On Saturday, February 26, Lutheran Coalition for Habitat, along with co-sponsor Cobb County High School Coalition, began construction on the first Habitat build of the year on Britt Road in Mableton in partnership with Smyrna-based Habitat for Humanity of NW Metro Atlanta.
This is the 25thHabitat home built by the students of the Habitat clubs of the Cobb County High School Coalition and the 33rd Habitat home built in the region by the Lutheran Coalition for Habitat.
Four Cobb high schools are participating in this year’s coalition and include: Campbell, Hillgrove, Pope, and Walton High School Habitat for Humanity student chapters.The Lutheran Coalition for Habitat is a concerned group of Lutherans in the metro Atlanta area who have agreed to partner with Habitat affiliates to eliminate substandard housing. Since 1994, the coalition has helped build 32 homes for families across northern Georgia, and for the last 15 years held an annual fundraiser to make this possible, called Taste of Habitat.
Kimberly is a 39-year-old single mother of three children (Michael,18; Eunice, 11; and Melody, 3 months). She was born in St. Lucia and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She moved to Georgia seven years ago and has rented an apartment in Cobb County since. With the birth of her third child, she is especially in need of a larger home, now more than ever. Kimberly has worked for the Cobb County Board of Education as a special needs’ paraprofessional for the past five years and loves her job.
Kimberly will be the first in her family to own a home. She is most excited about being able to set an example for her children and teaching them about the responsibility that goes along with home ownership. She sees the home that is offered through Habitat for Humanity as not just merely owning a home, but as an opportunity to build a solid foundation for the future for her and her family. She is also excited about the prospect of planting and maintaining a garden, much like she did as a child back in the Caribbean.
The Lutheran Coalition and student volunteers will build the home over nine Saturdays concluding at the end of April.