Habitat for Humanity
Mission Work in our Community
Announcing our October
Habitat for Humanity Build!
Location:
1021 Walnut Street, Lebanon, PA
Dates:
Wednesday, October 22 through Friday, October 24
Wednesday, October 29 & Thursday, October 30
Times:
7:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Tasks:
Framing, interior trim, and insulation installation
Contact: Julia Witmer Gallagher; juliawgallagher@gmail.com | 609 -937-2494
Click here to download the signup instructions.
Click here to register your spot on the Habitat for Humanity website.
Meet Estefanye
Estefanye will be the first person in her family to own a home. And hopefully, she says, she’ll be the first of many future homeowners in her family.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to have my own home, where I can see my kids grow up and then pass it down to them,” says Estefanye, a 26-year-old single mother of four young children. “I wanted to show my kids that anything can happen if you put in the work.”
Her dream of affordable homeownership, stability and having an opportunity to pass on generational wealth to her children is getting closer by the hour. Estefanye, who was welcomed into Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity’s first-time homebuyers program in September of 2024, is working toward meeting 100 sweat equity hours of the total 250 that are required in order to be matched with a Habitat house.
In May, Estefanye reached the required 100 hours of sweat equity needed to match with a house and chose Habitat's Walnut Street Build. And, to make that milestone even more special, her children helped her get there. Homebuyers’ children can contribute to sweat equity hours by earning A’s and B’s on their report cards. So, Estefanye’s childrens’ excellent marks on their report cards helped her with the remaining couple of hours of sweat equity she needed to match with Walnut Street. Click here to read more about Estefanye's story.
About Habitat for Humanity
Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity partners with local first-time homebuyers who are making around 40-80% of our area’s annual median income. When an applicant is accepted, that homebuyer completes 250-400 hours of sweat equity towards the completion of their home. Habitat also utilizes as much volunteer labor as possible from local community members to keep building costs down.
Once the home is finished and the sweat equity hours are completed, Habitat is able to offer the homebuyer a 20-30 year mortgage at an affordable rate (around 30% of their monthly income) at a 0% interest rate. The new homeowners pay that monthly mortgage to Habitat and that is what enables the Habitat to keep building new homes.
2025 Spring Build
From March 12th to March 21st, the Saint James volunteer team worked to complete Mulu and his family's home on Coral Street. After participating in the demolition phase of the project the previous fall, it was particularly gratifying to be involved in its transformation and completion. At the home dedication, Mulu spoke and told the volunteers that we are like family. This is your home, too!
Over the 7-day period, team members completed 312 volunteer hours to help complete Mulu’s family home. The Saint James team comprised 21 volunteers, including four high school students. Habitat for Humanity made an exception for the team to work on Saturday, March 15th, allowing for an intergenerational day. The team enjoyed wonderful engagement and camaraderie, with Mulu and his wife, Uta, preparing an Ethiopian meal for all the volunteers.
Check back for our next Habitat for Humanity project. Or click here to email Julia Witmer Gallagher for more information about upcoming Habitat home renovations.
Fall 2024: Demolition Phase
Click on a photo to open the gallery.
Spring 2025: Completion
Work on the Coral Street property has been completed! Thanks to the work of our Habitat for Humanity team and youth from Saint James, Mulu and his family have a new place they can call home!
The fourth project was the rebuilding of the gazebo next to San Pablo Church, partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria. All funds used to repair the gazebo were provided by funds raised to support the Mission Trip. The gazebo is used for parish events and Sunday school classes and was a huge boost to the morale of the parish to see it being repaired.
