Some of you may be aware of what SweatEquity is all about. As for the rest of you, it is when you are chosen to get a house built by "Habitat for Humanity". This is a great honor. Your mortgage is 20 years and 0% interest. Yes, 0% interest! You have to meet certain criteria in order to qualify and put in 350 "SweatEquity" hours. These are hours that you and your family (over the age of 14) spend volunteering with "Habitat for Humanity"; you are then known as a "Partner Family". You learn how to build a home from the ground up. It is truly a rewarding experience. We have learned so much in so little time. We have only been partnered with Habitat for a month now. However, we have met some of the nicest people and learned how to cut, mud, and hang drywall. We have walked onto a floor that was on concrete blocks and actually raise the walls of a house. Once you do this as a family it really lets everyone see what goes into their home. This includes the blood (not much), sweat (plenty!!!) and tears. LOL We are rather unique because we are the third family for this particular house that is already under roof. You have to put in those hours - it's not a lot to ask of a family for the deal that you are getting. Also, remember that the houses are put together by volunteers from all over the United States. I was very surprised to see the amount of people that volunteer as well as whom some of them actually are. You may have a teacher on one side of you and a doctor on the other. It is truly amazing to see all of these people helping you and others. If you have the chance to volunteer with “Habitat for Humanity” or donate to them, please do so. Everything that you do is genuinely appreciated. In our county there are only 3 “paid” Habitat employees. However, there are people that are on the following committees: Family Selection, Board of Directors, Church Relations, Family Nurture, Construction/Site Development, Volunteer, Finance/Fundraising, and Public Relations Committees. As you can imagine that is a large amount of people from all walks of life in the community that volunteer their time and efforts for this organization. I have lived in this town most of my life and had never realized the impact of this organization or the out pouring of help that it receives.
Later I will put some pictures of the houses that we work on in different phases. It is even more rewarding to see your children cleaning up, nailing, or smiling because they are learning something that will hopefully change their lives forever. One of the reasons for the “SweatEquity” is that if something tears up in your home or if you decide to change something or get a hole in the wall you can fix it yourself and have the knowledge and confidence that it takes to complete such task.
There is suddenly a living room full of children. There will be more about this in the coming weeks as well as advise and things that we have learned on clearing your credit and learning to make the correct choices daily. Thanks for reading and may God bless your family!! |
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