Families, friends, and members of the Habitat for Humanity of Boone and Greene Counties board of directors were present for dedications and celebrations at three Helping Hand projects Sunday, Oct. 27.
Helping Hands is an off-shoot of Habitat for Humanity’s homebuilding projects. Rather than constructing an entire house, Helping Hands projects focus on assisting homeowners who, for a variety of reasons, have been unable to complete necessary maintenance projects.
Kris Carrick, whose home on S. Olive Street in Jefferson was one of the projects, explained that she was able to pay for the needed materials, but that adding the cost of labor made projects out of her reach financially.
Carrick’s primary concern had been replacing a pair of ground level windows. The Helping Hands project included painting the front of the house and putting new vinyl siding on three sides, rehabilitating the deck, and putting siding and a new walk-out door on the detached garage.
Work on Rosemary Hall’s home on S. Oak Street in Jefferson included a new roof and painting the house, new shingles and new paint on the detached garage, and new shingles on a shed.
In Churdan, the home of Larry and Doris Gilbertson on Sand Street also got an exterior make-over with repair work on the siding and windows, a new coat of paint, and new front steps. A shed was also re-roofed and painted.
In the Helping Hands project, homeowners are eligible for a zero-interest loan for materials. They must also work with the volunteer crews who work on their house, or find others to fill the “sweat equity” obligation. Work bees were held on Saturdays throughout the summer, with Habitat’s Carpenters Club working on Thursdays as well.
Pastor Dan Emmert, a member of the Habitat board, read from Scripture and offered prayers at the dedications. “There’s so much to love about what has happened with these projects,” he said at the Carrick celebration. “More than repairs to a house, there’s a new sense of community whenever a Helping Hands project is completed…A new connection, a new constellation of people come together.”
The Helping Hands project is loosely modeled after a program by the same name that was in place in Greene County for many years. The original Helping Hands volunteer organizers eventually affiliated with Habitat for Humanity. Habitat has brought back the smaller home repair projects as a way to reach more people and have a greater impact in rural communities. According to Erich Kretzinger, Habitat for Humanity of Boone and Greene Counties executive director, Helping Hands has become a model that is being replicated at several places around the country.
Mark your calendars now for Habitat for Humanity’s second Nativity Festival Sunday, Dec. 8, at St Joseph Parish Center in Jefferson. Also, the board will soon begin planning 2014 Helping Hands projects. Contact Kretzinger at @hfhbg.org for information or call 515-423-1168.
