By Connie Ballenger

Thanks to Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake, Whitney and her family moved into a three-bedroom renovated rowhome in Baltimore shortly before Christmas. Habitat workers, many from Glen Mar Church, restored this home with almost 100 percent volunteer labor. It was a project that took many workdays held over the course of 15 months.

Volunteers framed, insulated, hung drywall, did the finishing work, and installed new kitchen cabinets. They also meticulously took apart decorative flooring that had seen better days so the original wood floor would show. Glen Mar volunteers were Dylan Andrex, Bruce Flanagan, Holly Flanagan, Eric Labram, Jason Prechtl, Paul Quillen, Paul Straub, Adrienne Taylor, and Don Wecker. Adrienne and Don are co-leaders of Glen Mar Habitat volunteers.

Highly skilled Glen Mar volunteers (called “Red Hats”) Al Hannagan and Kurt Kleinsteuber took the extracted floor pieces and made an inlaid floor elsewhere in the house. “This home was a beautiful restoration because it kept the essence of the old house,” praised Adrienne.

The house was dedicated on December 15, 2022, with much fanfare. Pastor Heerak Kim gave the invocation and benediction. Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake Chief Executive Officer Mike Posko and State Senator Cory McCray were among the speakers, and Whitney cut a red ribbon at the entrance to her home. An abundance of Christmas greenery and a bevy of red poinsettia plants set a festive atmosphere while a welcome home cake and scrumptious hors d’oeuvres covered Whitney’s new kitchen table. Above the table hung an attractive Home for the Holidays sign.

The celebration at Whitney’s home was more lavish than most Habitat new home observances because it fell during the Christmas season, according to Adrienne.

While Whitney and her family were the beneficiaries of free labor and effusive hospitality, this house was not handed to Whitney on a silver platter. She showed an ability to pay the mortgage as well as demonstrated a need for decent housing and earned 300 hours of “sweat equity” through volunteering on Habitat construction projects and in Habitat’s ReStore and taking financial literacy classes.

Whitney tried to buy a Habitat home a few years ago but did not qualify. What turned the tide? Whitney paid off her debt, went back to school and got a master’s degree, and then landed a better job. “Whitney worked hard to be in a position to own this beautiful home,” stated Adrienne.