Today, Starkville Area Habitat for Humanity dedicated the home on 60 Azalea Lane. Family partner Courtnay Smith and her family will now be moving into their new home.

Pictured is Amanda Henry (left) presenting Courtnay Smith (right) with a bible.

 

 

 

This home was built amid the COVID-19 pandemic and has overcome the many hardships associated with the virus. We are so grateful to everyone who has helped make this home dedication possible. Pictured below are some of the volunteers who built the home receiving appreciation t-shirts.

We’ve got some exciting news! Next Thursday, May 21, the ReStore will be open to the public! We have a lot of donated inventory, so we’re spending this week organizing, cleaning, and preparing to open so you and your family can have a safe shopping trip. But if you’ve been doing some spring cleaning, we are accepting donations now and would be glad to take any furniture, building materials, or home goods off your hands! Thank you for your continued support!

For the health of our customers, volunteers and staff, please wear a face covering in the store, keep a six-foot distance from others and sanitize often. If you’ve experienced a fever, cough, shortness of breath, or other COVID-19 symptoms in the last 24 hours, please stay home. Thank you for understanding.

In order to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, Starkville Habitat for Humanity is taking precautions. As of right now, we are not accepting home applications. All applications submitted at this time will be deferred to a later date when we reopen applications. Although we no longer allow volunteer groups for builds, our construction staff and a few regular volunteers are working on the construction of the home on 60 Azalea Lane. Our crew will work on the home until doors and windows are installed. We are following CDC recommendations at the build site, meaning no more than 10 people will be working at once.

The office will maintain our regular hours, and we will continue to monitor the phone, email and social media. However, due to childcare concerns and the build, please be patient with receiving a response. We will try to respond within 24 hours. We are not accepting physical donations or allowing entry of non-staff at this time. We are still accepting donations through our website.

The ReStore is closed until further notice and not accepting donations. Employees from the ReStore have been offered paid hours at the home build comparable to the hours they receive at the store.

On March 8th, Habitat kicked off our Collegiate Challenge with the groundbreaking for 60 Azalea Lane. Our first week of the challenge is led by volunteers from Rockford University in Rockford, Illinois. Throughout the week, these students and alumni will help build a home for Habitat partner Courtney Smith.

At the groundbreaking, Courtney expressed gratitude for everyone who has helped her in her journey towards being a homeowner.

“It’s been two years,” Courtney said, “but, it has been worth it.”

Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill also spoke, thanking the Rockford volunteers for their continued service to the community.

Our construction manager, John Breazeale thanked the volunteers for donating their time and introduced them to our construction team. If you’d like to join the team and volunteer to help build Courtney’s home, contact our Volunteer Coordinator.

Last week, we surprised Bracy and Tabatha, Casey, and Latalla with Starkville Habitat partnerships. Each family is exceptional in their own way, and we are looking forward to helping them become homeowners.

Bracy and Tabatha Johnson

In the fall of 2022, Bracy and Tabatha will become homeowners! We’re excited to announce our partnership with Starkville residents Bracy and Tabatha Johnson. The couple communicates with each other on all decisions and works together as a unit. The husband and wife are raising their daughter Senaria (7) and were expecting another child when they applied to partner with us. Now, they have another daughter Brentleigh (2 mo.), who is a happy, healthy baby. Bracy works in landscaping with Circle B Cutters, and Tabatha is a self-employed hairdresser and stylist. During the interview process, Bracy said he had moved several times already, seeking a safer environment for his wife and daughters. His employer also highly recommended him for Habitat home ownership. Bracy and Tabatha are a hardworking couple who share the same goals for their family. Starkville Habitat chose to partner with the Johnsons because they were good candidates. The family has shown stability and responsibility, and they have a need for better housing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Casey McQuiller

Spring 2023 will see the development of a home for our new partner, Casey McQuiller! When she applied, Casey was working three jobs while caring for her three children, Jaleriah (13), Allison (7), and son Jayceon (4). The Starkville resident is a Bakery Lead at Kroger, who applied to be a partner in the past, but was not selected. Casey took advice from the Selection Committee about financial security seriously, and became financially stable before applying again. She did it! Casey proved herself to be a worthy and responsible Habitat applicant in need of better housing. We are proud of Casey, and so is her pastor (pictured below), who came to support her at our partnership announcement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Latalla Harris

We can’t wait for fall 2023, when our new partner, Latalla Harris, will become a homeowner! The single mom and Starkville native cares for her community. Latalla is Director of the J.L. King Center and a seasonal Supervisor for Southern Food Catering. In addition to her regular work, Latalla teaches free fitness classes for the community. Latalla is a great partner for homeownership, as she has shown stability, responsibility, and a need for better housing. She is a hard-worker with such a heart for our community. We’re excited to welcome Latalla and her son Jace (3) into the Starkville Habitat family. She (left) is pictured with her mother (right), who came to celebrate.