Seven more families receive keys to the Habitat homes they helped build and then purchased

In May, the sponsors of seven Habitat homes celebrated the completion of construction and the beginning of new lives for families who will move into Timberwood.

Below are the seven sponsoring groups, listed with the families who became new homeowners.

Sponsor: Week of Compassion and Woodmont Christian Church

Homeowner: Gwangi Wallace

Week of Compassion is the humanitarian relief ministry fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Among the worldwide relief efforts of this group are the many families displaced by Hurricane Katrina, who have resettled all over the country, including Nashville. Although Nashville Area Disciples Churches (including Woodmont Christian Church) have participated in building more than a dozen Habitat houses, this will be the fourth funded by Week of Compassion. Assisting a family relocated to Nashville by Katrina was the group’s primary reason for building this year. Johnny Wray, former director of Week of Compassion, was instrumental in the decision to use Gulf Coast hurricane relief funds to build outside the gulf coast, yet help those directly impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

Gwangi Wallace and her two young sons came to Nashville in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina ripped through their home in Mississippi. Their journey has been a story of triumph and strength. The kitchen in their apartment collapsed during the hurricane, leaving them trapped for three weeks. Volunteers were able to get close enough to provide her with food and ice, which helped her family to survive. Gwangi used the water from the melted ice to wash herself and her children. After being rescued, the Wallaces joined family in Nashville, thanks to the generous donation of travel vouchers from volunteers. She applied for the Habitat homeownership program in 2006 but did not qualify because her income was not stable. So, she enrolled in Remington College in 2006, graduated as a medical assistant in May 2008, took a position with Take Care Health (Minute Clinic), and was approved for the Habitat program.

Sponsor: Wachovia Foundation/Builders Build/The Ensworth School/Franklin Road Academy/VF Imagewear

Homeowner: Michelle Stewart

Wachovia Foundation/Builder’s Build/The Ensworth School/Franklin Road Academy/VF Imagewear – This is the second house to be funded by the Wachovia Foundation and the third to be funded by the Builder’s Build. Thanks to the following companies that have contributed their time and money: American Constructors, Hoar Construction, RJ Griffin & Company, Skanska. Stansell Electric Company, Synergy Business Environments. This house was also funded with donations from The Ensworth School, Franklin Road Academy and VF Imagewear.

Michelle Stewart has two young sons, ages 6 and 2. She has worked full-time at VF Imagewear as a credit specialist since March 2008. Prior to her work at VF Imagewear, she worked at Delk Industries as an accounting clerk for two and a half years. Michelle’s income caused her to become ineligible for Section 8 assistance, so she had to move her small family into a townhome in a dangerous neighborhood. One of her sons has developmental and physical challenges, and the indoor and outdoor staircases at the townhome make it very difficult for her family to live there. Michelle and her sons look forward to moving into their new Habitat home, which is affordable, safe, and handicap accessible.

Sponsor: The Tennessee Titans/LP

Homeowner: Karen Douglas

The Tennessee Titans and LP co-sponsored a home, with each organization donating $50 for every point scored by the Titans during the 2008 season. Since moving its headquarters from Portland, Oregon to Nashville in 2004, LP has built six Habitat homes in Nashville. Mary Cohn, president of the LP Foundation, serves on the NAHFH Advisory Board and Volunteer Relations Committee. LP manufactures building products such as LP OSB and LP TechShield® Radiant Barrier that the company donates for use in all Nashville Habitat homes. This is the Titans’ sixth build. Through the Kroger Sacks for Cash, they have continued to contribute to house builds each year from 2000 to the present. In addition to house sponsorships, NAHFH has also received two $1,000 awards from the Titan’s Foundation recognizing outstanding volunteerism via their Community Quarterback program (Harley Siemer in 2002 and Stan Powell in 2004). The Titans have provided gifts in-kind to Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity’s annual Golf Classic. Titans’ wives have also volunteered as part of NAHFH’s Women’s Build program.

Karen Douglas is a hardworking mother of two adult children, John (26) and Samantha (23), who is living at home while she completes her master’s degree at Trevecca Nazarene University. Karen has worked as a corrections officer for the Tennessee Department of Corrections for the past six years. She is also working on her bachelor’s degree in sociology at TSU, scheduled to graduate in 2010. Currently Karen and her daughter live with Karen’s mother, father, grandmother and brother in a three-bedroom home. Karen has always worked, but without a degree, she could not get anything but low-paying jobs. She refused to go on welfare, and she has been working toward Habitat homeownership for more than two years.

