MADISONVILLE, Ky. (3/7/13) – Madisonville’s Lions Club held a luncheon this afternoon to talk about the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store located on 43 South Davis Street.

The Habitat for Humanity Re-Store takes donations of new or used building materials and other home improvement items. These items are then sold to the public at a reduced price. The money that is earned is then used to purchase materials to help build a Habitat Home.

Heath Duncan, the Executive Director of the Habitat Re-Store, stated, “The Re-Store is a way to raise money to build houses without having to ask for a check.” The Hopkins County Re-Store makes about 42,000 dollars a year with donations. The Re-Store also has an Aluminum Can Program. This program collects cans all around town. The cans that are collected make up about 10% of what people use in Hopkins County. It costs about 55,000 dollars to build a Habitat Home. Depending where the Habitat home is located, it can appraise between 80-90 thousand dollars. Between the Habitat Re-Store and the Aluminum Can Program, they are able to build at least one house a year.

Habitat for Humanity does not give away their homes. They sell these homes to the families who apply and qualify. In order to be eligible for a Habitat Home, families must be able to meet three guidelines: the ability to pay, the need, and the willingness to partner. Those who qualify must have had a stable income for at least one year and fall under a certain income list. The need for a new home must be due to one of the following:

1. Overcrowded housing
2. The house has major repairs
3. The house is in a dangerous neighborhood
4. Families do not have a place of their own

Families must also be willing to partner with Habitat. Which means these families must put in “sweat equity” hours. This consists of 250-500 hours working on their own homes, other Habitat Homes and other Habitat projects.

Recently the Habitat Re-Store hired Brian Keith who is the new Store Manager. Brian expressed, “I’ve only been with Habitat for six weeks, and I’m excited to work for this organization. It’s been great so far and so have the people I have met.” Brian also went on to state, “Our mission is to generate money for Habitat, help the people in the community and eliminating the amount of waste in our land field.”

Amber Mena
SurfKY News
Photos Provided by Amber Mena

Copyright © 2012 SurfKY News Group, Inc. all rights reserved.  SurfKY.com is an eNewspaper providing local news FREE to Kentucky 24/7.  Read Statewide Kentucky News, Sports, Obituaries and more from the following Kentucky Counties:  Calloway, Christian, Daviess, Fayette (Lexington), Henderson, Hopkins, Logan, McCracken, Muhlenberg, Warren, and Webster Counties as well as the Kentucky Lakes Area.