In 10 days, Meagan Randle and her family will move into their new home — and their move will be accompanied by a community celebration.
Habitat for Humanity Mid-Vancouver Island (HFHMVI) announced late last week that Randle and her daughters have completed their 500 hours of sweat equity, completing the final stage to become the owners of a Habitat home at 224 Strathcona Rd. in Ladysmith.
Randle and her daughters Samantha, 9, and Cathryn, 7, will officially celebrate becoming the new homeowners this month when HFHMVI hosts a Home Dedication Friday, March 22 at 11 a.m.
Randle works for the Town of Ladysmith and is overjoyed at being able to be a homeowner and stay in town.
“To know that we will own such a well-built home is a great source of comfort to our family,” she says in a press release. “I am so grateful to the community that built this home and to Habitat for Humanity Mid-Vancouver Island for providing this legacy for my daughters. We are all so thankful and so happy!”
The home was built through a donation of land from the Town of Ladysmith and was a project spearheaded jointly by Leadership Ladysmith and Habitat for Humanity Mid-Vancouver Island in 2008 and 2009.
The previous homeowner, Teresa Battle, recently married, and she decided to “pay it forward” and returned her home to Habitat for Humanity so that another family could benefit from the Habitat home ownership program.
Jan Christenson of Ladysmith is the Family Liaison Volunteer providing guidance to the Randle family in achieving their 500 hours of sweat equity required to become a Habitat homeowner.
“The goal of the Habitat home ownership model is to provide a hand up, not a hand out,” says Teresa Pring, executive director of HFHMVI. “Habitat empowers families by partnering with them to become homeowners through the no-interest mortgage. This hand up gives hardworking families access to capital and helps them break free from the cycle of poverty. This home will be a safe place where the Randles can live, sharing growth, happiness and peace of mind, and where they can spend their lives together and share memories. ”