Green Bay Habitat Record-Breaker Will be Welcomed to New Home on October 3rd

Posted on 9-19-2019

Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity future homeowner, Sara Christiansen, has been breaking records from the start of her Habitat journey. On Thursday, October 3rd at 5:00 pm, (906 Waverly Place, Green Bay) her hard work will be honored at her home’s dedication.

In September 2018, Sara was part of a record-breaking crowd at a homeownership program informational meeting – 130 households. In October 2018, she was part of a record-breaking 50 applicants who completed their applications.

In January of this year, she and her two daughters, Maleah and Miya, were one of eight deserving families that was welcomed into Habitat’s homeownership program. Once a homebuyer is accepted into the program, they must complete 50 hours of sweat equity to secure their spot on the lot selection waiting list. Again, Sara broke this record, completing her hours in just two weeks!

Despite Sara’s home dedication approaching, she’s not done. As a single homebuyer, she was required to complete 250 hours of sweat equity by building Habitat homes (including her own), assisting at Habitat events, and volunteering at the ReStore. By August 30, she had completed 264.26 hours. In addition, her friends, family, and co-workers have provided an additional 329.43 hours on her behalf! Her employer, EMT International, even participated in two build days.

“I have always wanted to provide my children with a home that was truly ours,” said Sara. “Being able to let them play in a yard and ride their bikes would be a dream come true to them. Providing them with a home means that I will able to provide them with a place that we can make our own, somewhere to make memories and build traditions, a place that we can be proud of because we helped build it.”  

This is the 116th home Habitat has built and sold to a qualified homebuyer in Brown County. Homeowners have a zero-interest and affordable mortgage that is made possible through generous donations of money, materials, and volunteer labor.  A special thank you goes to the major sponsor on this home, Denmark State Bank.

Habitat for Humanity

Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity builds new construction homes in the Green Bay area and sells them to qualified families at no profit. The Habitat program provides benefits to our partner families and the Green Bay community. Families benefit from decent, affordable housing while the community benefits from the redevelopment of neighborhoods and an increase in tax revenue. The Habitat program does not give houses away. Families must spend “sweat equity” hours helping to build their home, pay a $900 down payment and make monthly mortgage payments. Homes are made affordable due to the volunteer labor used to build the home and the 0% interest mortgage provided by Habitat. To see what we’re working on now, check out our Current Builds page!

Habitat homes are build according to these three standard principles:

  1. Simple:
    Habitat houses are modestly-sized. They are large enough for the homeowner family’s needs, but small enough to keep construction and maintenance costs to a minimum.
  2. Decent:
    Habitat for Humanity uses quality, locally-available building materials. Habitat house designs reflect the local climate and culture.
  3. Affordable:
    The labor of volunteers and partner families, efficient building methods, modest house sizes and no-profit loans make it affordable for low-income families to purchase Habitat houses.

The first step in becoming a Habitat homeowner is to attend an informational Application Meeting. At the informational session, you will find out about our program, see what a typical Habitat home looks like, and learn how to accurately complete your application. Applicants and co-applicants must attend a meeting to receive an application; you will have 30 days from that date to turn in your completed application and required documents.  This meeting will take approximately 1 hour.  The application process takes approximately 60-90 days from the date Habitat receives your completed application. If you have additional questions or would like more information, please contact [email protected].