Habitat for Humanity building home in Albemarle

Published 9:40 am Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Several Stanly County volunteers have been spending the last several months helping build a new house in Albemarle as part of Habitat for Humanity.

The 1,092-square-foot three-bedroom, two-bathroom house off Valley Drive is expected to be finished sometime this month or September, said Stanly County Habitat for Humanity construction coordinator David Goldstein.

Founded in 1976, Habitat for Humanity is a global nonprofit Christian housing organization.

Deborah Wood and her son, Richard, will be the owners of the house. They currently live in a small makeshift building beside the house.

“It is an act of God that this house is getting built for us,” Deborah Wood said. “It’s a blessing.”

In order to be eligible for a new house, the Woods had to put in at least 400 hours of sweat equity toward the building of Habitat homes (including their own) and had to attend homeownership workshops.

Deborah said the project broke grown in April.

“I’m so excited,” Richard Wood said. “It’s been a long time in the making.”

The owners of the Habitat home, Richard Wood and his mother, Deborah.

The volunteers have spent each Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday working on the house. So far, they have spent 33 days working on it, Goldstein said.

Though the volunteers have been busy working, the two most important aspects are for people to keep safe and have fun, Goldstein said.

Stanly County Habitat tries to build three houses a year.

“We have to generate our own funds,” Goldstein said, adding that the public donates many of the materials for the houses.

Fiberon in New London donated the railing while two roofers donated their time and experience to construct the roof, Goldstein said.

Deborah has already picked out the flooring, cabinets and color sidings, while Goldstein recently took the family to Lowe’s to pick out different lights.

“I used to build houses, “Goldstein said. “Now I build homes.”

“It’s been a great adventure,” Deborah Wood said, “and I highly recommend Habitat for any volunteer community service projects. It’s a great thing.”

Contact Chris Miller at 704-982-2122.

About Chris Miller

Chris Miller has been with the SNAP since January 2019. He is a graduate of NC State and received his Master's in Journalism from the University of Maryland. He previously wrote for the Capital News Service in Annapolis, where many of his stories on immigration and culture were published in national papers via the AP wire.

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