On behalf of Story County Habitat for Humanity I want to thank all the people who came out to celebrate the dedication of the Cellan family house in Ames on August 18.

This house is the 13th Habitat house in Story County, and is made possible by the financial and volunteer support of the people of Story County.

The Habitat house dedication symbolizes many things. It honors a family’s hard work and determination to make a better life for themselves. Habitat partner families work hundreds of hours in the program, and purchase their homes with zero-interest mortgages from Habitat for Humanity, at no profit.

The dedication also symbolizes the change in relationship between the partner family and Habitat for Humanity.

Before the dedication, the family partners with Habitat to build a home. Habitat is a housing developer. We also partner with the family as they prepare to assume the responsibility of homeownership. After the dedication, the family purchases the home through a mortgage financed by Habitat. Habitat is a lender. The family becomes a homeowner, private citizens in our community. It is Habitat’s goal to end the pre-dedication partnership with the family, to set them free to be a homeowner like all other homeowners. Think of the relationship you have with your own mortgage lender; this is the relationship Habitat has with its homeowners after they purchase the home.

You can be proud of the house you built, the house you funded, the house you celebrated at the dedication, the homeowner you worked alongside in partnership.

The market value of the recently dedicated property was appraised to be $139,000.

But the sale price is affordable because of the volunteer labor and the no interest mortgage. I call that a project worth celebrating. Thank you!

Anjeanette Perkins

Executive Director

Story County Habitat for Humanity