This Saturday, September 16, Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha and Putnam will be holding a rare event. It's Double Dedication Day. That's right, two homes will be officially dedicated and the efforts of all volunteers will be celebrated. Just about a month ago, Shirley Cole's home was dedicated. Shirley (center) is pictured here working with Angel Young and Wendy Tipton. This Saturday, Angel,Wendy and their families take center stage as their homes and hard work are recognized.


Angel, her husband George and their children Auchea and Timothy now own a home of their own in Jubilee Heights. Let no one ever, ever doubt their committment to their dream. They volunteered 130 hours over and above the 500 required!!! George brought his buddies from work to the site and they cleared weeds and brush from the creek bank next to their home. They have plans to do some landscaping there. They also are planning improvements in the back yard. I don't think I've met more committed or hardworking souls than George and Angel Young. This was our affiliate's 106th building project and we were fortunate to have Bayer Material Science and Bayer Crop Science sponsor the house. Bayer is a well known and respected community partner and provided financial resources for this project. In addition, Bayer employees worked hundreds of volunteer hours to make this home a reality for the Young family. Bayer is very, very serious about making decent housing available in Kanawha and Putnam counties.

Wendy, her daughter Keaira and son Keshawn are thrilled with their new home. Wendy's hard work was matched only by the kid's steady patience. They are just beginning to understand that Mom's hundreds of hours on the jobsite means a new, safe and decent place for them to live and grow. The first time I met Wendy, she was applying sticky, stinky waterproofing to the foundation of a house. It was not her house but she had waterproofed nearly the entire cinderblock foundation for another Habitat family. She talked alot about plans for her children. Over and over she told me how a new home would make her kid's lives safer and happier. Wendy knew that her work on this home would be repaid by others when her home was built. Even with waterproofing tar on her face, arms and hands, Wendy's smile told me she could see a brighter tomorrow.

Wendy's home was sponsored by The Segal and Davis Family Foundation. This wonderful organization has a well-deserved reputation for supporting causes that advance the health and well-being of the children in our community. The Foundation provided financial support and volunteer workers to help Wendy build a stable homelife for herself and her children.

As is always the case, our regular volunteer crews worked like the pros they are. The Tuesday crew was terrific, the Wednesday crew was wonderful and the Thursday crew was top-notch.

Like every Habitat homeowner, Angel, George and Wendy have worked very hard for a long time for their chance to purchase a home. By any standard of measure, they have earned this opportunity. They have all made an important investment in their future.

That future has begun and everyone who helped make it happen is invited to the Young's dedication at 11:00 and the Tipton dedication at 1:00 on Saturday. The number of people who worked on these houses is huge and space won't allow a complete listing of them all but Angel, George, Wendy and the children will never forget your effort, given willingly, freely and cheerfully. You who volunteered worked hard. Wendy, Angel and George worked hard. Come out and see what hard work has accomplished. Then let's get ready to do it again, another deserving family is ready for their dream to come true.

Work continues at the site of our latest project. If you are wondering where this project is, we are building a new home at 1210 First Avenue on Charleston's West Side. We are building this home in partnership with DuPont and things are coming along very nicely. Having grown up on the West Side, I'm happy to see activity in that part of town. Apparently, the residents of that neighborhood are happy as well. The lot on which we're building has been vacant for a long time and had become overgrown and dangerous. Now that it's been cleared and a brand new home is going up, the neighbors have commented on how glad they are to see the property put to productive use.

Even though our activity congests their street and poses parking problems, many residents have gone out of their way to be helpful. If you are planning on volunteering at the First Avenue site, please consider carpooling to help ease the crowding on the street.

To get to our build site, take Kanawha Boulevard to Hunt Avenue. This is one block east of Florida Street and Cabell Field. Turn onto Hunt and go one block, then turn left onto First Avenue. Our site is on the right at the end of the block. We'll be there Tuesdays through Saturdays for the next few weeks. Sometimes, necessity will force us to change worksites with little forewarning. As always, call before you come out to confirm where we will be working. You can reach our office at 304-720-0141 for updates.