Large Crowd Attends Veteran's House Dedication

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University of Michigan-Flint Entrepreneurs Society and Genesee County Habitat for Humanity Work/Live home
University of Michigan-Flint Entrepreneurs Society and Genesee County Habitat for Humanity Work/Live home

About a hundred students braved the below-freezing temperatures to attend the dedication of a house presented to a deserving veteran. After nearly six months of work, thousands of volunteer hours, and thousands of dollars in donations, the house was officially presented to navy veteran Ashley Gordy.

New home owners with Chancellor Person

UM-Flint Chancellor Ruth J. Person joined Habitat for Humanity representatives for the dedication. She thanked students for the volunteer hours they worked to make the house a reality.

Last July, two UM-Flint groups, Kappa Sigma Fraternity and the Student Veterans of America (SVA) joined with Habitat for Humanity to renovate a house, and present it to a veteran.

Kappa Sigma originally was pursuing the project through a national program called Fisher Houses for Military Families. When they decided to consult with the SVA group, they discovered that the SVA was looking at a similar project. They joined forces and approached Habitat, who not only had a project house, but added a substantial cash donation for the renovation.

Additional funding came from:

  • C.S. Mott Foundation
  • Ruth Mott Foundation
  • MSHDA (Michigan State Housing development Authority)

A number of companies and local businesses also helped:

  • Habitat International
  • Whirlpool – appliances
  • Karen's Carpet Max – carpet
  • Dow – insulation
  • Yale Locks – locks
  • Square D – electrical work
  • Valspar – paint

The cost of the renovation was $65,000.

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