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Spring Habitat Tradition Celebrates UC’s Commitment to Community

Photos By: Dottie Stover

  

A University of Cincinnati partnership that involved 178 UC volunteers and more than 2,340 hours of community service since last September will have an impact beyond building a home for Simone Edwards and her two small children. At a May 31 ceremony dedicating the fifth home UC is building in partnership with Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity, student volunteers heard how they were changing lives.

From left: Mitchel Livingston, Simone Edwards and Kenneth Webb celebrate Fifth Third Bank contribution.

Tom Salzbrun, executive director for Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity, explained that compared with similar cities across the United States, Cincinnati is fifth from the bottom of the list in terms of home ownership, partly because of the lack of affordable housing. “That’s what Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity is all about and that’s what we’re here to celebrate today, the dedication of this beautiful home. But it’s more than that. Many studies have been conducted to show that kids who grow up in homes owned by their parents do better in school and have better graduation rates. Teen pregnancy decreases. Juvenile delinquency decreases. The impact of home ownership is significant on kids and on generations to come, and so we celebrate that also. UC has been a great partner with Habitat for Humanity,” Salzbrun said.

Among the attendees at the dedication ceremony were three other families whose lives were changed by the UC/Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity partnership – Sylvia Smith, who worked alongside student volunteers to build her home, the first as part of the university-wide partnership; her sister, Janie Cunningham, the second homeowner as part of the partnership, who now lives just up the street from her sister on Winkler Street; and the third homeowner, Megan O’Malley, who lives just down the street from the Edwards’ home on Haven Street in Avondale.

Simone Edwards and son, Myron

Edwards, an employee for the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services, was required to invest 500 hours of sweat equity into the home, which she will purchase with a 25-year, interest-free mortgage made payable to Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity. UC commits to coordinating the volunteers and to raising the funding to buy the construction materials.

Kenneth Webb, Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) manager for Fifth Third Bank, presented a $50,000 check at the ceremony to support the construction. He added that the month of June kicked off Fifth Third’s celebration of having a 150-year presence in the Cincinnati community. “Through those 150 years, we’ve been continually making communities more livable,” he said. “As a corporation, it is our responsibility to help individuals in the community.”

This year’s construction partnership is also sponsored by the Messer Construction Company, AIC Flooring and UC Athletics, with support from University Dining Services.

UC/Habitat volunteers

“Our goal is to stay committed to this ideal year after year,” said Mitchel D. Livingston, UC vice president for Student Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer. “We believe in building communities.”

Simone Edwards gave special recognition to Dewey Enderle, a UC alum and a UC senior staff engineer who supervises the volunteers as they work on Saturdays. “My first thanks is to Dewey and my whole crew. Thank you, Dewey, for dedicating all your Saturdays to build my home,” Edwards said. “Everyone here today, thank you. We are very appreciative. Thank you.”

Edwards' home on Haven Street

A recent snapshot survey of the Cincinnati USA region found that UC’s partners in the Cincinnati USA region have a positive impression with UC’s ties to the community. The survey was conducted as part of a comprehensive self evaluation of the university’s quality and accountability to report to the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), which grants accreditation in the HLC and the North Central Association (NCA).