Habitat Greene celebrates $10K Charlottesville area foundation grant

By Bill Martin Vice Chairman, Greene Chapter, Habitat for Humanity
Published: October 30, 2008

A wise person once said, “Timing is everything.“  In this case, the timing of a significant gift to Greene’s reinvigorated Habitat for Humanity Chapter is making all the difference in the world.
Though the organization is still short of its fundraising goals for its next home building project in Greene County, the Steering Committee has decided to break ground in the Spring of 2009.  A major factor in this decision was the fact that the Greene County Chapter of Habitat for Humanity has been awarded a significant Community Endowment grant from the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation (CACF), as published in the Greene County Record on September 25.
This $10,000 grant put Greene’s Habitat Chapter in a sufficiently strong position that the organization was optimistic enough to advance its plans right away.
Joan Richardson, Chairperson of the Volunteers and Events Subcommittee of Habitat Greene and a resident of Dyke, expressed her appreciation on behalf of the organization, “We couldn’t be happier that the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation came through at this point in our fundraising program for our third house in Greene.  This generous grant puts us in an excellent position to break ground and show Greene County residents that we are serious about our affordable housing program.  All thanks to the CACF community endowment grant.“
Habitat’s Chairman, Jonathan Hensley, explained the objective of the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation.  “CACF is a non-profit community-based organization that provides grants to communities that are using creative and imaginative initiatives in efforts to solve the issues that befuddle communities.  They are particularly interested in helping those groups who are helping themselves.  And these funds bolster the gifts we have received from others and the wonderful efforts of our Steering Committee to get the community engaged in our efforts.“
Hensley added, “Greene’s Habitat Chapter is going to great lengths to build local support.  If we are going to provide models for affordable housing that work and that are sustainable then we must have the community on board.  In our CACF grant application we partnered with Spring Hill Baptist Church.  And Spring Hill is quickly becoming one of our strongest partners.  They understand what we are trying to do and our goals correspond with the goals of their congregation.  This is a perfect example of the alliances we are building in Greene County.“
The Steering Committee of Habitat Greene has quickly achieved its goals for the next project.  They recently resolved all remaining title issues on the land for the next home.  They have creatively reorganized themselves by recruiting a new Director (Jerry Besanson of Ruckersville) and Board members and, most recently, have named Ruckersville resident and Construction Supervisor Rob Harris to chair the subcommittee in charge of the building process.
Hensley summarized, “We’re being vigilant in taking this a step at a time.  But now we’re ready to charge ahead.  We plan to break ground in the Spring of 2009, we’re going to benefit from the overwhelming spirit of community participation that Greene County residents have exhibited, and we are going to succeed in demonstrating how affordable housing can work at the local level - even in this very challenging economic environment!“
For more information on Habitat for Humanity’s plans in Greene County or information on how you can volunteer, donate or sponsor a home building project, visit http://www.greenehabitat.org or email .