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Habitat House Dedicated
by Sally Carswell
Three bedrooms, living room, and kitchen
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On a sunny April 6, Madison County Habitat for Humanity dedicated its nineteenth house since its founding in 1989. The family, a single mother from Madison County and her two young sons, will move in as soon as the final inspection is complete.
Joe Vogler, local Habitat board member and volunteer construction supervisor, thanked Mars Hill College students and many others for their time and effort in helping build the house in Mars Hill.
"The sororities have given their time to work on the house. Delta Zeta in particular has been very active," said Vogler. Beverly-Hanks real estate agency also helped. More than 70 agency employees put something into the house, said Real Estate Agent Alice Miller.
Beverly Hanks also provided a number of things such as landscaping that Habitat for Humanity could not provide. Other volunteers came from Grace Covenant Baptist Church in Asheville.
The dedication opened with a prayer thanking God "for the opportunity to gather…and celebrate this joyous occasion." A crowd of about 30 people prayed for protection for the family and to "let them feel God's presence in this new home and fill their hearts with joy and contentment." A passage from the Bible was recited which summed up the mood of the dedication.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young-
a place near your alter,
O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
-Psalm 84:3-4
At the end of the dedication, the family was presented with a Bible and the key to the new house from the Madison County Habitat board.
While they wait for the final inspection, Habitat volunteers will be busy painting the exterior of the house yellow with green shutters. "It's a house that's going to be around for a very long time," said Vogler.
The new owner's two sons eagerly inspected their rooms, which are right next to each other. The boys had wanted a secret passageway between their rooms, and they got one.
They are also excited about having a forest in their back yard. The oldest, an avid turtle lover, announced that he plans to build a turtle farm when the family moves in. Unsure of exactly what that entails, his mother nevertheless said she is ecstatic that they will have yard of their own.
Joe Vogler, construction foreman
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Vogler noted that the new owner had recruited friends and family to do volunteer work on the house, and their labor combined with her own totaled more than 400 hours. "She has taken incredible initiative," Vogler said.
To qualify for a Habitat home, a family must show a specific level of need, but more importantly, family members must be willing to put several hundred hours of "sweat equity" into the house by working on the construction themselves and recruiting others to volunteer labor. They pay off the dollar cost over time through an interest-free mortgage.
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