The local Habitat for Humanity will finish its 100th project this weekend, allowing a mother of three to move in to a home she always wanted and one she helped create.
Shelly Joyce has made significant changes in her life the past few years. She graduated from Indiana Business College (now Harrison College) in 2006 with an associate degree in medical billing and coding. After graduation, she got a job in the pediatrics department at Indiana University Ball Memorial Health, where she is currently employed.
Even after achieving many of her goals, Joyce said that her goal of becoming a homeowner remained.
She contributed 250 hours of her own labor during the week long blitz build to obtain a new home. Other criteria include providing a down payment and making monthly mortgage payments.
Habitat for Humanity has been providing affordable 20-year, interest-free mortgages to low-income families for 25 years.
The Joyce home, which is located in the Whitely neighborhood, represents a milestone in the work of the Muncie Habit for Humanity.
In conjunction with this project, the organization launched the "Make a $10 Difference" campaign, which invites local media outlets to volunteer and raise awareness for the organization.
"The concept behind this awareness build is to harness the power of media to create awareness and a better understanding of what Habitat does and can do in this community with community support," Lindsey Arthur, CEO of Muncie Habitat for Humanity, said.
Her goal is to raise $100,000 of donated media for the build, and local media outlets are already getting involved.
"This experience is awesome," Lindsay Stafford of WLBC said. "It feels good to help out. It makes me want to do this again and again."
Besides the free advertising, Habitat aimed to raise $50,000 with contributions from the community. Arthur said the group raised more than half of the amount and contributions are still coming in.
The campaign will come to a close today, but donations can be given at any time.
"One of the reasons that we initiated the campaign was to raise awareness that Habitat needs money to build houses and that it is easy to donate and something that the whole community can embrace," Arthur said.
About 200 volunteers from 10 media outlets participated in the project.
"Blitz builds build excitement," Jena Ashby, program director, said. "But we have felt the pressure all week."
Megan Herbstreith, freshman interior design major, said it felt good to get involved.
"It's really fun to work together and do something nice for someone," she said.
Joyce said she took 12 days off work to help build her home.
In a video on the Muncie Habitat for Humanity's Facebook page, she explained that one of the values she wants to impress on her children is that their dreams are achievable — no matter what hardships they encounter in their lives.
"Buying this house is about family values, tradition and security," Joyce said. "It has been a chaotic, great, wonderful and insane experience."
Even after working all week, Joyce and her family plan to move in tonight or Saturday.
"My son has been packed for days," Joyce said.
Joyce said throughout the construction process, the house does not feel like her own yet.
"You can't really quantify when a house becomes a home until you see the look on the face of the mom and dad or the children who now have a stable place to grow up," Arthur said.
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