Plans Begin for 53rd Habitat Home

Posted 8-17-10

While the finishing touches are being completed on our final home for 2010, we begin to focus on our fifty-third home to be built in the Wausau area.

As reported earlier this year, we have suspended our high school building partnership for now, so the next house will probably be built on site. A stick-built home requires more volunteer hours, but we have experience in this building style because three of our four Thrivent Builds homes were constructed in this manner.

Right now we have several tasks to complete related to this home. First, we must choose a recipient family who presently resides in substandard housing but has the financial ability to pay the property taxes and the monthly, zero interest mortgage payments.

Once the 53rd family is located, we can begin the process of designing a home that best meets their needs. At that time, we also need to find a suitable building lot because the layout of the parcel may determine how the house plans are configured.

Donations for this home are already being accepted. A millwork company has offered to provide all of the windows as called for in the new design. We have a commitment from County Materials to furnish the 25 yards of concrete for the foundation. There may be grant money to help pay for some of the framing lumber.

The loss of the generous benefactor who funded our high school building partnership means that we must work harder to acquire the dollars and the materials to continue our mission, but we must keep building more homes. There are so many families in our area depending on us!

HFH Completes its Second Home of 2010

Habitat for Humanity volunteers have been busy working to finish their second home of the summer of 2010. In July we completed and Dedicated a home located at 1631 Becher Drive in Wausau. That family has now moved into their new home and is busy getting the grass to grow and enjoying their new surroundings. The Dedication Ceremony was held on July 25, was attended by over 40 people who wished the family well as they became a new homeowner in our community.

Our second Dedication will take place on Sunday, August 22nd at 7812 Volkman Street in Rothschild. This location is just south of the intersection of Weston Avenue and Volkman Street. The four bedroom home was approved for occupancy on August 12th by the Building Inspector and received its final cleaning on August 14th. It is now ready for our family.

Habitat partner families own their home and pay a mortgage held by the local HFH Affiliate. Like other homeowners they pay a monthly amount for principal payment which also includes an amount for escrowed taxes and insurance costs. Most HFH mortgages are 20-25 years in length.

Habitat partner families also must contribute 300 hours of "sweat equity". Of that amount 150 hours must be directly involved in the construction of their house. Our Volkman partner family has met that requirement. They worked alongside our regular volunteers and put in additional time developing their lot.

On August 22nd we invite you to join us for the short Dedication Ceremony and an "Open House". After the program the family will set-up some refreshments for everyone. The home will be open for inspection beginning at 12:30 PM that day. Habitat for Humanity invites the community to join us as we celebrate another family becoming a homeowner.

Our work-day attention is now focused on our house at 4906 Ross Avenue. Recently we erected the garage and will be putting on the roof, front porch, and finishing the interior during the next month.

One big upcoming activity will be the landscaping of the lawn. We always look for lots of help with this process and it has become a favorite activity of some of our volunteers. Our plans are to do this activity in early September. If you are interested in participating please let DuWayne Kleinschmidt know at 675-2587. The job goes quite quickly if enough people help.

If you are interested in volunteering please contact us through our website or call and leave at message at our office at 848-5042.

Thank you for your support of Habitat for Humanity.

Sincerely,

Berland Meyer
Habitat for Humanity Wausau WI
Construction Coordinator

Volunteer Opportunities with
Habitat for Humanity - Wausau, WI

Want to help Habitat? Join us on the following dates and times:

We'll be building at our Ross Avenue house site each Thursday and Saturday through September. Workdays begin at 8:00 AM. Please dress for the weather. Sturdy shoes are required - no sandals. Worksite age restrictions apply.

All HFH Worksite are "No Smoking"

(Please note that build day locations may change based on need and weather conditions)

Habitat for Humanity Wausau WI
P.O. Box 1372
Wausau, Wisconsin 54402

The Habitat Auction took place on Saturday,
April 17th, 2010

Thank you to all who volunteered and all who participated!