While communities statewide have been involved with Habitat For Humanity homes for years, this weekend marked the dedication of a Habitat home in Webster City, the first in all of Hamilton County. Jean Mowry, a county Habitat board member, says it was a special landmark for the organization and for the family.
Mowry says “My heart is filled with joy and we are so blessed to have such a great community of partners that have worked very hard and there’s a lot of pride and there’s a lot of love that’s being shared today.”
Stacey Dryer, from the Habitat For Humanity’s central Iowa office in Ames, says the home was built after many weeks of volunteer labor from area residents and from the family that will now live there. Dryer says Habitat isn’t just about building houses, it’s about building communities. She says “Hamilton County has done a wonderful job of rallying up the community, rallying around the partner family, making them feel welcome in this community and just doing a bang-up job.”
The Bounemy Chantha family, originally from Laos, are the first residents of the new house. Webster City’s second Habitat home will be built next-door to the Chantha home this summer.