Large Crowd Attends Veteran's House Dedication

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.

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.