Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 27, 1990 TAG: 9005280157
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA A. SAMUELS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, a charitable organization that helps build houses for families who otherwise could not afford them, some 60 bank employees have been hammering, painting and plastering a house in Southeast Roanoke.
On one hot Saturday morning, 30 bank employees descended on the site. By noon the floor had been put in, by 3:30 the walls were up, and at 7:30 the roof was on - the fastest a Habitat for Humanity house in the Roanoke Valley has been put under roof.
They were building the house at the corner of Tayloe Avenue and Miami Street Southeast for Pauline Moore and her family. Moore, who works for Deerfoot Co., a jacket manufacturer, will be able to buy the house at a significantly lower price than she might otherwise have to pay. Moore currently lives with her two sons in the Lansdowne housing project.
Just next door, members of the Roanoke Regional Homebuilders Association were putting up another Habitat for Humanity house for Judy Caldwell and her family. Caldwell and her two sons are living with an elderly woman she takes care of.
The volunteer projects have inspired some good-natured rivalry between the Dominion Bank employees and the Homebuilders Association members.
"I wish it would rain and slow those guys down," said Dominion branch manager Bob Kahle, looking over the homebuilders' work.
Although Kahle got his wish and it did rain that day, the house is expected to be completed in June or July. Dominion Bank's house will be finished by the end of May.
These are the newest houses Habitat for Humanity has sponsored in the Roanoke Valley. Both are three-bedroom, one-bathroom homes, and Habitat has bought 10 more lots for new homes in Southeast Roanoke.
A family that gets one of the houses, which are expected to be worth about $30,000 each, must make a down payment of $500 and pay a 20-year no-interest mortgage. Family members are also required to put in 300 hours of work on their own house and other Habitat homes - what Habitat calls "sweat equity."
Olivia LaMotte, chairwoman of Habitat for Humanity in the Roanoke Valley, said dozens of people apply for each house, and a local selection committee chooses who gets it.
"The only national guidelines we have to follow is that we will build houses that are simple and sell them with no interest and no profit," she said. Habitat uses the money from mortgage payments and private donations to fund its program.
The bank employees were enthusiastic about the Habitat project.
Samuel Highfill, an area manager for Dominion, came up with the idea for the project. "We're always looking for new things to do in the community," he said.
Dominion Bank allowed its employees a day off with pay on weekdays to work on the house - the first business in Roanoke to do so.
Everyone has been more than willing to work, Highfill said, and building a Habitat house may become an annual project. "You're stiff and you're sore, but you feel so good," he said.
Branch manager Kahle said, "Bankers aren't used to manual labor, let me assure you." But when he showed one of Moore's sons his room-to-be, "the look on his face made it all worthwhile."
Denise Alphin, a Dominion training specialist who was itching all over from contact with fiberglass insulation, was also in good spirits. "You know you're really changing somebody's life," she said.
The homebuilders were equally enthusiastic about the project.
"I felt this type of program was an excellent way to give back to the community," said Steven S. Strauss, the association's president.
Strauss' construction agency had been involved in another Habitat project. When he became president of the association, one of his goals was to get the association involved in more civic activities. The homebuilder's association plans to build a house a year for Habitat, donating all materials and labor.
Korey Moore, Pauline Moore's 13-year-old son, has already chosen his room. "Habitat for Humanity is a great way for people to get houses," he said. His mother said, "I'd like to give thanks and glory to God because He made all this possible by touching people's hearts."
Travis Caldwell, the 10-year-old son of Judy Caldwell, said the best thing about getting a new house was "moving into someplace big," even though he said he'll have the smallest room.
Habitat for Humanity was founded by Millard Fuller and has been renovating and building houses since 1969. Although Habitat is a worldwide Christian organization, the family selection method is non-discriminatory.
by CNB