Thursday, Sep. 04, 2008

Clover family's Habitat home nearly finished

By Donna K. Britsch

Enquirer Herald

CLOVER -- Tonda Helms and her two teenaged children should be enjoying the holidays this year in their new home at 928 Pasley Place in Clover thanks to the hard work and dedication of many area volunteers and the Habitat for Humanity of York County.

Helms and her children Haley, 15, and James, 14, should be able to sleep in the new house by the end of October.

On a recent Saturday morning, George Sheppard of Tega Cay and 24 friends and family spent the day working on the roof and other projects around the home, including interior framing, putting up the front door, installing windows and building a storage shed.

"There are a lot of misconceptions about the program," said Sheppard, a Tega Cay councilman. "Habitat is not a handout, it is a hand up. We all need help now and then."

Helms and her family have been out helping since the preparation of the land and the ground breaking.

To qualify for the Habitat program, Helms and other applicants had to show a need for decent housing, a steady income to pay her monthly mortgage and a willingness to volunteer 200 hours in community service.

Helms will pay slightly more per month for the mortgage than what she pays for the single-wide trailer her family currently lives in near Clover.

"The trailer has holes in the floor and carpenter ants chewed the ceiling, so we get rained on," she said. "The trailer is dangerous electrically and is like heating and cooling a sieve."

'New beginning'

Helms graduated from Clover High School and then moved to Wilmington, N.C.

After living through two hurricanes and losing the family home and belongs after the second one, the single mom moved back to Clover.

Personal circumstances have hindered her financially. She was turned down twice for a Habitat home, the second time because of her credit history.

"I worked to clear up my credit problems and was excited when my application for the kids and I was accepted," she said. "It was incredible.

"We have met such wonderful people through this and I plan to be a good neighbor and give back," she said. "Even some of my old high school classmates have been helping build the house."

Now, she won't be "throwing money away for rent." She calls the home a good investment for her children.

"I will keep my credit record clean, keep the property up, and be a respectable neighbor," she said. "This will be a new beginning for us."

For the past four years, Helms has worked as a private family assistant helping with the family's five children, two of which are physically challenged and are home schooled.

This is the ninth habitat home built in Clover since 1996.

Roger Patterson, a volunteer from First Baptist Church in Clover, has helped with six habitat homes through the years.

"I think Habitat is a great organization and this is a way that I can use some of the skills that God gave me to help build houses," Patterson said. "It is good to see Tonda and her two kids helping with the project.

"It becomes almost contagious when we are working on the houses," Patterson said. "I recall that a local Scout Leader Chris Brown stopped by one day to ask what we were doing and then asked what the Scouts could do to help."

Clover councilman Wes Spurrier also has helped through his church.

He said it's a good way to help others in the community.

Spurrier, a Deacon at Clover Presbyterian Church, serves on the Local Missions ministry team and is a longtime member of the Clover Jaycees.

"Getting involved is important to me," said Spurrier, who is coordinating a work day on Oct.11 for his church. "Since our congregation takes pride in the community, this is a way to get involved close to our church. I feel we are supporting our town and its residents by helping with this project."

The following are some of the volunteer groups working on the Pasley Place house:

St Johns United Methodist Church, Rock Hill

First Baptist Church, Clover

Eternal Presbyterian Church, Fort Mill

Tega Cay volunteers

Trinity United Methodist Church, York

Muzak

Unity Presbyterian, Fort Mill

Christ the King, Charlotte

Winthrop University Habitat Chapter

First United Methodist, Clover

Textron

Clover Presbyterian Church

Grace Presbyterian Church, Fort Mill

Oakland Avenue Presbyterian Church, Rock Hill

To volunteer, contact Lori Benson, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of York County at 328-1728.