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The house the Rogers family built
BAINBRIDGE -- Habitat for Humanity prides itself on having families work for their homes and since 2012 more than 220,000 families around the world have been served by the organization, including the Rogers family of Bainbridge.
Jesse and wife Amber, and their sons Tyler and Michael have been living in the yellow house located at 104 College St., Bainbridge, for around 18 months.
The home is well maintained, clean with a manicured lawn, two puppies in the back and a black cat wandering the property line, but it was once a home with substantial interior fire damage.
Gary Neese and Ken Heeke of First National Bank led the move to donate the house to Putnam County Habitat for Humanity (PCHH) after the home sat in disrepair and empty for six months after a 2008 fire.
Once the home had been donated, Habitat for Humanity held a meeting on the property that allowed interested parties to fill out applications for the project.
Habitat for Humanity provides homes and assistance in owning homes with a process that requires qualified families to assist with a substantial amount of the work that needs to be done in order to make a home livable.
The work put into the home is known as "sweat equity," and it is what helps give families an advantage in the goal of owning a home.
PCHH board member Marjorie Weaver is proud of the work the organization does and was happy to see another hard-working family build a home for themselves.
"Habitat for Humanity is not a hand-out, it's a hand up and we provide the ladder," Weaver said.
The Rogerses' path from a family of four living in an 800-square-foot mobile home to a cramped apartment, and ultimately into the two-story home where they now reside was no easy journey.
"We were here 24/7," Jesse said.
The family spent its time between work, rebuilding the home and sleeping, and spending every spare minute at their future home.
And while it required constant work, the knowledge that they were building toward their future was a constant motivator.
"It was definitely fun knowing it was going to be something," Jesse said.
Pastor Tim Mathews had originally told the Rogerses about the program, and prompted them to apply.
From that moment it took about three years to go from application to moving in.
Jesse Rogers, his wife Amber and their two sons, Tyler and Michael, all put in time on the home.
"I helped too," young Michael added when he heard the family talking about the rigorous schedule and hard work they put into the home.
Originally, the Rogerses were one of two families being considered for homes through PCHH, and the other family was given a home before them. So when work began on the other family's home, the Rogers family was there to help.
While waiting for the donation of their eventual home to finalize, the Rogers family moved from their trailer into an even smaller apartment temporarily.
"Temporary" ended up lasting longer than they had intended, so when the home was finally ready, the Rogerses were more than ready to move in.
The ceremony Thursday afternoon was the final step for the Rogers family, an act of acknowledgement for the completion of the process.
Jesse and Amber put in many hours, in fact many more than the required 250 hours per adult per family, and they are happy to have been accepted for the Habitat for Humanity program.
"It means a lot, we are real grateful," Jesse said.
Amber elaborated her husband's gratitude. "It saved us. It really did. It was definitely a blessing," she said.
The dedication and blessing of the home included a reading of several scriptures and a singing of "Bless This House" by attendees to the event.
Putnam County Habitat for Humanity is presently building its board and committee. Persons interested in site selection, construction, publicity, fundraising, partner selection and other various needs of the organization may contact Putnam County Habitat for Humanity office by telephone at 653-53360.