Posted Sunday, October 4, 2020 1:30 am

By Gwen Swiger

For 30 years, Habitat for Humanity has been building homes and changing lives in Bradley County. During those years, 144 homes have been built — five will have been constructed this year. Habitat receives the money to build these homes through grants, sponsorships, individual donations and its ReStore. “Some 30 to 40% of our income comes from the ReStore,” according to Meta McGuire, Donor Engagement Manager.  

Since 2010, the ReStore has taken donated Christmas trees, ornaments, decorations and lights to decorate and then sell. Deborah Flower, a retired school teacher, coordinates the holiday displays and volunteers.
She said, “We (Flower and her husband) always knew we were going to volunteer somewhere when we retired.” A neighbor asked her husband to help on a home build site. When she retired, she joined her husband on the construction site. “I learned to do power tools and others things,” she said.

During the rainy season, she was asked to assist at the ReStore. She started by organizing the book section. “Then they said they had a room stacked with holiday stuff — floor to ceiling,” she said. She organized it, priced it and set it out. Her assignment grew as she took on organizing Thanksgiving items. “It came all the way down the pike,” she said. “I’m in charge of the holidays — not the seasons — the holidays. “Christmas is our biggest moneymaker. We make between $20,000 to $25,000 between August and December,” Flower said. “That makes 1/3 the cost of a house. Between all these decorations, ornaments, lights and trees, we make enough to be put toward someone’s home. That’s good,” she noted. “Everything is donated.”

To help her decorate and put together the holiday items, Flower has the assistance of local volunteers. McGuire, who goes to Silverdale Baptist Church, has groups from her church who volunteer each year in decorating the trees. They also have volunteers who are teacher friends, neighbor friends and sometimes Lee University students, according to Flower. “They all work together.”

The Christmas trees are decorated and sold as is. “No cherry-picking decorations,” Flower said. When a tree is bought, the ReStore wraps it. The new owner must provide help to get it in their vehicle. The ReStore doesn’t deliver.

Christmas at the Restore is not restricted to decorated trees. There are also holiday wreaths, packages of ornaments, and holiday décor items. In other sections, you might find some gift items.

The trees went on sale last Wednesday at 300 Grove Ave.

About Habitat for Humanity

McGuire noted individuals selected for a Habitat for Humanity home undergo from 300 to 400 hours of training and sweat equity. Some of the sweat equity is in building the home and some can be earned by volunteering at other homes and the ReStore. The training includes educating the prospective homeowners on budgeting their money and being good neighbors. The mortgage funds are at 0% interest. McGuire explained new homeowners can save as much as $200 a month over renting apartments. She said the mission of Habitat is to “share the love of God by putting God’s love in action. Habitat is putting people together to build homes, communities and hope.”

“A lot of hope has been spread this year. We usually have 20 volunteer groups per year. We build four to six homes,” she said. It was through the $75,000 sponsorship of the Community Foundation a fifth home was able to be constructed this year.

The groups donate $1,000 to participate in providing affordable housing. However, a lack of funding and volunteers this year due to COVID-19 restrictions has limited those construction opportunities. McGuire said individuals and groups interested in donating may go online and click fundraiser. There is a matching fund which will provide up to $30,000.

The ReStore is open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Habitatofcleveland.org

//restoreofcleveland.org