Habitat breaks ground on home

April Dunfee, third from left, shed tears of joy during the groundbreaking on her Habitat for Humanity home Saturday. She gave thanks to all those who are helping her and her children have a nice roof over their heads. She was joined by several Habitat board members in breaking ground for her new home.

ROACHDALE -- The last month has been a joyous one for the Dunfee family. They are the latest family to receive a Putnam County Habitat for Humanity home.

A groundbreaking for their new home took place in Roachdale last Saturday with Habitat board members, volunteers and friends.

The Dunfees' house is the ninth and last one being built on four acres of land that was donated to Habitat.

April Dunfee said through her tears as she shoveled dirt at the groundbreaking, that she searched the Bible for a scripture to express how she felt.

"There wasn't anything that could come close," she said.

April Dunfee is the mother of six children aged two to 10.

The family will be in the home before school starts next fall. It takes about three months to get the home built.

Dunfee is a workshop facilitator for the Division of Family Resources. That is where she first heard about Habitat.

Board member and Habitat homeowner Tammy Folck was making a presentation for one of Dunfee's classes. After the class, Dunfee inquired about applying for a Habitat home.

"It was a roller coaster ride from the beginning, but it's fabulous. I've never been so scared and happy," said Dunfee.

Folck is pleased to welcome the Dunfees to her neighborhood.

This house will have five bedrooms and two bathrooms and will cost about $45,000 to build.

Since the first Habitat for Humanity home was built in Putnam County in 1989 on Avenue E in Greencastle, 17 more have been constructed by the non-profit group.

Habitat for Humanity was born in September 1976 when a group of supporters got together. The personal involvement of Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter brought the organization national visibility and sparked interest in Habitat's work across the nation.

The group experienced a dramatic increase in the number of new affiliates around the country and that included Putnam County. Eventually, DePauw University students added an affiliate as well. The two groups came together to work on the first house in 1989.

Through the work of Habitat, thousands of low-income families have found new hope in the form of affordable housing. Churches, community groups and others have joined together to successfully tackle a significant social problem -- decent housing for all.

Today, Habitat has built more than 300,000 houses, sheltering more than 1.5 million people in more than 3,000 communities worldwide.

Habitat is looking for volunteers to help with the project and for donations of needed supplies. They are in particular need of a chipper to take out brush and limbs at the new building site.

For information about Habitat for Humanity or to volunteer or make a donation, call 653-5360.