Foundation for a new beginning

By Sarah Jane Rosser, Staff Writer

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 July 16, 2008 08:19 am

— Thanks to the help of more than 100 volunteers, Stanly County Habitat For Humanity’s Women-Youth Blitz Build is almost complete after only three weeks of hard work.
Nena Shankle and her three children were the beneficiaries of the new home in Norwood and are looking forward to beginning a new life in the area. A dedication was conducted Saturday at the home where the Shankle family received the key to its new habitat.
“I want to say thank you for coming out today,” Shankle said.
“I want to thank you for the hard work, dedication, love and support you’ve shown our family.”
The Rev. Cecil Raysor of First Baptist Church in Norwood delivered the invocation and led community members, volunteers and the Habitat for Humanity board members in a blessing of the home.
Family friend Eleanor Little presented Shankle with a Bible and placed a cross on the front door of her home during the ceremony.
The volunteers included several churches in the area, including Oakboro First Baptist, Cedar Grove Methodist Church, Canton Baptist Church and First Baptist Church. Habitat for Humanity also had youth from Trinity Presbyterian Church in Cherry Hill, N.J. that participated as part of their summer mission trip.
Trinity Presbyterian Youth Director Eric Waraas said the group was drawn to Stanly County because of the need and the opportunity to work with Habitat.
During their stay, they worked at the Habitat for Humanity Restore facility, Homes of Hope, The Lord’s Community Table and worked on the Shankle family’s new home.
“Everyone has had an excellent time,” Waraas said.
“The whole community has opened their arms to us and shown us what southern hospitality is all about.”
Brenda Huneycutt of Stanly Regional Medical Center (SRMC) also had the opportunity to work on the house with other volunteers. She claimed that the project was one of the best they had done.
“We had fun working with this family,” Huneycutt said.
Cemita Gibbs, executive director of Stanly County Habitat for Humanity, said with all the volunteers and the hard work, the house was a huge success.
“It’s a blessing to be in this job and see this happen,” she said.
She thanked the countless volunteers and the crowd that joined them in dedicating the home to the Shankle family.
Gibbs said just a few finishing touches needed to be done before the family can move into its new home on North Kendall Street in Norwood.

Sarah Jane Rosser can be contacted at snaponline26@carolina.rr.com.

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