Habitat teams up for home build in North Fort Myers
Habitat for Humanity is currently building a 36-home community called McNeill Village in North Fort Myers and is grateful for any help it can get.
On Thursday, it was a foundation repair company that stopped by to work on a Habitat home for a deserving family.
Alpha Foundations, a Fort Myers-based foundation repair and basement waterproofing, along with members from Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties, joined forces to build a home for a future Habitat partner family.
The workers spent the fall-like morning installing the flooring in a home, with one person applying the glue and the others installing the vinyl flooring.
Cece Willis, vice president of resource and development at Habitat, said Alpha is a big supporter of Habitat and comes out every year to help Habitat nationwide.
“They have been helping us and supporting us for many years now. We love having them out here on the site and they always come out and help us make a difference in contributing to affordable home ownership,” Willis said.
Alpha got in touch with Habitat’s volunteer coordinator to set up a day to work. This turned out to be not only a work day but a team building day so they can learn about Habitat’s mission and give back.
The home build project is part of a partnership between Groundworks, a national foundation and water management solutions company, and Habitat for Humanity international affiliates across North America, in which funding and volunteering will support 74 home builds across the country.
Willis said Habitat for Humanity is always looking for volunteers and that you don’t have to pick up a hammer to do it. They’ll teach you to do anything. About 60 percent of all work is volunteer work.
“We have so many volunteer opportunities. We have everything from building the walls to wall raising. We have people doing interior paint, exterior paint,” Willis said. “Things like plumbing, we definitely have sub-contractors to handle that.”
Nick Blasco, general manager for Alpha Foundations in Fort Myers, said his company is part of the Groundworks. network, which gives back in every location it serves and represents for Habitat for Humanity.
“We’re installing some flooring, patching some concrete and moving on to the next house when we’re finished here,” Blasco said. “Groundworks CEO Matt Malone got us started five years ago. And we’re working to make things better in our communities.”
“We put our communities first. Our model is customers come first all the time. Giving back to the community, we like to follow in the footsteps of what we’re trying to lead with,” Blasco said.
Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties is a faith-based private nonprofit serving families with a housing need.
As a developer, builder, mortgage lender, housing counseling agency, retail operator and hurricane recovery organization, Habitat partners with families to build, improve or retain places to call home.
In addition to putting in 300 hours of sweat equity, Habitat homebuyers contribute to their closing costs, attend more than 20 hours of financial education classes, and pay an affordable mortgage set at no more than 30% of their monthly income.
For more information, visit Habitat4Humanity.org.