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By Linda F. Jarrett
Last March, when crews arrived early
at the Habitat for Humanity construction site to prepare for the 2004 Blitz Build, their hearts sank. Overnight, thieves had cut into the roofs of each of the seven trailers holding power tools and other materials, stealing over $20,000 in equipment. Damage to the trailers was $10,000.
Kimberly McKinney, executive director for Habitat for Humanity St. Louis, says, “We suffered the worst theft we’ve had in Habitat history. Everything of value that could be sold on the streets was gone.”
Undaunted, the organization’s sponsors, as well as numerous individuals, pulled together to replace the stolen goods. As a result, 20 families received the keys to their new town homes in the JeffVanderLou (JVL) neighborhood (near N. Grand Avenue and Montgomery Street) on Sept. 18.
Habitat for Humanity St. Louis is one of more than 1,800 worldwide affiliates of Habitat for Humanity International. Founded in 1976, Habitat and its affiliates in 92 nations have built and sold more than 160,000 homes to families, offering no-profit, 0-percent mortgages. In St. Louis alone, Habitat has built 165 homes since 1988.
Habitat has done three “Blitz Builds” which differ from the regular projects in that homes are completed, inside and out, in 12 to 15 days. The 2004 JVL Blitz Build, dubbed “Hope Square,” was a partial blitz. All exterior work, floor to roof, was finished in eight days, from July 10 to July 17. But volunteers and homeowners then worked every Saturday during August, completing the interiors.
While Habitat builds homes every year, it is not always a blitz, McKinney says. “When we do a blitz, we are asking for support above and beyond what we do every year,” she says.
Hope Square is the organization’s first contiguous block of homes, the first offering two-story town homes, and boasts the most homes ever built at one time. Between 600 and 800 volunteers worked each day during the blitz, and area businesses and community and religious organizations sponsored homes, providing construction funds and labor.
Rick Sullivan, CEO of McBride and Son Homes, is an RCGA board member who also serves on the Habitat board of directors.
“It is, to me, one of the most rewarding experiences that I have ever enjoyed,” Sullivan says. “You see the home. You know the family that’s moving in. There are a lot of organizations where you can be active, be on the board and help raise money, but seldom do you get to see the whole process completed like you do here.”
John Castagno, vice president and tax controller for Anheuser-Busch Cos., is the volunteer chairperson of financial planning for Habitat. “These are people who never thought they would own a house,” he says. “During the blitz, we had volunteers ranging from 15-year-old kids to retired senior citizens working in the hot sun, then going home and saying, ‘This is the greatest experience of my life.’”
Castagno says Habitat volunteers have the opportunity to see the results of their generosity firsthand. “We have the opportunity to work side by side with the people who are going to live in the house,” he says. “That’s a great experience, particularly for young people, because it’s a feeling that will stay with them the rest of their lives.”
Commerce Bank has sponsored four homes on different builds. Dee Joyner, senior vice president and director of organizational development and community relations for Commerce Bank, says, “One of the things that we like is that it is such a hands-on experience. We’ve had about 140 employees volunteer over the course of the build. Seeing the results of your efforts gives everyone involved a good feeling.”
Smurfit Stone Container Corporation also sponsored a Hope Square home. George Langstaff, director of marketing, says meeting the families involved and understanding the impact Habitat has on their lives makes the work unique. “You also are working side by side with coworkers on a different level,” he says. “Titles go away when you’re out there. You see our CFO hanging siding alongside someone from the packing line.”
Habitat home applicants must meet criteria such as not having declared bankruptcy in the past three years, having a steady income, and must be living in substandard housing. Families are chosen on the basis of need and ability to repay the home cost.
Homes average $77,000 and, for a down payment, families work a minimum of 450 “sweat equity” hours on other homes besides their own. They may also fulfill this requirement by completing classroom credit hours or working at the Habitat ReStore, which sells recycled building materials to the public.
McKinney says homeowners usually discover their house payment, which averages $325, is less than what they were paying for rent. “Many homeowners are paying $400 to $500 in rent without utilities,” she says.
 Marci Donkin, pediatric nurse practitioner,
St. Louis Children’s Hospital, pitched in for Habitat’s Women Build Project. |
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Lowe’s Home Improvement sponsored a house in conjunction with Habitat’s Women Build Project, which helps women learn construction skills. Women have built over 350 Habitat houses nationwide. Dave Foster, store manager of the Kirkwood Lowe’s, says while all Lowe’s stores have had a long relationship with Habitat, the JVL Blitz was a first-time experience for the Kirkwood store.
“We got involved when the theft occurred in the spring,” he says. “We met the couple whose home we were building. It gives you a great feeling just to hear them talk about it and realize that, even though they’re about my age, this is the first home they’ve had—and we had a part in helping them realize that dream.”
Debbie Siewing, district manager with Starbucks, says her company became involved in Habitat last year. “We feel strongly about this organization because it upholds our mission statement and guiding principals,” she says. “You get a sense of accomplishment by making a difference in people’s lives.”
The Garden Lady
When the Clinton Peabody public housing development was demolished in 1997, Tiffani Hall, her son Nicholas, 6, and daughter, Aniya, 5, moved into a much smaller apartment. In the quest to own her own home, Tiffani applied for a Habitat for Humanity home in 2002.
As a medical transcriptionist, Tiffani did not have much experience in homebuilding. To prepare for her “sweat equity,” she took a construction class onsite. “I learned how to paint, hammer, lay flooring, a little of everything,” she says.
On Sept. 20, she received the keys to her new house and is now looking forward to getting new furniture and creating her own flower garden.
Another Habitat dweller is Valerie Rayford, a substitute teacher for the
St. Louis Public Schools. She and her
children, Eli and Kristin, have lived in a Habitat home in Hamilton Heights
since 1999.
“I painted my own home,” she says. “The kids and I were involved in everything, from hammering to sawing. But they showed us how to do it right.”
Now, her children have their own bedrooms and she has her own garden. “They call me ‘The Garden Lady.’ I love to work in it and pull weeds.” |
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