Goshen College and College Mennonite Church to build a Habitat for Humanity home in a week, Oct. 9-16

What: Building blitz of Habitat for Humanity house for the Vernard and Alicia Malone family

When: Oct. 9-16

Where: Harrison Ridge Subdivision (behind Peddler’s Village on County Road 28)

Sponsors: Goshen College, College Mennonite Church

Dedication: Oct. 16, 9:30 a.m.

Photos: View the daily progress on this home.

Volunteers and donations are still needed. If interested in volunteering for a 7 a.m. to noon shift, or a noon to 5 p.m. shift any day of the build, just show up at the site. Bring hammers and other hand tools, nail pouches or tool belts if you have them. If you would like to make a donation towards this house, send it to Habitat for Humanity of Elkhart County, Inc., PO Box 950, Goshen, Ind. 46527, with a note that it is for the Goshen College/College Mennonite house.

GOSHEN, Ind. – Goshen College and College Mennonite Church are the joint sponsors of a Habitat for Humanity home for a Goshen family, to be built Oct. 9 to 16. This will only be the second time Habitat for Humanity of Elkhart has built a house in a week blitz. Two homes have been built in one-day blitzes.

The house, which will become the new home of the Vernard and Alicia Malone family, is being built in the Harrison Ridge Subdivision, located behind Peddler’s Village on County Road 28. Coincidentally, Vernard was until very recently, a custodian for both the college and the church before taking a new position. In the Habitat tradition, the Malones have been helping build other homes in the program.

Goshen College and College Mennonite Church are providing semi-skilled and unskilled volunteers, more than 30 a day, as well as jointly raising $45,000. Because the college’s fall semester break coincides with the build, some students have signed up to do service on the house while they have off from classes.

Volunteers and donations are still needed though. If interested in volunteering for a 7 a.m. to noon shift, or a noon to 5 p.m. shift any day of the build, just show up at the site. Bring hammers and other hand tools, nail pouches or tool belts if you have them. If you would like to make a donation towards this house, send it to Habitat for Humanity of Elkhart County, Inc., PO Box 950, Goshen, Ind. 46527, with a note that it is for the Goshen College/College Mennonite house.

Projects of the week-long building schedule include:

Saturday: Install walls, set trusses, hang windows, miscellaneous framing

Monday:Electricity, plumbing and heating, hang exterior doors, insulation, begin with siding and shingles

Tuesday: Hang and finish drywall, continue siding and shingles

Wednesday: Paint, trim, hang interior doors, begin laying vinyl flooring.

Thursday: Continue siding, interior doors, caulking, install cabinets, painting, trimming

Friday:Touch up paint, appliances, lay carpet, landscaping, clean-up, wash

Saturday: Finishing touches, if needed

The week will culminate with a dedication service of the Malone’s house on Saturday, Oct. 16 at 9:30 a.m. The Habitat for Humanity program provides each new family with a Bible and sponsors and other volunteers will also take part. A groundbreaking was held Saturday, Oct. 9 at 9:30 a.m. to begin the week of hammering and constructing.

Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit https://www.goshen.edu.

Editors: For more information, contact News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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