Habitat builds a place at the top
July 21, 2010 by KELSEY BYRD
Filed under Economy, News, Student Groups
Habitat for Humanity built a strong reputation in the construction world and was recently named number eight top builder on the 2009 Builder Top 100, jumping from number 11 in 2008.
“This is the first time Habitat has broken the top ten, considering everyone else is big corporate builder and we are just a non-profit organization,” said Cartter Fontaine, the public outreach director for Athens Habitat. “We don’t have the same amount of resources everyone else has.”
The list is published in “Builder,” a magazine that covers the construction world in the United States. Every year, Builder publishes a list of the previous year’s top builders based on total closings.
The mission of Habitat for Humanity is to provide help for low-income families in the form of affordable, sturdy homes.
Out of 70 Georgia affiliate chapters, Athens has one of the biggest. Athens Habitat builds an average of five houses every year for families in need and is working on a new project this year.
“We have built 70 houses in the past 20 years and are currently working on an apartment complex,” Fontaine said.
The apartment complex is being renovated and will be opening around 15 rooms for families in need.
“We do studies based on transportation, home owner rates in the neighborhood, proximity to school and grocery stores to determine where to find the best area to build homes within Clarke County,” said Spencer Frye, executive director for Athens Habitat for Humanity.
Operating for Clarke, Oglethorpe and Oconee counties, Athens Habitat gets volunteers, donations and help from schools, businesses and the local communities.
Every other year, the University’s Habitat chapter donates up to $35,000 to help the cause.
“The UGA chapter helps us build a home every other year,” Frye said. “I think it’s tremendous how University students fund raise for that.”
The University chapter raises money through several means, including a can drive, 5K race and the annual Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure.
One of the major events is the bike trek across the country. The race starts at Niagara Falls and ends in New Orleans, covering 2,500 miles. Bikers will average 70 miles per day and go for more than 50 days to rack up seven builder days.
“We think it’s important to have a certain amount of walkability for the lower income families,” Frye said. “The closer you are to your job center, where your children go to school and the closer you are to your grocery store, means the less you have to spend on fuel costs.”
The Athens Habitat for Humanity raises money all year round through several methods. One of the largest is their Restore location on Barber Street. People donate items to be cleaned up and resold for a incredibly low price. Along with free pickup, any donation to Restore is tax deductible.
“I think it’s pretty important at a time when the economy has created a gap between those who could afford homes, that we’re able to maintain our productivity at that rate,” Frye said. “A lot of our families have to make a choice between food on the table or their heating bills, and we try to lower those expenses as much as we can.”
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