Willow Creek Church joins Habitat in rehabbing houses

The congregation of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington partnered again with Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley. This year, they have challenged themselves to complete a rehab in seven days.

"Every Blitz Build with Willow Creek has been an outstanding experience and shows what a determined group can do when they're dedicated to a cause," said Barbara Beckman, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley.

This goal is no small feat, and requires the cooperation of many. Willow Creek recruited hundreds of volunteers to work on the home June 20 and June 22-27. They have volunteer crews for construction, construction support, cleanup, lunches and snacks/water.

While the volunteer crews will be handling such tasks as replacing windows, doors, siding, fascia, soffit and the roof, as well as installing new cabinets and painting, the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC services will be performed by licensed professionals, with some of them donating their services.

The rehab project is located on Plymouth Court in Carpentersville.

"Habitat for Humanity is shifting its focus to rehabbing. In this housing market, rehabbing makes a lot of sense. It is not only good economic development but also good for the community.

"There are hundreds and hundreds of abandoned and foreclosed homes in Carpentersville. Empty houses, broken windows, and overgrown grass depress neighborhoods. We're taking deteriorating properties, rehabbing them with our volunteer force and creating affordable homes for families," Beckman said.

Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley receives funding from various sources to build homes. The Blitz Build home is partially funded by Willow Creek Community Church, with the remainder of the funding coming from ReStore proceeds. ReStore is Habitat's 40,000-square-foot home improvement resale store at 800 N. State St. (Route 31) in Elgin.

Habitat families are selected on the basis of need for better housing, ability to repay the interest-free loan, and willingness to partner with Habitat in building their home. Each family is required to invest 250 hours per adult in the home building/rehabbing process.

Upon completion, the home is sold to the buyers at no profit and financed by Habitat with a zero-interest, 30-year loan. For details on homeownership or volunteering, call (847) 836-1432 or visit hfhnfv.org.