Editorial

Helping Habitat

In the past 20 years, Cape Area Habitat for Humanity has helped turn substandard housing into 19 homes that house some 70 people. The organization's volunteers oversee the work, but the essence of the organization's mission is helping people help themselves. For at least 350 hours, the eventual owners are in there hammering nails and sawing boards alongside everyone else. They will repay their no-profit, interest-free loans over 20 years, saving about half the cost of conventional building and financing.

Of course, volunteers can't provide all the help Habitat needs. Buchheit, which has building supply stores in Jackson, Perryville and Herculaneum in Missouri and Sparta and Jacksonville in Illinois, has donated most of the construction costs for a house being renovated at 633 S. Henderson Ave. in Cape Girardeau. The company is discounting prices for another Habitat house at 1115 Cousin St.

Other companies in the area, including Petzoldt Construction, Matt-Con Services, Coomer Plumbing and Heartland Wood Products have contributed material and labor.

Buchheit also has started an in-store fund-raising drive in support of Habitat for Humanity and in August will sponsor a golf tournament benefiting the organization.

Swinging a hammer is only one of the ways to help Habitat for Humanity.

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