S. Washington Co. Bulliten on Habitat build in SPP

This is an article about the duplex in St Paul Park I worked on last spring and summer. The dedication was especially nice.


"One meal, one hour, one afternoon of mudding—it took all of us to build these houses," said the Rev. John Snider of St. Stephens Lutheran Church Saturday morning, as he gave the opening invocation at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity's official dedication of attached homes at 902 and 904 Hastings Avenue.
"None of us could do this alone," Snider told more than 60 volunteers, donors, families and friends who attended the ceremony.
Construction began on the two homes last summer on land donated to Twin Cities Habitat by Dave Pawlik, his wife Nancy and brother John.
Dave Pawlik told the crowd "two homes had to be built on the land" that was owned for more than 50 years by his parents, Beverly and Gerald Pawlik.
"For the last 10 years of her life, mother took care of my sister, Jane, who suffered from multiple sclerosis," Pawlik said. "My mother only lived five months after Jane died. She asked that the land be donated, and we decided two Habitat structures would be the best use—one in memory of both mother and Jane.
"Their spirits are shining through this dedication," he said. "Sometimes you just want to give and it's nice to be part of someone else's miracle."
Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity homes are built by volunteers and their prospective families led by a core Habitat team. Volunteers from donor companies and many Lutheran churches in south Washington County and surrounding communities worked on the project.
St. Paul Park resident Lauren VanPelt put together a team of volunteers from St. Stephens that included his daughter, Veronica, and her friend Liz Doherty, both students at Park High School.
"I believe in the (Habitat) cause," he said prior to the dedication ceremony. "The best way to solve poverty is home ownership."
In accepting one of the houses for his family, Astras Ataya, a 2005 immigrant from Ethiopia, thanked—through an interpreter—all the volunteers.
"You respected us and we learned a lot from working with you," Ataya said. "Thank you very much. We are very proud."
Lillian Saliente and her five children, formerly of the Philippines, will move into the second house.
Choked with tears, she told the crowd that Saturday was "one of the most wonderful days in the life of my family."
She thanked everyone for their help "even on the coldest days."
Volunteers and donors attending the dedication didn't come empty-handed, they had lots of gifts that will come in handy for the new homeowners.
Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry.
It seeks to eliminate homelessness from the world. In addition to a down payment and the monthly mortgage payments, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor in building their Habitat house and the houses of others.
Through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat builds and rehabilitates simple houses with the help of the homeowner families. Habitat houses are sold to partner families at no profit and financed with affordable loans. The homeowners' monthly mortgage payments are used to build more Habitat houses.
By Toni LambertSouth Washington County BulletinFebruary 20, 2008