TERRE HAUTE —
Using gold-colored nails, Arica Burskey and her three children each took turns hammering a wooden subfloor Wednesday as Indiana State University kicked off the construction of its second sponsored house for the Wabash Valley Habitat for Humanity.
ISU President Daniel Bradley also hammered a gold-colored nail, saying the university is “excited to be a part of this and looks forward to the day in a few months when Arica and her family move in” to the house being built near the intersection of Chase and 23rd streets.
Overall, this will be the 58th home constructed by Habitat for Humanity since 1989. The university’s first sponsored Habitat for Humanity house was constructed in 2006 near 13th and Seabury streets. That house was the 51st house constructed by Habitat for Humanity.
“It is the American dream to own you own home,” said Burskey, the mother of three children, ages 6 to 14. “It is something that we can’t wait to do. We don’t plan on moving. We will be here for the duration. It is a blessing for us.”
The 1,160-square-foot home will contain three bedrooms and two baths. Burskey said she hopes to be able to select a “soft green” for the color of the home’s exterior siding. That decision will be made once the home is farther along, as will a decision to have hardwood or carpeted floors, she said.
Indiana State’s student volunteers, office staff and a department chairman helped with the house on Thursday, joining members of ISU’s women’s soccer team.
As a sponsor, ISU must raise $50,000. The university has raised about a third of that, said Nancy Rogers, associate vice president for academic affairs and director of ISU’s center for public service and community engagement.
Some ISU fundraising efforts, Rogers said, include “sign a stud” program, where people can sign wooden boards used in the construction of the home, donating at least $1. Another is “Houses for Habitat” in which professionally made bird houses were auctioned off at a dinner in May.
In addition, support staff at ISU have a “coins for the cottage” program, where people donate spare change. The university plans to continue to raise funds through the academic year, Rogers said.
“The Habitat build is part our partnership with the Ryves neighborhood,” Rogers said. “About a year ago, we developed a partnership with several nonprofit organizations that are in the area around Ryves Hall. We have been engaged in doing all kinds of activities with them, and it just seemed like a natural fit to also build a home in the neighborhood,” Rogers said.
The volunteer work for ISU staff and students, Rogers said, “is a great educational tool as well as a nice opportunity for people to engage in community service. It is helpful for faculty to work with students to teach them about poverty and housing issues.”
In addition, volunteers get to see the project from start to finish, Rogers said. “I think Habitat for Humanity really is unique because it is a lasting legacy. Providing a family a home or helping a family get into a home is really a powerful thing to be involved with,” Rogers said.
Annette Houchin, executive director of Habitat for Humanity, said Terre Haute’s Department of Redevelopment helps fund each home as well as the home sponsor.
The home will have two mortgages. The first, from funds raised by ISU, will be repaid by the homeowner through a zero-interest loan. A second loan, about $35,000 from the Department of Redevelopment, is also placed on the home. That loan is forgiven by 10 percent a year and is removed after 10 years. That prevents the home from being immediately sold for a profit.
“Overall costs, it would be about $80,000 to build a house, but we use volunteer help” on most of the home, Houchin said. The sponsor funds also help start the next Habitat home project.
Burskey is required to put in at least 250 hours of volunteer work toward the home, which she hopes can be finished by the end of the year. Burskey now has 101 hours of volunteer work.
“It is a great opportunity for us. We are excited about having the energy-efficient appliances and central air, as it has been so hot,” Burskey said.
Burskey said her family will fit into the neighborhood, as she has helped on two next door homes built through Habitat for Humanity. “We have a good bond. It will be like a community for us. We all have kids about the same age and the [National Road Heritage Trail] is close to our back yard,” Burskey said.
The location is fitting, as Habitat for Humanity’s office is just blocks away. In fact, about 14 homes built by the organization are within blocks of Burskey’s home, Houchin said.
Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
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Teamwork: Habitat for Humanity volunteers John Pommier, chairperson for the Indiana State University Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport and Cleveland Brown work together to hammer a beam in place for a new home near the corner of Chase and 23rd streets Thursday. (Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza)
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Sign a stud: Darby Scism of the Indiana State University Career Center signs a stud as part of a fundraiser for the Wabash Valley Habitat for Humanity Thursday near the corner of Chase and 23rd streets. Looking on is fellow volunteer Gloria Martins of the Indiana State Controller's Office. (Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza)
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Sticky situation: Indiana State University student and volunteer Joseph Jones of Lafayette lays down subfloor adhesive as he and his fellow Habitat for Humanity volunteers build a home near the corner of 23rd and Chase streets Thursday. (Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza)
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In synch: Forrest Pommier, 16, works with other Habitat for Humanity of the Wabash Valley volunteers to nail down flooring for a new home near the corner of 23rd and Chase streets Thursday.
Discussion
It’s Hammer Time: Helping others get a home
ISU starts construction of its second Habitat for Humanity house
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