Sat Nov 07 2009
By LISA NICELY
nicely@crescent-news
KALIDA -- It's time to help build a better tomorrow for many families in Putnam County.
The newest Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Ohio, Putnam County Habitat for Humanity, is working hard to get the word out about what Habitat is and its needs through a capital campaign. Putnam County Habitat for Humanity became an affiliate on March 1.
"Habitat has name recognition, but not many people know what it really is," said Charles "Chas" Myers, secretary of Putnam County's Habitat. "The more they know the more they want to get involved by serving on a committee, donation or helping at a build."
Each family which qualifies for home ownership through Habitat is required to work with volunteers to build a house. When a home is completed, families make payments on an interest-free mortgage held by Habitat. The payments are used to build more homes for families.
In fact, the mission of the Putnam County's organization is "with God's grace and the cooperation of people from all walks of life, Putnam County Habitat for Humanity partners with families in need to build, own and maintain simple, decent, affordable homes, all for the purpose of strengthening a sense of community."
To help raise awareness as well as funds for Habitat, the organization will run a capital campaign, with a goal of raising $75,000 toward start-up costs plus toward building the first Habitat home.
The campaign gets underway this week.
A kick-off event will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Kalida. A PowerPoint presentation will be given and Nancy Miller, who is originally from Glandorf, will speak.
Miller, a 60-year-old paraplegic, lives in a Habitat home in Lima. She will speak about what Habitat means to her and its mission.
"She puts a pretty powerful face on it," said Myers. "The PowerPoint presentation helps get the word out on what Habitat is. It's a hand up not a hand out. It's our goal to make people aware of substandard and poverty housing in our county, nation and world."
To help get the campaign started, Verhoff Machine and Welding of Kalida donated $10,000 to Habitat.
"In an effort to give back to Putnam County and the community, Verhoff believes in this worthy cause and wants to help local families during these tough economic times," said Ed Verhoff, president and chief executive officer of the company.
Tom Zimmerman, vice president of Habitat and capital fund co-chairman, said the donation was appreciated.
"Verhoff Machine and Welding's generous contribution not only moves us closer to our goal, but also shows this company's commitment to the people of Putnam County," he said.
In addition to Verhoff's, three other companies have donated $3,000 each to the campaign. These include Superior Federal Credit Union in Ottawa, Pro Tec Coating of Leipsic and Hirzel Canning Co. in Ottawa.
"That's $19,000 and a good start for the kickoff," said Myers, adding that volunteers will soon be contacting businesses and community members for donations. "We have over 70 volunteers that will be going all over the county asking for support for Habitat's mission."
Letters about the campaign will soon be going out to prospective donors as well.
Myers stressed that Putnam County Habitat is a countywide organization and that there is a representative on the board from every school district in the county.
After funds are raised, the next big step is finding sites where homes can be built. Individuals who may wish to donate lots to Habitat are asked to call 419-523-9621.
Once a site and a qualified family have been found, Habitat hopes to break ground on its first home, hopefully by the end of the year.
Anyone interested in learning more about Habitat or schedule its PowerPoint presentation, stop by its office located in the Ottawa Presbyterian Church, 150 N. Oak St., on Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Individuals can also call 419-523-9621, e-mail pcohhabitat@putnamohhabitat.org or visit www.putnamohhabitat.org. Applications for homes will also be available for interested families in the next few weeks.
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