YOUR AD HERE »

Habitat for Humanity to build first Glenwood home

Staff Report

Habitat for Humanity of the Roaring Fork Valley will soon start construction on its first home in Glenwood Springs, at 1687 Crawford Way in Cardiff Glen.The local chapter of Habitat for Humanity International was formed in 1999, as one of more than 1,900 worldwide affiliates striving to create home ownership opportunities for low-income families.The philosophy of Habitat for Humanity is to offer simple, decent housing at below-market prices to families in need. Homes are built using volunteer labor, including that of the prospective homeowner, in addition to private, tax-deductible donations of money and materials.As part of the process, the applicant family agrees to contribute 250 hours of “sweat equity” on the project, alongside other volunteers. The home is then sold at cost, with zero interest on the mortgage. Closing costs are split between the homeowner and Habitat for Humanity.”Habitat for Humanity offers a hand up, not a hand out,” said Ray Limoges, president of the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate. “After we join with the family and community volunteers to provide a home, the family can then grow in its confidence and self-esteem, and focus more attention on job opportunities, education and health.”For the Cardiff Glen house, several companies have donated time, equipment and materials. They are Studio 3, the developer of Cardiff Glen, which donated the lot; Lafarge, donating the concrete; BTE, pouring the foundation; Big Johns in Glenwood, supplying building materials at cost; HP Geotech, doing geotechnical work; Schmueser Gordon Meyer Consulting Engineers and Surveyors, surveying; and Whitsitt & Gross of Carbondale, doing the legal work.Volunteers are needed for a variety of tasks that can be done regardless of home-building expertise or experience.”One of the most rewarding parts of these projects is to involve people from every walk of life in building a house. It’s a community effort, and from all the projects I’ve worked on, I can tell you that people feel great about being a part of this kind of project,” said Limoges.To sign up, leave a message at the Habitat for Humanity office at 963-8555, and Habitat organizers will call back to arrange dates.One of the jobs already completed by the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate is to choose a family that will live in the Cardiff Glen home. Among the criteria is that a family must have a combined annual income of no more than $30,000 and must currently live in an overcrowded, substandard or high-priced rental unit.For the Cardiff Glen house, Mary Copeland, now of Silt, will move in with her three young sons, Sterling, 12, Devon, 10, and Forrest, 4. Copeland works in Glenwood Springs.Habitat has built more than 100,000 houses around the world, providing more than 500,000 people in more than 2,000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter.Habitat was founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller. For information, check Habitat’s website at http://www.habitat.org and http://www.habitatroaringfork.com.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.