Weber State University’s Community Involvement Center teamed up with Habitat for Humanity Saturday to remodel a house for a local Clearfield family from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This CIC volunteer event is part of the Martin Luther King Jr. week of service.
“The house has gone through such a huge transformation,” said Lois Golde, the Clearfield house project manager. “We have done so much to make it to where it is today, but we still have a few more months of work to go.”
The Clearfield house, which was built in 1958, was donated to Habitat for Humanity last year from the couple who had owned the house. The official ground breaking to complete the remodel was at the end of September 2011.
“There was, and is, a lot of work to do,” Golde said. “We are trying to bring everything up to code and livable for the family that is moving in.”
The house transformation includes knocking out walls, replacing windows, putting new doors in, redoing the floor, installing the plumbing and electricity, and anything else that needs to be done to get this house in tip-top shape for the young family.
“I can’t wait till it’s done,” said Consuelo Gomez, the mother of the family that is moving into the house after it’s finished. “I can’t wait to have a home for my family.”
She said that as a single mom raising her two sons, 7 and 4, this is an incredible blessing for her and her family.
The volunteers at the house included a past Habitat for Humanity house family, the Allen family. After her parents divorced, Shaelee Allen, a WSU junior studying elementary education, went with her mom and brother and sisters and turned to Habitat for Humanity for help.
“My mom had applied for our house through Habitat for Humanity, and out of 200 families, we got chosen,” Allen said. “It was such an awesome opportunity.”
Allen and her family moved into their home in April 2006.
The renovations will take a few more months to be completely finished and to also get the Gomez family moved in. To help make the process move faster, the CIC and Habitat for Humanity are looking for any volunteers that want to help this family’s dream come true.
“The volunteers from Habitat for Humanity made such a huge impact in my life, and I hope that I can do the same for this family,” Allen said.
Volunteers will be meeting for the next four weeks every Saturday to work work on the Clearfield house from 9 a.m.to 4 p.m.
“What are you doing here on earth?” Golde said. “Are you here to help yourself or one another? I’ve decided to help my fellow man, and it brings me a lot of happiness.
Any questions concerning volunteering with this project or any others in the community can be addressed by visiting the CIC website or calling the center. Any students who are unable to volunteer but who would like to help can contact the center about donating hardware supplies.
