By ALLEN MINCEY
Oct 18, 2025
Another successful year for Habitat for Humanity of Cleveland gave the group a chance to toot their horns Thursday night at a special banquet, but also to make plans for a special event coming up to celebrate the 35 years of assistance they have provided.
The second annual “Blueprints and Blue Jeans” banquet was held at The Vineyard at Howe Farms, where several hundred Habitat supporters not only had a special dinner and were thanked for their help to the organization, but also had a chance to make donations to Habitat through a silent auction and by making contributions at the event.
Highlights from the banquet were testimonials from two individuals who were recipients of Habitat homes, and one who will soon see her new home begin construction.
Ricky Hale, the son of Duel and Sue Hale and, with his twin brother Mickey, were one of the two initial families whose homes were built on Starlet Circle in 1990, spoke about how moving into the home changed his life.
“Being a part of the Habitat family has meant more than me than anything you can ever imagine. This has been a family to me for the past 35 years,” Hale said. “This is the best blessing that my family has ever had.”
Destiny Peace, another Habitat for Humanity of Cleveland home recipient, was featured in a video that showed the history of her build.
She remembered right after moving into the new home from other places that were not very good, that “we got up the next morning and we could see the light through the windows. There was no nasty smell. There was was no messy smell, there was no sad feeling. It was just this amazing, this normal, this is our new life that we used to start this new chapter.”
Habitat for Humanity of Cleveland Executive Director David Gray presented some statistics for the audience to ponder:
• 173 families have gotten their own homes;
• Almost 300 lives were changed over 35 years; and
• 177 other families who have received home repairs on their homes since year 2000.
But he really wanted to focus on the people, not the numbers.
“When families come into our program … I know how their life is going to change as soon as they move from those bad conditions into a stable, secure, safe environment,” Gray said. “What I say all the time is, we're not just building homes, we're not just building neighborhoods, we are impacting generations.”
That new generation might be Orville Alley, who with his mom Brooke, will soon see their home being built. This home will be done in a very special way.
“We're doing a 35th anniversary build, and we're going to attempt to build a house in 35 days,” Gray said. "This home will be the new home of Brook and her son, and she told the audience Thursday that she can’t wait to get started."
Gray told her and the audience that just before the “Blueprints and Blue Jeans” event, Habitat was informed that they had received permission to begin clearing the lot for the new home.
Two of the Habitat homeowners were special winners at the banquet as they participated the Drive for Hope fundraiser, helping to raise money for Habitat with the homeowner raising the most receiving a free vehicle from Easy Auto.
Leticia Smith, who moved into her Habitat home in 2011, was the winner of the vehicle. Smith, a transplant recipient who regularly takes oral chemo and travels to Chattanooga and Nashville for appointments but does not have a vehicle, raised the most donations and now has the transportation she so desperately needed.
Sysha Blair, a more recent Habitat recipient, brought in the second highest amount of contributions, and was awarded gifts from Food City.
Habitat for Humanity of Cleveland will have its next home dedication in November, as which time it will also start on the 35-day build. To keep up with Habitat events, or to learn more about the organization, visit www.habitatofcleveland.org.
