UC Habitat Kickoff Celebrates Community

The sounds of applause joined the sounds of hammers in a Mt. Auburn neighborhood on Oct. 4, as the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity kicked off their new partnership – a home that’s under construction at 111 Winkler St.

When the UC volunteers complete their work, they’ll be welcoming Sylvia Smith and her two children, Sharvee and Jeremy, into the first home they have ever owned.

The kickoff ceremony warmed up a chilly morning as University of Cincinnati President Nancy L. Zimpher, representatives of Habitat for Humanity, and representatives of the Mt. Auburn community praised the commitment of the UC volunteers, who signed up for the project through the UC Center for Community Engagement. The ceremony was attended by the UC volunteers, members of the university community and members of the Mt. Auburn community, as well as the family of future homeowner Sylvia Smith and the generous donors for the project, Elaine and Albert Wernersbach.

UC President Nancy L. Zimpher, in her fourth day as president, praised the students’ commitment to social justice, recalling how she was so deeply moved by seeing the freshman class banner raised at Convocation. The banner – made of more than 190 flags the new students designed during their summer orientation – symbolized their commitment to a Just Community. President Zimpher recalled how strongly that commitment was displayed, as she watched the banner soar yards above the stage. The Habitat project is one of UC’s many examples of how students serve communities here and around the world.

The UC/Habitat project was the vision of project committee co-chair Anne Fitzgerald, a fifth-year chemistry and anthropology major from Greenville, Ohio. Fitzgerald also works as a student coordinator for the UC Center for Community Engagement. It was her dedication to service that led her to work with the AmeriCorps national community service organization last year. “There are all of these issues out there, and the world doesn’t just revolve around whether you’re going to get an A in class. I feel I’ve learned so much more through service.”

Committee co-chair Annmarie Thurnquist, director of renovations for UC Construction Management, is overseeing construction at the site.

“Welcome to my neighborhood,” said Mt. Auburn resident Jeanne Smith, the morning reflections coordinator for the UC/Habitat volunteers and associate director for the Wesley Foundation United Methodist Student Center. “With each strike of your hammers, we think of hope, we think of justice and we think of harmony returning to Cincinnati.”

Dena M. Reed, representing the Mt. Auburn Community Council, said, “We all win when we have new houses, and new God-fearing families moving into our neighborhoods. So I want to say welcome to the Smith family.”

Her position was backed with research pointed out by Habitat Acting Executive Director John Hoff. The Cincinnati office of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation found that compared to children of families who are renters, the children of homeowners are more likely to graduate from high school and college; are 20 percent less likely to become teen mothers; and children of homeowners save taxpayers an estimated $34,000 that would have been spent on such situations as juvenile delinquency and teen pregnancy, had they remained in rented housing.

UC/Habitat sponsor Elaine Wernersbach reflected on the historic significance of the neighborhood as well as the street where she grew up. “My husband and I are both products of the Depression. My parents moved here in 1934 and they were both hard-working, but there wasn’t always work to be found.” She remembered how her father stressed the importance of getting an education (both Elaine and her husband Albert attended the University of Cincinnati), but added that “Just because a person doesn’t have things, it doesn’t mean that they don’t have what it takes.

“There is a lot of history to this street. I’m thankful to Habitat for making it pretty now. When you work on these (Habitat homes), it’s an experience like you’ve never had before.”

“Elaine and Albert, we love you for the special gift you’ve given us and the opportunity you’ve given us,” said Mitchel D. Livingston, UC Vice President for Student Affairs and Services. “I know this is special because I too am a carpenter. I still carry my card from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters.”

Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing affordable housing. The interest-free mortgage payments, averaging $350 a month, are used to fund future Habitat projects.

The hammers first started swinging at the site on Sept. 27, as UC volunteers started framing what will eventually be a two-story, three-bedroom home with one-and-a half bathrooms. Volunteers are working with Habitat for Humanity’s “Women Building a Legacy Initiative,” meaning 51 percent of the labor will be done by UC’s female volunteers. The initiative is meant to raise awareness about substandard housing nationwide and its affects on children.

“I just want to say thank you, everyone – the students especially,” an emotional Sylvia Smith, the future homeowner, told the crowd. “Thank you very much.”

Sign up to volunteer through UC’s Habitat for Humanity Web site.