Habitat celebrates 25 years of building

Twenty-five years ago Sisters Habitat for Humanity founder Hort Hammond knew that some folks in Sisters needed affordable housing, so he organized Habitat for Humanity in Sisters.

Habitat is dedicated to more than building homes; it's about building communities, and building opportunities for families to help themselves.

On Sunday, September 18, Habitat celebrated their 25th anniversary of building homes with groundbreakings followed by a dedication ceremony for their 60th home, all at N. Desert Rose Loop in Village Meadows.

During the first groundbreaking for Sharyn Benson, emcee Chuck Harper, board member for Sisters Habitat, introduced Sisters High School construction class teacher, Tony Cosby. Cosby told the guests that his students will help with the construction of Benson's house.

He and his students have been working with Habitat for quite a few years building walls for houses.

"My students build walls for houses at the high school, and then we load them up on a flatbed truck and run them over. Then we have our wall raising day. It's such an exciting time and it's a great exposure for them to learn how to frame the walls. But it also gives them the opportunity to give back to the community. It's one of the most successful things I do in my program."

Habitat had a lot going on for their 25th anniversary celebration, with two groundbreakings happening together.

"We normally don't build two homes at the same time, but our second groundbreaking for Marla Brinkman, we are partnering with Heart of Oregon. And with the help of one of their programs, Youth Build, some of the younger kids will get to help build," Habitat construction manager Darleene Snider said.

Although Snider will be the general contractor, they are bringing in Heart of Oregon's construction manager James Collins to help.

"Heart of Oregon is a non-profit that has been around for about 15 years, and our mission is to offer the opportunity for the youth to have an education through work experience," Collins said.

Each year Heart of Oregon provides job-skills training, education, and leadership development to over 300 local young people who face major barriers to success.

Habitat's very first international volunteer, Clive Rainey, flew in all the way from Guatemala to take part in the celebration.

Rainey hooked up with Habitat in 1977 soon after the organization was formed as its first volunteer. It was Rainey who brought the concept of "Sweat Equity" to Habitat after learning that developers of middle-class housing sometimes used a family's unskilled labor on their house in lieu of a down-payment. Today, sweat equity is a key part of every Habitat build in 80 countries.

The dedication for Selah Broderick's Habitat home was a heartwarming experience for everyone.

"My home has been built by volunteers, including me. It's taken me two years to complete the program. I got to be part of the community that's all working together and I got to contribute. It's been amazing," Broderick said.

The opening prayer began with Sana Hayes reading a poem, a blessing for Broderick's new home, followed by some words from Habitat's Executive Director Sharlene Weed.

"How did we get to this day with 160 families' lives positively affected by Sisters Habitat? By working together, building and raising funds - and lots of prayers," Weed told the crowd that gathered around Broderick's brand-new home.

"In just the past year, over 250 volunteers worked over 19,000 hours on the houses, in the stores, and on the board and committees. And nearly 3,000 volunteer hours were put in on this house alone. Habitat works!"

Rainey blessed Broderick's home with a scripture from the Bible.

The celebration followed with a free fundraising dinner at FivePine Conference Center featuring Clive Rainey as the special guest speaker.