Celebration! 

We are twenty years old this month!   

 

I find it hard to believe that what started with a small group of people discussing affordable housing concerns in a church basement in 1989, has now turned into an organization that has provided a home within reach to 155 people, including more than 90 children. 

 

When I share with people that we are celebrating our 20th anniversary this year, I am usually met with comments about "how unbelievable it is for a non-profit to make it 20 years."  Looking at our history, I sometimes find it unbelievable myself, considering that we started building less than 1 home per year with an all-volunteer staff and very rudimentary office procedures - including holding board meetings in abandoned row homes! 

 

How have we succeeded all these years, despite some of the looming challenges we have faced and still face today?  I think one of the reasons not only is Habitat of Montgomery County so successful, but Habitat in general has achieved such recognition is that it empowers people to help themselves.  Families are not given homes, but must work right alongside volunteers to make the dream of homeownership a reality. Families are accountable as well, paying a mortgage each month to the affiliate. This money is used to help more families in need and to help others in communities all over the world.

 

This model, along with Habitat International's core values of putting faith into action and the theology of the hammer have sustained us for these twenty years and will continue to help us grow in the next twenty. 

 

In the coming months, we will revisit some of our first volunteers and families, hearing their stories of hope, faith, triumph and gratitude, as well as stories of planned events in our anniversary year. 

 

For me, allow me to extend my gratitude to all of you - our volunteers, our supporters, Habitat International and the Montgomery County community-at-large for 20 years well done.   

 

Brenda Egolf-Fox

Executive Director

  

Linda DeFrancesco, a long-time volunteer (over 16 years!) and Familiy Services Committee member and I had the opportunity to sit down the other day and speak about the early days of Habitat in Montgomery County.  Linda was reflective and very open in sharing her involvement with Habitat.

 

Marianne: So, tell me how you became involved with Habitat...

 

Linda: Well, I came on a service project with my daughter and they were working on one of the homes on Cherry.  In those days, they were only building one house at a time - not like now where we are working in three places at once!  My daughter lost interest, but I thought that this was something I really wanted to do - I was very interested in housing issues.  They didn't have many volunteers back then or good tools and I felt like they needed my help.  I came out to the site a few times, but I really didn't know what I was doing!

 

In fact, my first day, someone asked me to grab a crow bar and start taking down the crown molding. I had no idea what a crow bar looked like nor did I know what crown molding was, but I learned and over a period of time I acquired some skills.

 

M: Were you always on the Family Services Committee? 

 

L: No, I started out fundraising, but people knew that I worked in social services, so it was a good fit for me to move onto that committee. 

 

M: Do some of the families you've worked with stand out in your mind?

 

L: Of Course!  I think of one in particular.  I had known her before I started reviewing her information for Habitat.  She is one of the sweetest ladies.  She is so hardworking and faithful.  I was humbled by her.  Another homeowner just wouldn't give up!  We didn't have anything that would fit with her situation for years, but she persisted and now she owns a home through Habitat. 

 

M: Do you ever get frustrated with your work here?

 

L: Not so much the work, but the situations that these people are living in.  I get so angry at what the landlords are allowed to get away with!  One family I visited had to do their dishes and bathe in the bathtub.  They had no lock on their door so they weren't safe.  I wanted to report their landlord, but they were terrified that they would be evicted or the rent would be raised. 

 

The good thing is that the anger inspires me to continue to do something to get those families to safe, decent living conditions.

 

M: What are some of the biggest changes you've seen in your time with Habitat?

 

L: Well, Cherry Street, for one.  Back in the 1950's and 60's it was a really nice, fairly middle-class area.  Then it became a pretty scary place to be.  You just didn't go to Cherry Street for a while.  Now, I see it changing again - lots of activity and construction.  I like to think that some of that has to do with the 20 Habitat families that live here. 

 

The other big change is Habitat, itself.  I don't think I've caught up with all the growth yet!  In the past, we built one home in 18 months or so, now it feels like we are everywhere.  For Family Services, we have so many more appilcations than ever before!  We are a small committee and work really hard to help the families that we can - I wish we could do more.

 

M: So, why have you stayed all these years? 

 

L: Part of it is the dedication ceremonies.  Even after all these years, I still get tearful when I see families get their keys.  After having seen where they live, I really understand that look of awe when they move in to their homes.

 

That, and the feeling of being part of something bigger than myself.  Knowing that people all over the world are doing what we do is an amazing feeling.  

 

 Families and Family Service Committee members gather together for the Cornerstone program.  Linda is in blue.

 

 

 

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