Habitat for Humanity is an international organization devoted to building simple, decent, and affordable housing. The non-governmental nonprofit organization has hundreds of local branches, including the Habitat for Humanity of Utah County. Each year, this community completes its Home Builders Blitz Build. The 2018 event begins in just a couple of weeks, and we cannot wait to see the results.
The Home Builders Blitz Build is exactly what the name suggests. The organization builds two home for deserving families in just six days. The 2018 event will see homes built at 200 S. 400 West in Springville for the Castaneda and Guerra families. The event is held in partnership with EDGEhomes, though the Utah County affiliate of Habitat for Humanity has been partnering with local builders since 1993. The Home Builders Blitz Build occurs internationally and has resulted in the building of more than 1,850 homes.
This year, however, is a bit different for Utah County. This is the first time the affiliate branch will be building two homes during the event. While EDGEhomes vice president Nate Maughan doesn’t think this addition will be too different, all involved organizations are emphasizing the importance of house quality. “We did not want to do anything that would cut any quality of the homes,” Maughan said. “We felt that six days was a timeframe that we could build these houses without losing any quality and still be really quick.
The recipients of these homes, the Castaneda and Guerra families, have been working toward homeownership with Habitat for Humanity for nearly two years. The families have taken extensive coursework to learn everything they can about home ownership and maintenance. They also worked extensively to become financially ready to afford a home while providing several hundreds of hours of “sweat equity”–a volunteer program where they help to build other Habitat for Humanity Homes.
If you are interested in observing this astounding event, community members are encouraged to drive by to see the progress. There is a kickoff rally at 8am on August 20, and there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6pm on August 29th.
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