photo by: Elvyn Jones

Autumn Hale gets support from her father Ed Adams, right, as she makes remarks Saturday, April 27, 2019, at the dedication of her Habitat for Humanity home. Watching on the left are two of Hale’s five children, Jessie, 19, and Bo, 10.

Kindness provided the motivation to pound the nails and write the checks that made possible the milestone Habitat for Humanity home she will soon move into, a single mother said Saturday.

In her remarks during the dedication of the house that will be the new home of her and her five children in the 200 block of North Eighth Street, Autumn Hale, an administrative assistant at Sunset Hill Elementary School, recalled the school’s daily morning announcement reminding students to be kind.

“Kindness is a tool that helps you be successful in life,” she said. “I am so grateful my children will always know the kindness of this community has given them a safe and secure home.”

Erika Zimmerman, executive director of Lawrence Habitat for Humanity, said Hale and her family will live in the 100th Habitat for Humanity home built in Lawrence since the Rev. John Gingerich started the program in the community in 1989. The faith-based Habitat for Humanity provides homes for selected families at cost, plus the sweat equity they put into helping build their future homes.

The 100 Habitat homes in Lawrence represented thousands of hours of volunteer labor and millions of dollars of donations and contributed materials, Zimmerman said. All that giving has made a big difference in the lives of community members, she said.

“Most of all, that has provided 100 families the chance to realize the dream of owning their own home,” she said.

Habitat will continue to help families realize that dream, Zimmerman said. The Hale home is the second Habitat house to be built on the North Lawrence property that the program purchased on North Eighth Street. Five more will be built on neighboring lots before the site is built out, she said.

After giving a tour of her new home to some of the about 100 people attending its dedication, Hale said homeownership was a life-changing event for her and her children. She is looking forward to being a part of the North Lawrence community.

“It’s a wonderful neighborhood,” she said. “I love my neighbor in the Habitat home on the corner and am excited about having more.”

— Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Habitat homes are provided at cost and require “sweat equity” from the homeowner.