Omaha, Neb., is the final stop on our tour of Habitat for Humanity build sites for this year’s Home Builders Blitz. It’s been raining here all week, and there is mud everywhere. Despite the weather, the eight new homes and two renovations will be ready for tomorrow’s dedication ceremony.
If you wonder what kind of impact your potential contribution as a builder could make, consider this. Habitat for Humanity of Omaha is focusing on revitalizing a large portion of the area around Kountze Park. It now has a good magnet school but still has many abandoned and uninhabitable houses, so it needs a concentrated effort to bring it back. The plan is to remove the blight, make the neighborhood safer and increase homeownership from its current 40%. That will require a two-year effort at minimum and at least an $8.1 million investment. The generosity of corporate donors, private philanthropists and municipal funds are helping to provide the needed funds, but much of the heavy lifting is being done by home builders.
Kathy Katt, senior director of development & marketing with Habitat for Humanity of Omaha, explains that the Home Builders Blitz has been a huge success in the communities they serve. Twenty homes have been built to date by professional builders trying to give back, and they’ll build at least 20 more.
“It comes down to our partnership with our builders,” she said. “If they weren’t invested in Habitat’s mission, we couldn’t do what we do.”
If the builders put boots on the ground, so do the staff members of Habitat Omaha. Pictured here are Tracie McPherson, Kathy Katt, Lula Plater-Smith and Amanda Brewer–dressed for the mud!
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If the builders put boots on the ground, so do the staff members of Habitat Omaha: pictured here are Tracie McPherson, Kathy Katt, Lula Plater-Smith and Amanda Brewer--dressed for the mud!
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Despite the awful weather conditions, Steve Thomas Rooney and his Habitat for Humanity team, successfully managed their last stop Nebraska, and brought joy to a number of families. The impact is larger than it seems, and with a lot of hard work and efforts, they have turned abandoned and uninhabitable houses into beautiful homes. Working for a common goal that will bring joy to much people is what drives Steve Thomas Rooney and all other concerned citizens.