Meet a history-making Habitat homeowner thankful for Westminster's students

RALEIGH, N.C.-- Westminster's spring break Habitat for Humanity (HFH) crew in North Carolina met a Habitat homeowner about to make history.  The nearly two dozen members of the crew working in Raleigh met Sharon Bathea during their work trip.  She shared her story of going from living on the street with her two children to being a proud homeowner.

"I am grateful for the college student to take time to build a family that truly deserves it,"  Bathea said.  "While it's not my family, it is a family like mine and for that I am grateful to them."

Habitat's central mission is to provide "safe, decent, affordable homes" to deserving families.  Families are trained to manage finances while contributing to the hard work of building the home..  The house is financed and sold to the family by Habitat for no profit.  The average mortgage for a Wake County HFH three-bedroom, two-bath home is about $600/month over 20 years. 

In just a few years, Bathea will pay off her HFH mortgage while becoming the first person in the program to sponsor a family building and moving into a Habitat home.  She graciously sat down with our video crew and shared her compelling story while also explaining why she is compelled to thank the college students who volunteered their spring break to help others.