PORT TOWNSEND — The weather turns cold and wet, and Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County usually waits until spring to resume its housebuilding program.
Not this year.
As Fred Kimball, Jefferson Habitat chairman, handed the keys to owners of two new houses on 21st Street on Sunday, he said volunteers will keep on working to finish a third house for a woman and her six children by next spring.
And they’ll take all the donations, financial or in-kind, and labor they can get.
“If you’re looking for something to do this winter, we promise you will only have to work on nice days,” Kimball told the 75 people who gathered for the two dedications Sunday afternoon.
Receiving house keys and housewarming gifts from the community Sunday were Gillian Stewart and daughter, Mira, 6; and Jacob Genaw and Emily Allen and their four children, Alex, Cora, David and Grace.
Lutheran gift
Stewart also received a painting of a house showing a family gathered around a candle in the window from Steve Moser on behalf of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a foundation that provides funds for community projects.
Thrivent provided a grant to underwrite more than half the construction cost of Stewart’s house, according to Habitat director Jamie Maciejewsky.
The local Lutheran congregations, Grace Lutheran and Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, were charged with providing half the volunteer hours needed and 10 percent matching funds.
Because there are only two Lutheran churches in the county, five other congregations — St. Paul’s Episcopal, St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Roman Catholic, Trinity United Methodist, First Presbyterian and Quimper Unitarian — helped shoulder the burden, Maciejewsky said.
“All contributed financially as well as volunteers to meet the grant match requirements,” Maciejewsky said.
“It’s an amazing thing that enabled us to go another step.”
House blessings
Don Pieper, pastor of Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, gave the blessing for the Allen house, and Beth Orling, pastor of Grace Lutheran, blessed the Genaw-Allen house.
Jacob Genaw originally applied to build a Habitat house for his three children almost two years ago, Maciejewsky said.
A year ago, he came to the board and asked that Emily Allen and daughter, Grace, be part of the family.
Genaw and Allen made it official in June on the same day that Habitat held the “prayers in the walls” ceremony at their new house before the drywall went in.
“They ran down to the church and got married,” Maciejewsky said.
In August, Stewart, Genaw and Allen, who had completed the required “sweat equity” hours on their houses, came to Habitat and asked if they could donate the rest of their work hours to the “friends and family” account for Francisca deLanphear, who is building the next house on the block.
Another neighbor on 21st Street, Cara Leckenby, led a “Woman-Build” day in May, and Daren Vercoe, another Habitat home-owner and neighbor, did the landscaping for the new houses.
“This is not just about building a house,” Maciejewsky said.
“It’s been about building relationships.”
Quilts donated
Both families also received quilts from Grace Lutheran Church members.
Roger McPherson presented the families with gift certificates for landscaping on behalf of the Jefferson County Master Gardeners, and Jean Camfield and Margo Garten presented them with gift certificates to the Habitat and More, Habitat for Humanity’s furniture store.
Kimball thanked the city for help in developing 21st Street, including water, sewer and paving, which was funded with the help of a federal Housing and Urban Development Department grant and a portion of document recording fees that support low-income housing.
Habitat construction coordinator Rachel Williams thanked the volunteers and businesses which discounted and donated services and materials for the two houses.
For information about how to help complete the next Habitat house, go to www.habitatejc.org or phone 360-379-2827.
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Port Townsend/Jefferson County reporter-columnist Jennifer Jackson can be reached at jjackson@olypen.com.
