Helping to build a home
Liberty’s Habitat for Humanity club assists potential Lynchburg homeowners
This time next year, another family in Lynchburg can call themselves homeowners. The Johnson’s, thanks to the work of Liberty University’s Habitat for Humanity club, will begin to see their home-owning dream become a reality Oct. 8.
SERVE — Members of Habitat for Humanity help fundraise the cost of the house currently being built. Photo provided
The “Liberty House,” as deemed by Greater Lynchburg Habitat for Humanity, is the very first home that will be built in its entirety by members of Liberty University. Volunteers are welcome and donations are needed to help fund the building of this house. Each Habitat for Humanity home costs $60,000 to build and so far $35,000 have been raised for this home according to Alison Pettit, the faculty advisor for Habitat for Humanity at Liberty.
“If each student gave $5, we’d be done,” Pettit said. “We would actually have money left over to start a second house.”
Upon construction, Habitat for Humanity will have finished 291 houses in the Lynchburg area. The 1,200 square foot house will have four bedrooms, two baths and be located at 3229 Maryland Ave. Crystal Johnson, the home buyer, has two children and will also live with her sister and her child.
Each applicant, including Johnson, undergoes a screening process, takes a financial literacy course and learns how to take care of their home. The potential homeowners must also work 300 “sweat equity” hours on their home and another home so they can learn the value of the house and helping others. These steps must be completed before they can officially own a house.
“I want this to be where we build this house then we start our next one,” Pettit said. “I don’t want this to be just a one time thing. The students are great and I know they want to help out in the Lynchburg community.”
When finished, these homes are very beautiful according to Donna Vincent, the executive director of Habitat for Humanity for the Greater Lynchburg area. She thanked the volunteers and donors for all their hard work and gifts to make these homes possible.
Habitat for Humanity is a Christian non-profit that operates based on Christian principles. They also operate as loan originators where accepted applicants finance their homes through zero percent interest loan with Habitat for Humanity. Though Liberty has partnered with Habitat for Humanity in the past, it officially became a Student Government Association (SGA) club in September 2014.
A great deal of the supplies comes from construction companies and funding comes from many avenues such as local businesses, organizations, schools and churches. One church, Mountain View United Methodist Church in Forest gave $5,000 to this project. The SGA helps provide some of the funding, but it is not enough to finish the building of a house.
Students can support the cause by attending a Halloween bowling night hosted by the Habitat for Humanity club Oct. 29. Tickets are pre-sold and are $10 for bowling from 7-9 p.m. at AMF Bowling Co. Tickets can be purchased in Pettit’s office located in the College of General Studies.
Students are also encouraged to help with their hands. During Fall Break, Oct. 8 and 9, up to 30 students are needed to work from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the house. The next construction day occurs Oct. 24 and 20 people are needed. For more dates, information to join the club and any questions about Liberty’s Habitat for Humanity club, please contact Alison Pettit at adpettit@liberty.edu.
To learn more about what Habitat for Humanity is doing in the local area, visit lynchburghabitat.org.
Pierce is a feature reporter.