Recipe for a Habitat Home
What makes a Habitat Home?
Ingredients:
2,500 volunteer hours
200-250 sweat equity hours from the future homeowner
Building materials
Donors and shoppers of the ReStore
Generous donors
DirectionsDirections: Mix all ingredients together and stir well. Watch house take shape and neighborhood come alive.
From individual and corporate volunteers, donors, family foundations, and faith groups, we cannot build without a strong community of support! Each of these entities brings a unique and important ingredient that is crucial to the creation of a Habitat Home. Read the stories below to learn more about the parts of a Habitat Home.
1. 2,500 volunteer hours
Volunteers are a vital part of the recipe of a Habitat home. On average, it takes 2,500 volunteer hours to build a Habitat house. Longtime volunteer, Terry Baughman, has seen firsthand the impact a home has on Habitat homeowners and their families. Upon retirement, Terry volunteered on a house sponsored by his company. One day turned into many on that house due to the encouragement of volunteer site lead, Ben Freudenreich. After that house was completed, Terry became a regular on our Tuesday and Thursday Crews for the past 15 years (including volunteering in Arizona and Mississippi while traveling). In addition to working with the families, Terry enjoys the friendships he has gained, the joy of seeing something take shape, and seeing the improvements being made to a home. “It really is a rewarding experience in so many ways. It makes you feel valued again.” Although his time volunteering has come to an end due to illness, we are so grateful for the time Terry has dedicated to Habitat over the years and the impact he has made alongside 118 families. For future volunteers, Terry advises, “Just give it a try, you’d be amazed at what you will learn.”
2. 200-250 sweat equity hours by the homeowner pursuing an affordable mortgage
Hannah is a 24-year-old Habitat Homeowner currently working on her 200-250 sweat equity hours. Reflecting on her journey to become a Habitat Homeowner Hannah said, "Not only does Habitat give me an affordable opportunity to be a homeowner, but I’m also learning so much along the way doing my sweat equity. From financial literacy to home maintenance to learning how to build the house itself, these things are something that will last a lifetime." Hannah is a recovering addict who has gone from living in a sober house to getting her first apartment. "These were all big steps for me but I want to be able to offer more for my son. I live in a one-bedroom apartment " Hannah said, "I so badly wanted to be able to give him his own room and a yard to play in like any kid would want but I just didn’t have the funds to be able to do that." Hannah's been dedicated to working towards her sweat equity hours as she waits for construction on her home to begin. "When Habitat accepted me that was some of the best news I had ever received," said Hannah. "I was so excited! I do a lot of community service here in Newark where I live although most of my hours are done in Columbus at the restore store or construction sites."
3. Building materials
Of course, we cannot build without the supplies to do so, from shingles to screws and lumber to landscaping the home structure takes place in raw materials. For almost 20 years now Royal Building Products (Previously Crane Plastics) has been a generous and steadfast donor to all Habitat homes and many repair projects. Their products help to make the homes we build and repair look great and be virtually maintenance-free for many years to come.
At last count, they have donated vinyl siding products for over 300 homes, and that gift is valued at well over a million dollars. Strong, local community partners like this help to make many dreams of homeownership come true! We are thankful to Royal for their commitment to our mission.
Of course, someone has to install all of that beautiful product! This is where our wonderful and talented volunteers come in. We estimate there have been 1.2 million nails driven by Habitat volunteers in order to fasten the siding to the exterior of the homes built and repaired. That is a LOT of swinging of hammers!
4. Donors and shoppers of the ReStore
Habitat Midohio has three local ReStores that bring in revenue towards our mission. At our Westerville ReStore location, 69.51% of our sales come from corporate donations. We are thankful for donors like Crow Works who help make sure our stores are well-stocked! Crow Works passion for giving comes from founders Dennis and Denise Blankemeyer. "Our passion is focused on supporting the communities in which we do business and making a positive environmental impact, no matter how big or small, said Crow Works founders Dennis and Denise Blankemeyer. "With Crow Works position in the commercial furniture market, we felt that Habitat would be a great partner to support through product donations that would be long-lasting and support the needs of Central Ohio families." Dennis and Denise said "It has been tremendously rewarding to hear the number of families supported through our donations. Crow Works is grateful for the opportunity to support Central Ohio families and is excited to continue this partnership for years to come."
Generous Habitat Donors
If the Habitat partner family is the flour to build a Habitat home, funders are the eggs that bind everything together. Each year Habitat receives donations from close to 800 unique individuals. Without the generosity of donors, we would not have the resources necessary to build and repair homes. Alan and Bobbie Weiler are shining examples of our generous Habitat donors. The Weiler's have fully sponsored 11 Habitat homes, giving 11 families the opportunity to grow and thrive. We are so thankful for the Weiler's continued support and love of our mission!
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