ENTERPRISE, AL - Board members of the Coffee County Habitat for Humanity, along with community partners, broke ground this week on the 10th Habitat house. Construction on the Gregory and Dorithea McNeal home on Nann Street in Enterprise will begin soon with volunteers and the help of Habitat's community partner for the home, the Sunrise Rotary Club. The city donated the property for the home with the Rotary Club sponsoring a dinner and auction last fall to raise funds to build the home.
"The $28,000 raised that night was possible because of the overwhelming support of the community," Board Chair Charlene Goolsby said. "We had 36 table sponsors and businesses and individuals donated everything from antique glasses to a Mexico hunting trip. To complete this and other Habitat homes, it takes the whole community working together and many volunteer hours donated from skilled and not-so-skilled volunteers. We appreciate any volunteer coming whether it's to clean a cabinet or sweep up to installing plumbing or electrical boxes."
Other organizations and churches have donated funds to help build some of the Habitat houses. In the next few weeks, Goolsby said the First Baptist Church of Enterprise is sponsoring a home for a family, whose home was destroyed by the March 1, 2007 tornado. Two more tornado victim's new Habitat homes will be sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church and another of Apostle Build, which is comprised of various churches and organizations. The Elba Rotary Club is also sponsoring a second Habitat home to be built in Elba.
A recent groundbreaking for a Habitat house was sponsored by the Recovery Organization of Coffee County. "We're planning to complete eight Habitat homes this year in Coffee County. Since 2000, we have broke ground on 10 homes, so we've got to get busy and we need more volunteers to help us in this effort. Many of the homes this year are for tornado victims and one recent home was dedicated to tornado victim Katie Strunk by the College Avenue Church of Christ. We continue to welcome organizations, businesses and individuals who see the real needs of people in having a decent home to live in," Goolsby said. "We are truly blessed to have the volunteers, organizations and caring individuals in Coffee County like we have."
The Sunrise Rotary Club members include Sam Boswell, Joel Ellis, Fred George, Steve Hicks, Michelle Mann, Joel Mikuta, Craig S. Pittman Jr., Gina Sutherland, Sandy Thacker, Derek Bynum, Bill Gammill, Charlene Goolsby, Ray Lewis, Dan McMillan, Russ McMillan, Kathy Sauer, Jerry Sweat and Danny Whitaker.
Habitat for Humanity International is a non-profit, Christian housing ministry that has chosen to witness to Jesus Christ's gospel of love and caring for those in need by putting faith into action. The mission of HFHI, as defined by its board of directors, is to work in partnership with God and people in need by building and renovating houses so that there are decent homes in decent communities in which people can live and grow into all that God intended. Habitat's goal is to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness.
Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity International, is quoted as saying, "I have always felt that a house is to a human family what soil is to a plant. You can pull a plant up out of the soil, pour all the water in the world on it, give it plenty of sunlight, and it will eventually die because it is not rooted. A family is like that. If a family is not rooted, it will not flourish. It will not grow, will not blossom. But once a family is well-rooted, all kinds of wonderful things will begin to happen."
Source: EpriseNow.com