A year ago, Kim Rezarch was living in a one-bedroom apartment with her daughter when she applied for a Habitat for Humanity home. Thirteen months later, construction started on their new home in Kelley.

On Monday, the first floor frame of Rezarch’s house was nearly complete.

“We got all of this done since 8 this morning. We have two shifts of 20 people each come in, all of them volunteers from different fraternities and sororities,” said Anna Thede, homecoming community service coordinator.

For the sixth consecutive year, ISU students have pitched in to help Habitat for Humanity during Homecoming Week’s Blitz Build.

Thede, junior in accounting, said Blitz Build is a major part of homecoming activities.

“We’re glad to be out here helping; this is a big part of our community service drive,” she said. “We also organized the Clean up Campus and had over 400 volunteers for that.”

Rezarch, who plans to move into the house Dec. 18 after a dedication ceremony, said this will be the culmination of more than a year of planning and work on her part.

“I first applied for the house last July, and there were three phases to being accepted. I first had to meet the income criteria. Then there was an in-person interview where they looked at my current living situation. Finally, I had to fix my credit and prove that I could afford the mortgage on the house. That was the most difficult part,” she said.

People who meet the criteria for a Habitat for Humanity house have to put in 500 hours of what is called “sweat equity” in order to procure financing from Habitat for Humanity, said Anjeanette Perkins, executive director of Central Iowa Habitat for Humanity.

“Owning a home is a serious responsibility with Habitat. That responsibility starts even before construction begins,” Perkins said.

“I’ve put in over 100 hours of community service, which count toward my 500, and my family and friends come out and help me work on the house, as well. All of it counts toward the 500,” Rezarch said.

Although Habit for Humanity gets approximately 20 applications per year in Story County, Perkins said there are “over 5,000 people who qualify for a Habitat home based on their income.”

Skilled labor is donated from various Ames contractors and most of the building material is also donated, she said.

“We have built, on average, two homes a year in this area; we’re looking to get that number to nine,” she said.

In the past, Perkins said, Habitat for Humanity was able to build homes in Ames, but land has recently become too expensive to continue to build there.

“We’re looking to buy a few lots all next to each other in Ames this year, but we cannot afford to build in the newly developed areas around Ames, and almost all of the in-town lots are too expensive,” said Perkins.

Shane Zimmerman, president of Wells Fargo Bank in the Ames market, said a yearly $25,000 grant from Wells Fargo has helped cover Habitat for Humanity’s cost of construction since 2002.

“All of our Ames employees have to schedule some time through the year when they will come out and work on a Habitat for Humanity house,” Zimmerman said.