Rice County Habitat for Humanity

"I can finally invite my friends over to our house!"

"We can get a dog!"

"My kids respect me more."

"We're healthier, I get a good night's sleep and I have a reason to get things done."

These are just some of the things our partner families and their children have said about having a home of their own. Children are proud to invite their friends over; families can finally get a pet; children see the hard work it takes to achieve homeownership and they respect their parents for it.

Numerous studies show the benefits of homeownership, but let us share a story...

Dave and Brenda Hardie were renting a home that was soon to be torn down by the city. Dave had just been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Their two sons were struggling with the uncertainty of their future. Life seemed dark until Habitat offered a hand up out of their situation. Now, seven years later, their oldest son graduated from college and has a job. Their youngest son is happily enjoying fifth grade. The Hardie family volunters regularly on our job site. And, they still have their dog they were able to adopt when they moved into their own house!

Simply put - homeownership changes the lives of our partner families - and for our volunteers, too! Great joy comes from working hard to shingle a roof, paint a wall or plant a tree. Come and see the great work you can do with Habitat!

Rice County Habitat for Humanity partners with families to realize the dream of home ownership by joining with them to build simple, decent, affordable homes. Our ability to succeed depends upon compassionate people like you who give of their time and resources. We are fortunate to be a growing organization. Chartered in 1991, we built our first house in 1993. Until 2005 we built one home a year in Rice County. Then we went to two houses a year with generous support with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. In the summer of 2009 we built three houses and in 2010 we did four houses. In 2011 we built four houses and added a new community (Morristown). We look forward to 2012 when we'll partner with five families for new construction and A Brush With Kindness program.

Homeownership enhances our community in so many ways. Not only do the lives of our partner families improve but the lives of hundreds of volunteers are changed. For our partner families their dignity is strengthened, the grades of children improve, there's less truancy and delinquency and voter registration increases among adults. Our volunteers build community, they live their faith and see first hand the fruits of their labor.

Learn more about Rice County Habitat for Humanity by visiting our web page: www.habitatricecounty.org