“I used to take having a home for granted,” says Shauna. “I thought everyone had what I had. Now I realize not everybody had that blessing.”

Last week, Twin Cities Habitat sponsors, supporters, neighbors, and staff gathered with three families to celebrate the completion of the work on their homes. Though it was a rainy week, as guests and family members arrived, the sun shone brightly through the clouds.

"I wish I could take my home with me,” Lilly said. Lilly was homebuyer number one for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity back in 1986. She, and her three teenaged daughters had moved a lot and shared a small two-bedroom apartment before she bought the home in Minneapolis. “Moving so much was hard on them,” she said, “and I didn’t want to do that to them anymore.” 

How hard are you willing to work to give your kids a good future? Juanita and Jacques asked themselves that question in 1994. At the time, they had two young sons, a third on the way, and a big St. Bernard.

As part of their sweat equity requirements, a few families opt to journal about their Habitat homebuyer experience – from the submission of their application, through trainings and sweat equity, and finally about the excitement of their home dedication and closing day. Below is an excerpt from Ianna's journal , detailing her first weeks earning sweat equity hours on the build site of her future home:

It was over a year ago when I first wrote about Said and his family's strong work ethic and desire to become homeowners. In the blog, I shared how the family of eight was working hard to complete their training and sweat equity hours to be ready to move into their Habitat home in just a few short months. Almost immediately after publishing the post, I noticed this comment:

Here at Habitat, our primary mission is to create and preserve affordable homeownership in the Twin Cities. Our passionate staff and volunteers continue to work day in and day out, in the hopes of helping just one more family. And we always wish we could do more. 

Each person who connects with and supports Habitat's mission has a different motivation. For some, it may be giving back to the community. For others, it may be their drive to make a difference in the lives of local families. Whatever the motivation, it is always incredibly moving to hear about the impact of Habitat's work in the words of the families that are served by our programs and services. 

If you visited a Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (TCHFH) build site in North Minneapolis in September, you might have felt like everyone on the site was somehow familiar. You wouldn’t have been experiencing déjà vu; the sense of familiarity would have come from the fact that all 27 people on the build site were related.

Volunteers are the heart of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, but it still costs a lot of money to build or repair homes. Give to the Max Day, November 12^th, is a great time to step forward and give.

DoShanley was keeping a big secret from her daughters.