Home for the holidays: Habitat hands over keys to Dixon family

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New home owner Jennifer McGuire (right) gets a hug from Habitat for Humanity board Vice President Chris Gehlbach after receiving a Bible and keys to her new home Sunday afternoon. McGuire will move into the home with her five children, Nicole, 18, Justin, 16, Morgan, 11, Elizabeth, 9, and Donald, 9. (Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@svnmail.com)

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DIXON – A holiday prayer has been answered for the McGuire family: Jennifer and her five children will spend Thanksgiving in their new home.

Habitat for Humanity built the four-bedroom house with the help of volunteer labor and donations.

Like all Habitat homeowners, the McGuire family assisted with the building of the home on Cropsey Avenue. Sunday, they were handed the keys to their new castle.

McGuire, a mental health technician at the Jack Mabley Center, has been raising her family in a three-bedroom apartment.

The monthly mortgage payments on her new home will be used to build more Habitat houses – “safe, decent, affordable” homes that are sold to families in need, according to www.habitat.org, the nonprofit’s Web page.

Last spring, the Christian housing ministry bought the land, near First Street and Cropsey Avenue, from the city. Habitat President James Dixon plans to build three more houses there within the next 3 years.

“We’ll do one house a year,” Dixon said. “We’ll just keep plugging away.”

To apply

Habitat for Humanity is accepting applications from families for consideration on the next house.

Those interested in learning more about the application process, or in becoming a Habitat volunteer, can call Jim Dixon, 815-288-2501.

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