On Thursday afternoon, three families will celebrate reaching the most American of dreams — having a home to call their own.
A Habitat for Humanity of Greater Centre County dedication ceremony is scheduled to honor both the homeowners having safe and affordable housing, and the volunteers who gave more than 8,000 hours of their time and talent to the effort. Working hand in hand with HFHGCC volunteers, each homeowner has put many hours of their own “sweat equity” into the homes.
Over the years, more than 70 families have been placed in Habitat for Humanity homes in Centre County. The three newest homes are located in Bellefonte.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate our hard-working homeowners and the entire community that has made these houses become a home,” Stephanie Fost, HFHGCC’s executive director, said, “From the design phase to spreading grass seed, Centre County volunteers, businesses and organizations have been there to make a dream come true.”
One of the new homeowners, Kristen, told The Gazette that working with the nonprofit has been “a positive experience from start to finish.”
“It was life changing to be afforded the opportunity to buy a home in an area where homeownership is often out of reach,” she said. “Volunteering with the (HFHGCC) ReStore, while hard work, was always fun due to the wonderful staff and regular volunteers.”
She added, “Thank you to the entire Habitat team. What you do changes the lives of so many families for the better. Your hard work and dedication shows in everything you do.”
Another new homeowner, Emily, said she would continue to volunteer with the program to help others reach the dream of home ownership in the future.
“Without all the hard work and dedication of so many volunteers, this would never have been possible,” Emily said.
“It is definitely impossible to express how much gratitude I have for every single person who worked on this house.”
She added that it still doesn’t feel real that she will finally be a homeowner.
“At this point, it somewhat still feels like a dream and most times I can hardly believe that this house will be mine. I expect that I will feel joy and excitement when I enter my new home,” she said.
HFHGCC, the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, was incorporated in 1983 as a nonprofit builder of affordable homes in partnership with income qualified families, community volunteers and local businesses.
The nonprofit works on the belief that every human deserves an affordable, decent place to live and grow. HFHGCC offers a hand up, not a hand-out, to families with low to moderate incomes by building safe, affordable homes with those families and thousands of dedicated volunteers.
Homeowners are required to complete 350 hours of “sweat equity” and pay no interest over the life of their mortgage.
“Our mission is to work towards the availability of affordable housing for all living in greater Centre County and to stir the hearts and minds of others to take action on this issue,” Fost said. “Habitat, and the Centre County community, to date has built, renovated or repaired homes in partnership with more than 70 families. We work to build affordable homes, better lives, stronger families and safer communities through partnerships with people and organizations throughout Centre County.”
For more information about Habitat for Humanity of Greater Centre County, visit the website at www.habitatgcc.org, call (814) 353-2390 or email [email protected].
This story appears in the Sept. 22-28, 2022 edition of The Centre County Gazette.
