HAMLET — As Habitat for Humanity of the N.C. Sandhills prepares to dedicate its latest Richmond County home, the group is seeking volunteers for its next project.
Amie Fraley, executive director, said the house on Raleigh Street in Hamlet is a “recycled home” that was sold back to Habitat and will be purchased by Amber Baldwin.
Fraley said the previous homeowner’s family has grown and they purchased a property with a larger parcel of land.
“They were very happy with their Habitat home and are excited to know another Habitat family will soon own it,” Fraley said.
She added that the group is expected to complete the project late in the summer, and that there are volunteer opportunities available May 13-15, 18 and 20-22.
“We still struggle to find enough volunteers to carry out our projects, and have the ability to do more if we can garner the helping hands,” Fraley said.
On June 17, Habitat will livestream dedications in three counties 10 minutes apart — one of them being a home on Westfield Drive in Rockingham.
Fraley said work started on the home for Aurilla Shaw, a single mother of three children, in August of 2020.
Shaw, like all Habitat recipients, won’t get the house for free.
She will be buying it “with a guaranteed affordable mortgage,” according to Marketing and Communications Manager Stacy Lebak. Shaw will also have to put in 300 hours of “sweat equity” by spending time on Habitat worksites.
Several local churches — including Freedom Baptist and First United Methodist Church and Church of God of Prophecy — provided monetary donations for that project.
Although there have been setbacks due to weather and government restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fraley said Habitat is “on track to close on time.”
“We were unable to include volunteers early in the pandemic, but brought them back in June if they were comfortable, and we provided many added safety and sanitizing precautions to our procedures which kept everyone safe and healthy,” Fraley said. “We are excited to no longer wear our masks outside, especially with the weather warming up. We had to limit the numbers of volunteers on our sites, but all in all, the team worked together very well and stayed on track.”
Fraley said there are a couple of build days left on the Westfield Drive home, with “a youth-friendly landscaping day on May 15.”
This is the 16th home Habitat has built in Richmond County since 2005.
Habitat built a home in 2019 for the family of Marine veteran Fati Brown on Greenlake Road — next to a home the organization built for Nankeen Burch. 2018’s “Women Build” in Hamlet, was dedicated to the Pittman family in January 2019.
In addition to new home construction, Fraley said Habitat is increasing its critical home repair program for the elderly and disabled members of the community — especially veterans — who may need a wheelchair ramp, roof replacement or other exterior repair “to allow them to age in place safely and affordably.”
Potential applicants are encouraged to email repair@sandhillshabitat.org or call 910-295-1934 and select the option for repairs to learn more and apply.
Anyone interested in volunteering is encouraged to visit the organization’s website, sandhillshabitat.org, and click the large blue “VOLUNTEER” button.
