Mahaska Habitat for Humanity Builds 16th Home

Mahaska Habitat for Humanity recently broke ground on its 16th home in the Oskaloosa area.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Mahaska Habitat for Humanity recently broke ground on its 16th home in the Oskaloosa area. The 1,150 square feet home will be located at 1104 Mabel and is designed to house a family of five people.

This particular home will be built to Energy Star 3 standards and includes several “firsts” in the history of Mahaska HFH including an Insulated Concrete Form basement, a metal roof, smart siding, and blown cellulose insulation.

“Volunteer labor is at the heart of our success,” says Blaine Vos, Mahaska HFH Executive Director. “We are always looking for willing workers who will lend a hand.” Regularly scheduled workdays include Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Many local crews come back again and again to complete each build. For instance, this home includes the 16th set of rafters put in place by volunteers from First Christian Church in Oskaloosa and the 5th roof put in place by volunteers from Mahaska Communication Group. Partner families are also required to put in 350 hours of work on the project. Labor for this home also includes the walls being built by a crew from Eldora State Training School as well as many hours from a crew from the Correctional Release Center in Newton.

Much of the funding for each Habitat for Humanity project comes from donations and grants. In the case of this project, over half of the funding will come from sources outside Mahaska County.

Each partner family is required to have regular income that is less than 60% of the median income for Mahaska County in order to qualify. Once the project is complete, the partner family repays a 25 year, 0% mortgage.

The targeted completion date for this project is February 15, 2012 and volunteers are still needed. Interested individuals or groups are encouraged to contact Blaine Vos at 641-295-5805.