity house.

From swinging a hammer to rolling paint to writing a check, this is a chance to show your support for Habitat for Humanity and its vision.

It’s important to note that getting a Habitat home is by no means a free ride. Families are selected on the basis of need, but also upon their willingness to partner and their ability to pay for the home. They must contribute “sweat equity” to the project — at least 500 hours of work and education as a Habitat partner. The house will be sold to the family with a no-interest loan and at no profit to Habitat.

House payments are then put back into the nonprofit’s “Fund for Humanity” to ensure more homes can be built in the future.

This is the first Habitat home built in Powell in more than five years, and we’re glad to see this project get off the ground.

It’s also good to see the nonprofit finding alternative funding sources in an economy that’s especially difficult for nonprofits dependent on donations. Last year, Mountain Spirit opened the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, selling donated building materials and other home supplies. That revenue stream helps sustain Habitat’s administration costs, freeing up more fundraising dollars for homes.

Park County is fortunate to have a strong Habitat for Humanity presence, as evidenced by the homes built and the lives changed for the better.

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