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Highland Lakes Habitat for Humanity starting on 21st home

Highland Lakes Habitat for Humanity is building its 21st home, this time in Hoover's Valley. Volunteers are needed. The first work day begins at 8 a.m. June 18. Go to hlhabitat.com for more.

Highland Lakes Habitat for Humanity is building its 21st home, this time in Hoover's Valley. Volunteers are needed. The first work day begins at 8 a.m. June 18. Go to hlhabitat.com for more.

JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER

HOOVER’S VALLEY — Looks like Mother Nature will cooperate so Highland Lakes Habitat for Humanity volunteers can begin work on the next home.

And chapter president Willie Reinders is putting out the call for those volunteers.

The first official work day begins at 8 a.m. June 18 to beat the heat. The construction site is at 316 Comanche Drive in Hoover’s Valley in Burnet County.

“We have seen over the last three homes the extent to which volunteers have stepped up,” Reinders said, noting that volunteers built two homes at the same time on Avenue M in Marble Falls several months ago. “We’ve seen what the volunteers are capable of … even if it means driving a little bit farther.”

The keys for the 21st home built by the local chapter will be turned over to Shannon Sharp, a single mother who has spent the past two years working on Habitat for Humanity homes for other families, a requirement for those receiving homes.

Concrete for the foundation has already been poured on land Sharp owns.

Highland Lakes Habitat for Humanity is building its 21st home, this time in Hoover's Valley. Volunteers are needed. The first work day begins at 8 a.m. June 18. Go to hlhabitat.com for more.
Highland Lakes Habitat for Humanity is building its 21st home, this time in Hoover’s Valley. Volunteers are needed. The first work day begins at 8 a.m. June 18. Go to hlhabitat.com for more.

“She’s been working on houses in anticipation of getting hers going,” Reinders said. “She inherited the land. I think that’s the first time we’ve been able to (build a home on land already owned by the new homeowner). It certainly holds down the price.”

It will be similar to the other Habitat for Humanity homes: three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an open concept kitchen and living room.

Because of its location, the city of Granite Shoals will provide water and Pedernales Electric Cooperative will provide power. Habitat for Humanity volunteers will have to install a septic system for wastewater. But that’s not an issue, Reinders said, as volunteers have experience with that kind of work.

It will take about 33 weeks for the home to be completed, he said.

Another change for this home is that volunteers will work on the structure every Tuesday and Saturday instead of every Wednesday and Saturday, the president said, to accommodate Sharp’s schedule.

St. Frederick’s Baptist Church will make lunches for volunteers working on Saturdays, and Reinders said he is hoping to find someone who will make lunches for them on Tuesdays.

Volunteers with various skills are welcome, he said, noting that trained professionals will give safety training sessions at the site before people will be allowed to work on the home.

“Volunteers can show up with limited skills,” he said. “Then, they’ll work in teams.”

Reinders said he has been involved with Habitat for Humanity for four years, moving up from volunteer.

“Some people tell me, ‘You kind of got suckered in,’” he said with a chuckle. “I tell them, ‘I allowed myself to be suckered in because it’s such a worthwhile endeavor.’”

Few emotions run deeper than being able to help a family achieve what they believed was simply impossible: owning a home.

“It’s life-changing for people,” he said. “It’s a big deal in a selfish way.”

Go to hlhabitat.com or search for “Highland Lakes Habitat for Humanity” on Facebook for more information.

jfierro@thepicayune.com