For Immediate Release
Mary Gutman
Wilson High School
(843) 664-8440
(843) 664-8176 (fax)
mgutman@fsd1.org
Local Family to Receive New Home from Habitat for Humanity
(Florence, SC) Candice Jeffery has a great deal to smile about these days. As she goes about her work at the Morning News, she anticipates the day in late May when she and her two children will move into the new house on Sanborn Street that is being built by Habitat for Humanity. Ms. Jeffery grew up in the area, and the children’s grandmother lives only a couple of blocks away.
Florence District One is sponsoring Ms. Jeffery, a 1997 graduate of West Florence High School, and she couldn’t be more excited.
“I can’t wait to sit on the porch and let my children play in the yard,” she says. Alik, 12, is a student at Moore Middle School, and his sister Micala, who has special needs, attends McLaurin Elementary.
Playing outside certainly isn’t possible now. The small apartment where the family lives has no yard, and the traffic in her community makes even the parking lot unsafe. “This is not a place you raise your children,” she explains.
Habitat for Humanity, an international nonprofit Christian housing ministry, seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness altogether. With volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat manages to rehabilitate old houses and build new ones at an average cost of $65,000 in the United States. The houses are financed at low or no interest, and the house payments facilitate the building of new homes. Partner families also pay “sweat equity,” helping to build the homes of others in the program.
Ms. Jeffery first heard about the program through her Pastor, Clyde Odom of King of Kings Church of God. He suggested she apply, and she managed to get her application in just before the deadline. When she was asked to meet with other families at the library, she did not know that her family had been selected. She missed a Bible study for the occasion.
“Pray for me,” she told Pastor Odom.
Although groundbreaking took place in October, virtually all the building is yet to be done. There is much Ms. Jeffery doesn’t yet know about the house. Although she has seen pictures of houses, she isn’t certain which one will be hers. She also doesn’t know what colors will be in the house or whether she’ll have a laundry room.
“I’m glad teachers are involved,” she said. “I’ve seen some teachers’ houses, and they have good taste.”
Anyone can donate materials, labor, or funds toward the project. Interested parties may contact Shannon Copes, executive director of the Greater Florence Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, at (843) 665-1624 or the principal of any school in Florence District One.
Wilson High School and the Florence Career Center currently lead in donations to the project.
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RELAY FOR LIFE
April 24, 2009 at Freedom Florence
7 p.m. to 7 a.m.