Advertisement

Saginaw Habitat for Humanity Director Paul Warriner presented the Grady and Kim Suggs family with an unexpected gift - an occupancy permit from the Village of Chesaning.

"Slumber party!" yelled someone from the crowd, which had gathered to help the family and volunteers celebrate the home's completion.

Warriner applauded those involved with the Chesaning project for making their first build a success. The project was finished in record time - it took just 13 days to construct the five-bedroom home after the wall-raising kicked off on August 10.

In Saginaw Habitat's 20 years of home building, the Chesaning home is the first project undertaken in southern Saginaw County. The effort began when area churches expressed an interest in coordinating a Habitat build, and grew to include businesses, residents and service organizations.

Volunteer coordinator Don Platt said more than 200 volunteers helped with the project. Many worked on the building site, while others helped with planning, food preparation, transportation and other services.

The community raised more than $30,000 for the build. The Suggs family worked on the project daily - a practice known as "sweat equity" - and will pay for the home with a no-interest mortgage backed by Habitat.

Built for a seven-member family, much of the one-story home's living space is taken up by bedrooms. The house plans originally called for four bedrooms, but a crew of dedicated volunteers and a successful fundraising drive allowed organizers to add a basement bedroom.

The couple and their older children, Amber, Krystle, Grady III helped with the build. Tiffany and Justin were not old enough to work, but were regular visitors at the site.

Tiffany helped write a song for the dedication ceremony, which she performed with musicians Doug Flegel and Don Platt. Kim Suggs, an accomplished singer, performed "We Will Stand," as a thank you to the people from different church denominations and backgrounds who came together to build the home.

The family planned to begin moving their furniture and personal items from their New Lothrop rental home "a little at a time," but that didn't stop plans for a family sleepover on Saturday night.

"There are not enough words to say thank you," said Kim Suggs. "Seeing everyone come together for this project has been a gift."

Saginaw Habitat for Humanity is a Christian-based, ecumenical housing ministry whose purpose is to build community by working with qualified families and helping them become owners of simple decent affordable homes. Saginaw Habitat has built or renovated 143 houses since it started in 1987.

Feeding the masses

During the August 25 dedication ceremony for Chesaning's first Habitat for Humanity home, volunteers, family members and community members reflected on what the project meant to them. Sandy Kingsbury, the project's food coordinator, provided a colorful play-by-play of her experiences planning sustenance for the volunteers.

On Kingsbury's list:

* 300 minutes of long distance phone calls

* 1300 cups of coffee

* 720 pounds of ice

* 41 cases of bottled water

* 50 dozen Tim Hortons doughnuts

* 52 gallons of iced tea

* 47 gallons of lemonade

* 480 freshly-baked cookies

The Brady Township woman and her crew put together 26 meals throughout the project, with the help of area churches, businesses and individuals. She said it is unusual for a Habitat build to provide both lunch and dinner for workers, but thanks to overwhelming support, her committee was able to pull it off.

"When we started, the food schedule looked so big and empty - it made me a little nervous. But everyone was so quick to pitch in and sign up for meals. We served up everything from sandwiches and sloppy joes to barbecued chicken and nachos. It was pretty amazing," she said.