From helpless to homeowner: Habitat for Humanity's 30-year impact on the Fox Cities

MENASHA - Dawn Buelow is raising her 8-year-old daughter, Kaylee, and 5-year-old son, Brayden, in a small two-bedroom townhome in Menasha. She says the home is cramped and has an extreme mold issue.

Buelow heard about Greater Fox Cities Area Habitat for Humanity through her church and began the application process in hopes of a new beginning for her and her children.

Now, in August, Dawn will watch and assist in the construction of her new home until it is complete.

"I'm excited to be able to paint and do stuff I've never done before because I've never owned a house," Buelow said.

Her children said they're both excited to have their own rooms.

Greater Fox Cities Habitat for Humanity has been helping families like the Buelows for 30 years. They honored this milestone on Thursday evening at Smith Park in Menasha, inviting Habitat for Humanity families, staff and volunteers to join the celebration.

What usually is an annual celebration between the organization and its staff and volunteers was extended to the families this year for its 30th anniversary.

John Weyenberg, who has been CEO of the organization for the past 24 years, expressed his gratitude for the milestone at the event.

"We've been working hard for 30 years in the Fox Cities, making sure that we can provide affordable homeownership opportunities for families throughout the community," Weyenberg said during a speech at the event. "Thank you for being a part of the journey, whether it's been one year or 30, we are grateful for all that you've done."

What started as just new home construction in 1993, has grown into a much more extensive organization for the Fox Cities.

Habitat for Humanity doesn't just build new homes

Habitat for Humanity services families in Calumet, Outagamie, Waupaca and northern Winnebago counties.

Weyenberg said a common misconception is that the organization just "gives homes away" to families, but that's far from the truth.

The organization has a number of programs that assists families and communities in ways other than constructing new homes.

"We provide critical home repairs to families trying to deal with health and safety issues within their homes," Weyenberg said. "These are families with limited incomes in our community, but they already own their homes, and so we can come in and help ensure that they can stay safe and warm and healthy."

The organization also has the Rock the Block program that helps repair and restore entire neighborhoods in an attempt to improve the quality of life of everyone in the area.

"Not only do we repair homes in those neighborhoods, we work on parks and schools and churches as well," Weyenberg said.

Additionally, there is the Lead Safe Homes program where staff and volunteers come into a home and remove all lead hazards and the Almost Home program where families receive help and resources on their journeys to becoming homeowners.

There is even the ReStore, a thrift-like store where customers can donate and purchase gently used building materials and home goods.

Profits from the store go directly to Habitat's mission to provide for the community.

Items that can be donated or purchased from the ReStore include furniture, flooring, building materials and tools, paint, windows, doors, appliances and similar items.

The ultimate goal for the organization is to provide a safe home for families through any of these programs.

Fred and Bonnie Ebbesen, who have volunteered with Greater Fox Cities Habitat for Humanity for 17 years, said they started donating their time for this exact reason.

"It's invaluable for us to work with those families," Fred said. "To see the change in them from the first time that we meet them. Many of them are kind of shy and wanna stay in the background and by the time the house is done they have grown as individuals. And that's really fun to watch, the confidence building."

Fred and Bonnie have volunteered on many sites, doing things from physical construction and installation to painting and more.

They both said they love working with the organization so much that they don't plan to stop anytime soon.

A Habitat home is not free

Erika Bustos and her family turned to Habitat for Humanity last year as she struggled with living in a small apartment with her husband and four children.

She said she applied three times before she was accepted and could begin the process of earning her new home.

Once applicants are accepted into the program, they have to start their volunteer hours.

"We volunteered at the ReStore, providing lunches for the senior crew, we did construction on other houses and construction on our own house," Bustos said.

This is called "sweat equity," the unpaid labor invested by families in building their own and other Fox Cities Habitat houses. Families can also participate in homeowner workshops, community service and other work that may serve the Affiliate or improve homeowner skills. Hours range from 200 to 400 depending on marital status.

Bustos said she is grateful for the volunteer hours she had to do.

"I completely loved it because I had no clue how to work a tape measure or any of that, so I learned so much from everything," Bustos said. "And it wasn't hard to do the hours because you start doing something that you love to do with all the people who look after you and they're so nice."

Bustos and her family have lived in their completed home for a year now and she said she couldn't be happier.

"It's something that you can tell your kids, 'Look, I did this. I built these stairs,'" Bustos said. "It's something that is very meaningful because there's love that you put into your own home."

She said had she not reached out to the organization she's sure her family would still be in the same small apartment.

Once families are moved in to their new home, they still must pay a mortgage off.

The cost is 30% of their annual income until they pay it off, and it is a zero-interest loan so payments are reflected immediately.

Eric Cernjar, director of marketing and communications with Habitat, said this allows families to pay off their homes much sooner than those with a traditional home loan.

What are Habitat's future plans in the Fox Cities?

Weyenberg said Habitat plans to remain active in the Fox Cities community.

"Throughout this coming year, we're going to be completing 19 homes in our homebuyer program," Weyenberg said. "That's either building or rehabbing existing homes in their community to provide homeownership opportunities."

Additionally, the organization will have two more Rock the Block events later this year in Neenah and Menasha.

Families interested in any of the programs can visit their website as well as anyone looking to join as a staff or volunteer member.

Reach Jelissa Burns at 920-226-4241 or jburns1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @burns_jelissa or on Instagram at burns_jelissa.

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This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Greater Fox Cities Habitat for Humanity celebrates 30 years