FAmily REuNION

Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity Celebrates 20 Years Building Hope

n 1991, Concordia College Pastor Phil Holtan attended a Peace Prize forum with former President Jimmy Carter. Carter championed the impressive work done by Habitat for Humanity around the globe. An inspired Holtan swiftly formed a Habitat campus chapter at Concordia College. The outpouring of community support was overwhelming and on June 1 of that same year, Habitat for Humanity International officially adopted Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity as the 609th Habitat affiliate in the United States.

Twenty years and 40 homes later, Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity is honoring the true and honest work of past and present volunteers, partner families, board members, and community supporters. They’ll reunite at a Family Reunion picnic at Rheault Farm on July 21.

Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity symbolically acquired its first home in 1991 from the Fargo Park District for $1. Three months later, a Fargo family moved into the home with a nointerest mortgage. In 2010, that first Habitat partner family paid off the mortgage.

According to Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity’s executive director Shirley Dykshoorn, the number of applications from potential Habitat partner families has grown by 10 percent each of the last four years. During the

2010 application period, 150 requests were submitted and five partner families became Habitat homeowners.

“Each adult who lives in a Habitat home must complete 250 hours of sweat equity. They build other Habitat homes, help at the ReStore, and work at the Habitat office,” said Dykshoorn. “We’re giving families the opportunity to become successful homeowners and pay back a mortgage. These homes are definitely a hand up, not a hand out. Our families attend homeowner education classes to prepare for the responsibility of becoming new homeowners.”

ReStore

The Habitat ReStore, located in North Moorhead, is a gift to Habitat families and the community. The building materials donated from businesses and individuals in the community have increased the total number of Habitat homes built each year from an average of one to two per year before the ReStore to four or five a year with the help of the ReStore. Last year alone, the Habitat ReStore diverted almost one million pounds of construction material from local landfills.

Volunteers need not swing a hammer to give back to Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity. They can donate, shop, or volunteer at the Habitat ReStore or consider a monetary donation to the organization. A “Women Build” event is planned for the summer of 2011 and women volunteers are requested. (The FM Derby Girls built the shed for the house already!) More information is at lakeagassizhabitat.org.

“My greatest joy is the dedication ceremony with the family once their home is built,” said Dykshoorn. “I especially enjoy the reactions of the children. They talk about how proud they are to have a house and how they can now ride their bike in their neighborhood. They’re thrilled to invite friends over after school, decorate for the holidays, and have their own bedroom. The outpouring of appreciation and gratefulness from the family is memorable.”[AWM]

WRITER: COURTNEY WEATHERHEAD

PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED BY: MSUM NURSING STUDENTS