With the help of a couple of Clarkston churches, Pontiac resident Kenyotta Gilmore will be realizing the dream of home ownership this Saturday.
That day, Gilmore will receive keys to her new home on 27 South Tasmania in Pontiac. The project was coordinated by Habitat for Humanity of North Oakland, with members of Clarkston Community Church and St. Daniel Catholic Church in Clarkston lending volunteer assistance.
In addition, DaimlerChrysler provided the majority of financial support for the project, according to Bob Hadden, youth ministry director at St. Daniel.
A press release by Habitat for Humanity of North Oakland describes the organization as “a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian organization that provides simple, decent housing to families in need.”
The affiliate has built 33 houses in Oakland County to date. Homes are sold to qualified families at no profit, financed with no-interest loans. In addition to making monthly mortgage payments, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor, known as sweat equity, into building their houses and the houses of others.
Keith Woodman, chairman of the Missions Committee at Clarkston Community Church, stated the amount of money needed to get started on a Habitat project is $50,000. He noted the church had talked to Habitat “some years ago,” and Habitat representatives informed the church they would need the $50,000 to get started.
According to Woodman, the church didn’t have that kind of money to raise, so they held off for the time being. However, they would have another opportunity last year, with the help of St. Daniel.
“St. Daniel Catholic Church, more recently, had been talking to local churches about pooling together to raise the $50,000,” Woodman said. “We took them up on that offer, and the two of us went in together, and the rest of the money came from DaimlerChrysler.”
According to Hadden, the groundbreaking for the project began last summer, and each church spent a number of weekends working on the home, under the supervision of a Habitat representative.
Other churches, organizations and people gave their time, talent and financial assistance to the project. They are as follows: Genesis Church of Rochester Hills, Christ the Redeemer Church of Lake Orion, Starbucks in Milford, GM Worldwide Facilities, architecture students from Lawrence Tech, friends and family of Gilmore, and individual friends and supporters of Habitat.
Pastor Greg Henneman of the Clarkston Community Church, chairman of the Clarkston Pastors’ Association, is hoping the recently completed Habitat project isn’t a one-shot deal.
“We’re talking about rallying the Clarkston community to build a Habitat house each year,” he said.
Henneman hopes local churches and civic organizations, along with the help of local volunteers, will come together to make that happen.
The first planning meeting is Monday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Church of the Resurrection on Clarkston Road, across from the Independence Township Library.