Local church coalition to build Habitat House

Local church coalition to build Habitat House

The Southwest Habitat Coalition is a faith-based community group that has come together with the goal of sponsoring and building an affordable home for a Rochester family in need. The coalition is working in partnership with Flower City Habitat for Humanity.

Working directly with Flower City Habitat for Humanity, the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, the coalition's project will be funded using donations and contributions from the community; built largely using volunteer labor with most of the labor on the project home done by coalition church members; and selected a prospective homeowner who meets Habitat's eligibility requirements and completes many hours of "sweat equity" by helping to construct their future home and other Habitat homes.

The sponsored home is tentatively slated to be constructed in the area just southwest of the new Paetec Park soccer stadium, near Grape and Orange Street, on the western side of Rochester.

The group plans to break ground and begin construction with Flower City Habitat sometime in early to mid-summer 2008, with completion and dedication to the new homeowner in late summer or early fall.

Sponsorship of the home will cost $65,000. From now through the end of the project, work will continue to raise the funds needed, through donations, fundraising sales or events and construction material donations.

The Southwest Habitat Coalition is comprised of the several churches, including many from the immediate area: Community Christian Church of Chili, First Presbyterian Church of Chili, Pearce Memorial Church, Spencerport United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church of North Chili.

For information visit the website at www.southwesthabitatcoalition.org.