RV club helps Habitat

RVers pitch in to help Habitat for Humanity.

Some 40 to 50 RV enthusiasts rolled into Sisters with a mission this week.

The "Wandering Individuals Network" (WIN) is camped out at the Sisters Rodeo Grounds while members work on donated Habitat for Humanity houses on a vacant lot at Locust Street and Main Avenue.

The club is an affiliation of single RV drivers, many of whom are more-or-less permanent denizens of the American road.

"We wander around," said incoming club president Sharon Runyon. "We have these things called gatherings where we get together for a week. One of our members thought that it would be a good idea to do a week with Habitat."

There is plenty of work.

A moving crew hauled two 1,200-square-foot houses and two garages into Sisters on Sunday morning, June 23. The homes come from the 420 acre Deschutes River Ranch in Tumalo. They were built as second homes for vacationers. The property was purchased in January for redevelopment as a year-round residential community.

The homes will be placed on Habitat-owned lots.

The WIN crew dove right in on Monday, July 8, dismantling the two-car garages for reassembly as one-car garages on their small lots.

Workers also cleaned the bottoms of the jacked-up houses to prepare them for being set on foundations.

WIN offers fellowship and camaraderie for single RVers. The drivers are independent souls, who need few amenities.

"A lot of us are full-time RVers," Runyon said with an unmistakable note of pride. "This is our home and we are self-contained."

The Sisters Habitat for Humanity chapter is taking applications for the homes. The three-bedroom units would be suitable for a single mother and a couple of children on up to a family of six, according to Habitat Director Sharlene Weed, depending on the make-up of the family.

Applicants must go through the standard Habitat for Humanity process, Weed said. That includes demonstrating a need for housing; the ability to pay a Habitat for Humanity mortgage of $350 to $400 per month; demonstrating a stable income; and a willingness to work with Habitat for Humanity and provide "sweat equity" to the project.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

• Email: editor@nuggetnews.com
• Phone: 5415499941