Saturday morning on Mayo Street in East Brewton was not the start of a typical day. It was the day that the Thompson family has looked forward to for the past two years.
Bobby and Janice Thompson and their grandson, Keifer Nelson hope to have Christmas in their new home.
Habitat for Humanity and a crew of workers descended on the lot where only a concrete slab had been poured. Before the day ended, outside walls were up and and the crew were working really hard to make up for the time lost earlier when the pre-fabricated walls didn’t show up on time.
“The company that makes the frames for the house had some problems the week before and it stopped work on getting started earlier,” said Alecia Glaize, director of Habitat for Humanity in Escambia County. “Then we planned on getting started Friday, but once again we had a holdup on the materials. We did what we could on Friday and were ready when the big truck pulled in.”
The truck was met by a big crowd of volunteers who were there to get everything going. There was a group of the regular workers who usually come out and several organizations joined them to get the pre-fabricated walls and jousts into place.
Things worked like a well-oiled machine. Members of New Beginnings, the local rehab center and Upward Bound students from JDCC were ready to do their part.
“We had a real turnout on Saturday,” said Glaize. “We worked until it was too dark to work. We hope to have a good group next week, but the numbers probably won’t be as high.”
This is the 18th house that Habitat has built and the regular members of the team know just what to do.
Within the first hour the pre-fabricated walls and roof had been downloaded and walls were quickly installed on the concrete slab and it was already looking like a brand new house.
“We hope to have this house done in time for the Thompson family to celebrate the Christmas holidays in their new home,” Glaize said. “The late start will make us have to work a bit harder, but if we keep getting this number of volunteers, we can still do it. The first work-day always bring out a large group of people, but as the work continues, some of them quit coming. Everybody seems very enthusiastic today, and we hope it will continue. We will be there from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, and from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.”
If anyone would like to get involved, now is the time to do it. Be a part of making this Christmas a great day in the life of the Thompson family. Call Alecia Glaize at 867-0095 for more information.