The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

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November 30, 2008

Habitat putting family in new home for holidays

By Courtney L. Anderson

MERCER — Jeannie Wells hasn’t moved into her new home, but she already knows where she’ll probably put her Christmas tree.

The ranch-style home at 428 Grant St. in Mercer was built over the summer by Mercer County Habitat for Humanity and dedicated Sunday by a crowd of clergy, volunteers and well-wishers.

“I love it,” she said of the home, which has three bedrooms for Ms. Wells and her two children, Dakota, 11, and Marisa, 16.

Ms. Wells, 36, said she expects to celebrate the holiday in her new home and can’t wait to start decorating.

People packed into the sunny yellow kitchen, which is decorated with sunflowers and cows, and opens into a living room with a cathedral ceiling — something that will make a tall Christmas tree possible.

A gift of a Werner ladder from the Habitat folks will help the family perch the star on top.

Ms. Wells said she and Dakota have been sharing a bedroom at her parents’ home in New Wilmington. She said she is especially excited about the quiet and the space her new place offers.

A young man of few words, Dakota said he was excited about his new house and his own room. He said he wanted to thank everyone that made that possible.

Rev. Rick Nelson, pastor of White Chapel United Methodist Church and vice president of the Mercer County Habitat group, said that the occupancy permit has been granted and some final paperwork is being finished.

The bulk of the house went up in about a week in June with the help of more than 300 people from the United Methodist Church in Western Pennsylvania. It’s the eighth home Habitat has built in Mercer County since the organization started in 1993.

Ms. Wells said she is touched that so many people wanted to help her family.

“It’s amazing. It’s a feeling that you can’t really describe,” she said. “I’ve met some wonderful people and made, I think, some lifetime relationships.”

Bishop Thomas Bickerton of the Western Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church said he represented more than 190,000 people across the region in dedicating the house and welcoming the Wells family home.

During the dedication, Bickerton lead a prayer saying “may the sweat, the laughter and the labor of all who helped to create this house strengthen and support it, as well as all who dwell here.”

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” Ms. Wells told the crowd.

Bickerton said he prayed Sunday was the first of many celebrations in the home.

Mercer County Habitat for Humanity Inc., is a nonprofit organization that builds affordable homes primarily through volunteer labor and some donated materials. The homes are sold at cost to the working family through no-interest loans.

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