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Graham Habitat for Humanity dedicates home to Anderson family

Tue, 08/25/2020 - 3:33 pm
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    Cinthia Anderson and her five children pose in front of their new house which was built with the Habitat for Humanity organization along with civic clubs and church volunteers. The home was dedicated to the family on Sunday after a presentation at Faith Center. (Leader photo by Thomas Wallner)
editor@grahamleader.com

Graham Habitat for Humanity dedicated their 16th home to the Anderson family Sunday with an open house at the newly built home on 223 Willow St. Despite COVID-19, the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity was able to build their annual home this year for Cinthia Anderson and her five children.

Executive Director Jimmy Guinn said both the local and national Habitat for Humanity organization chooses who receives the home based on their need, willingness to partner and ability to pay. Applicants fill out an application and the local organization has a family selection committee which reviews the applications. The willingness to pay qualification for those who apply relates to the mortgage payment on the home they might receive.

“Habitat requires that each one of our partner families to enter into a 20-year mortgage, so they are making mortgage payments just like those of us that own a home are doing here currently, but based on a verse in the old testament out of Exodus that says that when you are lending money to those in need you are not to charge interest. The preacher in 1976 (who started Habitat for Humanity) founded the program on that verse relating to our partner families to where that they are not charging any interest. That is what enables folks to break out of the rental cycle,” Guinn said.

The willingness to partner with the organization is related to what the organization calls “sweat equity.” Every partner family agrees to perform 300 hours of “sweat equity” volunteer work on other projects as well as for their own project.

“We require them to put in 100 hours before we ever even pour the slab (on their home) to see their willingness to work and so Cinthia since she was first notified I think around Thanksgiving, has put in her time and effort and hours enough for us to pour the slab and then she has put in the other 200 hours while we have been working on the house,” Guinn said.

For the rest of the story, see the Aug. 26 edition of The Graham Leader.