THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 28, 1995 TAG: 9509260112
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
The last nail had been hammered; the last socket wired.
After seven months of construction, the only thing left was for the new owner to move in.
So on Sept. 17, Clara ``Topsy'' Jackson and her family officially set up housekeeping in their new 1,100-square-foot Habitat for Humanity home in Lamberts Point.
On hand to watch the move on that rainy Sunday afternoon were many of the 200 Old Dominion University students and other area volunteers who built the house.
``That was when it finally hit us that we really did this,'' said Sandra Adams, an ODU student who serves as a coordinator of the school's Habitat for Humanity chapter.
Last February, after raising $30,000, the ODU chapter began construction on the home, located at 38th Street and Bluestone Avenue, just a few blocks from the campus. It was the group's first Habitat project.
Although organizers had hoped to complete work by the summer, at times volunteer turnout was sparse.
``The goal here is really to get people involved and do a good job, rather than getting the house done fast,'' said a construction supervisor, Marc Smiley.
Eventually, with the help of a wide range of community volunteers - including ones from First Lutheran Church of Norfolk, several Girl Scout troops and crews from a number of Navy ships - the students completed the project just in time for school to begin.
In the end, ``We were really pleased how it all came out,'' noted Adams. ``And we're so glad that Topsy could be the homeowner. She started working on the home as a volunteer before she had any idea that she'd end up getting it.''
A renter in Lamberts Point, Jackson began helping with the home's construction not long after the groundbreaking. As an employee of M.K. Garrett Construction, she has also worked on numerous other Habitat homes in the area.
But when this one became available in her own back yard, she decided to apply for ownership. The students were ``thrilled'' that someone so deserving would be their new ``neighbor.''
``We've grown to love her to death,'' said Adams.
The students chose the Lamberts Point neighborhood as the site for a Habitat home because they wanted to show area residents they could be ``good stewards,'' the student coordinator added.
``Lamberts Point is our close neighbor, and a lot of students live there. But a lot of times they're not always the best stewards. We wanted to show the neighborhood that we could be good neighbors.''
In order to build Jackson's two-story, two-bedroom home on 38th Street, the chapter had to raise the $30,000 before construction began. Now, they're already planning fund-raising activities for a second home. Like their first, the second will be located in Lamberts Point.
``We hope to begin building by next fall,'' said Adams, who works out of the school's Wesley-Westminster house. ``Right now, we're trying to find a church or other college group to serve as our building partner.''
In the meantime, the students, still flush with enthusiasm from the first project, are working on several other Habitat and rehabilitation projects in the area. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by LAWRENCE JACKSON
Clara ``Topsy'' Jackson takes the keys to her new home from David
Brown, supervisor of the Lamberts Point Habitat for Humanity
project.
KEYWORDS: HABITAT FOR HUMANITY by CNB