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| By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor MAPLE HIGH SIX CORNERS At 10 a.m. on Sept. 23, the new home being built by Habitat for Humanity volunteers at 47 James St. was only 26 hours into construction, but already the framing and walls were erected. As over a dozen workers were literally inside and outside the home with saws and hammers, Jeanette Cruz, who will be the eventual homeowner, said the housing project was "a blessing." "I'm overcome with joy," she added. Cruz was holding her hammer and hard hat at that time. In order to qualify for the project she too must put in 100 hours of construction work herself, plus another 100 hours of volunteer time. She explained that of the latter 100 hours, her family and friends can donate 50 hours of volunteer time service and her two sons can earn up to 25 of those hours by the number of "As" and "Bs" they have on their report cards. Cruz, an employee of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, qualified for the home after a lengthy application and interview process. The house is part of Habitat's "Blitz Build" program in which the volunteer agency builds a house in 10 days. Steve Gelling, the executive director of Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity, said the dedication of the new home would be at 1 p.m., Oct. 2. Over the next few days, the project will be built with 600 volunteer/days. That figure doesn't count the efforts of the 125 Springfield College students who worked on cleaning up the site on the College's recent Humantics Day of volunteering. Gelling told Reminder Publications that the project at 47 James St. was part of a larger effort to stabilize this section of the Maple-High Six Corners neighborhood. At 28 James St., other Habitat volunteers were busy erecting a fence and doing landscaping work on a Habitat house that Gelling said was almost complete. Next door to 47 James, the house at 39 James is also slated to be a Habitat project, he said. Most likely, the existing house will be demolished and a new home built next year. Three donors have funded the project. Jeff and Hildy Radke of Seattle, WA, are the major sponsors. Their late daughter Patrice was a graduate of Springfield College and was active in the local Habitat organization. The couple has sponsored two other Habitat homes in memory of their daughter and was at the Springfield site as volunteers. Jeff Radke works at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Thrivent's Northeast region is also a sponsor of this home. Nationally, the organization has pledged $100 million over a multi-year agreement. Gelling said the Springfield chapter hopes that some of this money will be allocated to the city for another home. Gelling noted that Thrivent's commitment for Habitat extended beyond just "writing a check," and introduced a group of Thrivent volunteers. Gelling said that Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Cares, Inc. is the third sponsor of the home and that Coldwell was looking for a charity that mirrored what they do. The firm has made a multi-year commitment as a sustaining sponsor. Cruz will pay rent for the house until she has completed her full volunteer service commitment and Gelling said he anticipates that, in four to five weeks, the home will be hers. |