Stew Leonard’s recognizes Habitat volunteers

Stew Leonard’s recently partnered with Housatonic Habitat for Humanity in recognizing the works of hundreds of local volunteers who give back to their community by supporting the affordable housing mission.

Approximately 50 volunteers who have donated their time during the year were honored at a sit-down dinner catered by Stew Leonard’s. According to Executive Director Fran Normann, “We thank Stew Leonard’s in joining with us in recognizing the good work others do in our community. During our last fiscal year, hundreds of people volunteered for more than 13,000 hours not only in building homes, but making repairs so that others could age in place as well as back office tasks that keep us running.” She added, "The value of that work can be estimated at more than $300,000. We honored our “core” volunteers – those who give back to their community week after week and throughout the years at the event on September 12.”

Habitat is more than the homes we build, she said. “Throughout the region, affordable housing attracts families and individuals, who will locate, work in, invest in, and contribute to the economic and civic life of our communities. Housatonic Habitat has a solution to stimulate this economic vitality: Give people a chance to live in simple, decent homes they can afford – and sustain. We provide affordable homes built by volunteers with materials gifted by local businesses. We provide an interest-free mortgage for those working families who qualify. These families often have limited assets with income constrained by the type of work they do. Often, they will not qualify for a traditional mortgage. Because we are both a builder … and a bank, we can look beyond the numbers to find families with strong goals and a focus on creating stable and better lives for their family. Working with our partners, we’ve gone beyond the hammer to improve lives throughout the region.”

Housatonic Habitat for Humanity focuses on making a meaningful difference in the lives of qualified working families by promoting financial stability and self-sufficiency through ownership of affordable homes.

For more information, visit us: www.housatonichabitat.org or www.facebook.com/housatonichabitatforhumanity/