‘An exciting time for my family’: Volunteers pitch in to complete new Habitat home (with VIDEO)

Published 6:04 pm Thursday, May 10, 2018

Standing in what will be the living room area of her new Habitat for Humanity home, Brittany Mack, looks around and smiles.

“I can’t wait until it’s all finished,” Mack, 27, said. “It’s an exciting time for my family.”

Mack’s family includes a daughter and two sons who will live with her at the home on Tahoe Lane in Dalton. The house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

This is the 56th home built by Dalton-Whitfield Habitat for Humanity since the organization was established locally in 1987, marketing coordinator Raven Braud said. Habitat for Humanity is a global nonprofit that assists people in improving or building their home. Habitat for Humanity homeowners hep build their home along with volunteers and pay an “affordable mortgage,” according to the organization’s website.

In conjunction with National Volunteer Month and Wells Fargo’s eighth annual Community Service Super Saturday, team members volunteered with Dalton-Whitfield Habitat for Humanity recently. Wells Fargo District Manager Stacie Green said Super Saturday is just one way team members help build better communities in Dalton.

“For many of our team members, this is their favorite day of the year,” she said. “When we all come together for events like these, we are reminded that by working together, we can truly make a huge impact in our communities.”

Green presented a $15,000 check to Habitat officials to help build more homes.

“This is the most important thing we do,” Green said. “We have thousand of cities where Wells Fargo red shirts (employees) are out volunteering.”

Joshua Kinman, volunteer coordinator Habitat for Humanity of Dalton-Whitfield and Murray, said the money will be used on a new home they plan to start building at the end of this month.

Cassandra Cochran, a future Habitat homeowner, used “sweat equity hours” — time used to actually build the home — to help work on Mack’s house. Cochran explained that new homeowners can use hours for their homes or another family.

“We enjoy helping each other out,” Cochran said. “We all have the same goal of becoming homeowners.”

There were more than 30 volunteers at the local site and hundreds across the state. Braud said they appreciate Wells Fargo employees volunteering to help homeowners’ dreams come true.

“We’re happy to have volunteers out here helping,” Braud said. “They are continually helping with Habitat.”

Habitat selection committee selects homeowners based on their level of need, willingness to partner with Habitat and ability to repay a mortgage through an affordable payment plan, its website states.

“As part of their willingness to partner, Habitat’s homebuyers invest hundreds of hours of their own labor, called sweat equity, working alongside volunteers and other Habitat homeowners,” according to the website.

Mack said she’s grateful for an opportunity to help build her home.

“It means more when you’re actually involved and doing it than someone else building it for you,” she said. “I definitely recommend Habitat. I’m a single mom, applied and we got the house.”