News

Mom Looks Forward to Mothers's Day 'Gift'

Families Gather with Sponsors, Volunteers to Celebrate Completion of Habitat Homes

Gracie Gonzales of San Antonio says she is about to receive the “best mother’s day gift” she’s ever gotten. Gonzales will gather at 10 a.m. Saturday with seven other families to celebrate the completion of their Habitat homes.

“I am very happy. I am very excited. I am blessed,” said the mom of two.

Along with her husband, Raul, Gonzales began working on her required 300 hours of sweat equity required by HFHSA several months ago.

“It wasn’t that hard,” she boasted shyly. “We went out every Saturday [to work on the house].”

The Gonzales family has two children, a 4-year-old boy and a 1-year old daughter. As part of the Habitat home building program, they were required to help build their own home and the homes of their neighbors, as well as attend 15-22 hours of home ownership education. In turn, they will purchase their home on a 20-year, interest-free mortgage.

The family of four currently lives in a one bedroom apartment they share with Mrs. Gonzales’s parents. Prior to entering the Habitat program, the family could not afford anything else, she said. Their home was sponsored by Holy Trinity Catholic Church and various individual contributors. It begins a “new chapter in their lives,” Gonzales, who will speak during Saturday’s ceremony, said.

She said she is most looking forward to playing with her children in her own backyard and to having her own washer and dryer for the very first time.

The Gonzales home is located in HFHSA’s Palo Alto Community, near Palo Alto College. It is one of the last 13 homes that will be built in the community before its completion in mid- to late-June and is one of 282 Habitat homes in the subdivision. HFHSA will soon begin construction in its newest community, Coleman Ridge.

Saturday’s event will be held at 10 a.m. in the community.

Directions: Take IH-35 South (towards Laredo), exit #149 and take a left at the first traffic light. Turn right on West Villaret Road (5th stoplight), turn left on Palo Alto Road (at dead end), turn right on Aragon Drive; At Maria Isabel, turn right; turn left on Coconino and look for the stage near 3606 Coconino.

About Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio: Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio is an ecumenical, Christian organization working with families in need to build simple, decent and affordable homes without interest or profit. Habitat families are required to put in a minimum of 300 hours of “sweat equity,” meaning they help build their own home, the homes of their neighbors and they attend home ownership education classes. In turn, they purchase their homes on a 0% interest, 20-year mortgage. Their payments average about $400 a month, or about half the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the city. HFHSA plans to build 55 homes in 2011. HFHSA was founded in 1976 as the first U.S. affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. The organization has built more than 700 homes in its 35-year history.
Type your content here...