Sponsor: The Habitat HomeStores

Homeowner: Shelia Nixon

The Habitat HomeStores sell new and used home-related items and building materials at generous discounts to the public. All proceeds are used to construct more homes to sell at zero percent interest to people who are not able to afford a conventional home mortgage. The Habitat HomeStores have generated enough revenue to build eight Nashville Area Habitat homes in less than six years of operation. Volunteers from many local corporations and faith groups came together to build this home, including Cintas, Doubletree Hotel, Grace Adventist Church, Gresham Smith & Partners, Vanderbilt University Faculty and Staff, Lipscomb University, and RPM Management.

Shelia Nixon is the mother of 10 children, only six of which will be living at home in Timberwood – three daughters and three sons. Shelia works full-time at Vanderbilt Hospital as an environmental technician. Two of her daughters have been living with their grandmother and attending Hillwood High School. Shelia did not want them to be exposed to the environment around her neighborhood. The daughters will join Shelia and the other four children, who are moving to Timberwood from a public housing development, where none of her children can safely play outside. For her family, she says, her Habitat home is a “life-saver.”

Sponsor: Bridgestone Americas, Inc.

Homeowners: Jean-Max and Anne Marie Desjardins

Bridgestone Americas, Inc. is sponsoring a Habitat home for the sixth year, with chairman, CEO and president, Mark A. Emkes, leading the way by hammering nails and laying paint to walls alongside his teammates. Finding eager volunteers is never a problem for Bridgestone, as enthusiasm for the annual home build spreads like wildfire throughout its Americas Support Center building in Nashville, and teammates quickly fill up the sign up sheets that are posted in the lobby. Bridgestone is also a generous donor to the Joe C. Davis YMCA Outdoor Center. Part of that funding provides scholarships for children of Habitat homeowners to attend Camp Widjiwagan. Mark Emkes and Linda Baskin both serve on Nashville Area Habitat’s advisory board.

Jean-Max and Anne Marie Desjardins emigrated to the U.S. from Haiti in 1994 with their four daughters due to political unrest in Haiti. They also wanted their children to have access to better educational opportunities. Their two younger daughters, ages 16 and 21, will live with them in Timberwood, as both girls are still in school at Stratford High School. Anne Marie has worked at the Sheraton Hotel Downtown as a laundry assistant for 14 years. Jean-Max is unable to work. The Desjardins live in a crowded apartment, where they had to move after the building they had lived in was scheduled for demolition. Purchasing a Habitat home will allow them much needed stability and peace.

Sponsor: RJ Young

Homeowner: Cynthia Lanier

RJ Young sponsored and built the company’s fourth Habitat house. John Crunk, Sr., chairman of the board for RJ Young, was instrumental in forging the partnership between RJ Young and Nashville Area Habitat. Mr. Crunk said that the gratitude and appreciation shown by the Habitat partner families “has been very inspiring to everyone at RJ Young.” Their initial decision to sponsor a house for a Nashville Habitat partner family was made in part because they wanted to get their employees directly involved in giving back to the community. RJ Young formed an especially strong bond with their first partner family with whom they are still very connected.

Cynthia Lanier is a mother of three young children and one adult daughter who is married and has a child. She has an associate’s degree from Nashville Tech in office administration with a concentration in legal assistance. Since 2006, she has worked full-time for the State of Tennessee as a secretary, and she works weekends at Sears as a cashier. Cynthia says she learned a lot of life lessons very early on, as she was a mother and wife long before she reached adulthood. She credits her close-knit family and her mother’s support for helping her grow up amidst these challenges. Now she welcomes the opportunity to take on the responsibility of homeownership so she can be independent and be a good example to her own children.

Sponsor: Spring Community Build

Homeowner: Ayalew Mekonnen

The Spring Community Build brought together sponsors including Ingram Entertainment, Stites & Harbison, PLLC, Mitsui USA Foundation, Tennessee Wedding and Events Specialists Association (TWESA), Panera Bread, Remarketing Solutions/Manheim Recovery, and Woodmont Baptist Church.

Ayalew Mekonnen and his two sons, ages 20 and 18, are originally from Ethiopia. The sons came to America in 2005 along with their mother. Ayalew later joined his family in the U.S. a year later. This is the second time Ayalew has participated in the Habitat program. He had started the process with his wife in 2006, but she passed away before completing the program. Now Ayalew has achieved their dream of homeownership. Since 2007, Ayalew has worked full-time as a caregiver for Community Options, and his sons are both pursuing college degrees. Ayalew looks forward to going back to school himself to earn his certification as a teacher in the U.S. He is happy to be moving to a safe neighborhood, as his current living situation is in a high-risk area for crime.