Philip Stacy, the executive director for the Kerr County Habitat for Humanity, gave an overview of the local chapter of this global organization. Habitat began in 1976 in Americas, Georgia, and provides affordable housing with a no interest loan to people who go through a qualification process. Kerr County Habitat is the largest single family builder in the county, and accomplishes its mission with mainly volunteer help.
Various organizations and churches have sponsored houses locally, and provide volunteer labor and support to get them built. The house that our club sponsored was #113 in Kerr County. The average cost to a home owner is $550.00 to $600.00 per month, including taxes and insurance, which is substantially less than any comparable rent for a local house or apartment. There is a very low default rate, and the owners put in hundreds of hours of sweat equity into building their and other recipient's houses in order to meet the ownership criteria.
In addition to building and financing the house, Habitat volunteers provide life training skills to prepare the recipients for ownership, including education on maintenance, financial basics and insurance. For more information, visit habitatkerr.org.
Out Rotary club has donated $30,000.00 over the last three years to Habitat, and this photo shows members of the local board accepting the gift.
