UC Celebrates Community At Dedication Ceremony With Cincinnati Habitat For Humanity

“I’d like to thank God, thank Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity and thank the whole university for being there with me. I’m so blessed.” – Janie Cunningham

At an April 16 dedication ceremony in Mt. Auburn, Janie Cunningham was presented with a bouquet of flowers and a light fixture from the University of Cincinnati to brighten her brand new home built in partnership with UC, Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity and Fifth Third Bank. From last fall through early spring, Janie invested 500 hours of her own “sweat equity labor” with volunteers as part of UC’s second project to be completed with Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity.

“This is indeed a special occasion for members of the university family, the Habitat family and the family at Fifth Third,” said Mitchel D. Livingston, UC Vice President for Student Affairs and Services. “When we come together, we can do great things. We build family, we build homes, and we build community together. Through the work of around 200 people and two-thousand hours of service on this home, we indeed are committed to building community.”

“This is not a random act of kindness. It is in the fabric of our plan for the future which we call UC|21,” said UC President Nancy L. Zimpher.

“We’re very pleased to be a part of this partnership,” said Fifth Third Vice President and Community Affairs Officer Ed Owens III. “This is what we do. We are helping to build a stronger community and by doing that, we build a stronger bank.”

Janie Cunningham will purchase her new home for approximately $66,000 with a 20-year interest-free mortgage payable to Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity. But before construction begins on these projects, UC must commit to the funding to buy the construction materials. At the kickoff last fall to build Cunningham’s home, Fifth Third Bank announced it was contributing $32,000, half of the start-up cost, to the UC partnership with Habitat for Humanity. The check presentation was one of the highlights of the dedication ceremony.

“Without the financial contributions of the university and of Fifth Third Bank, we wouldn’t be here today,” said Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Susan Schiller. “Because we are a community of people working together, we were able to transform this empty lot into a beautiful home for the Cunningham family and make a difference in our community.” Schiller added that it was the ninth home that Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity has raised on Winkler Street in Mt. Auburn, and the second home in partnership with UC. The first UC project, dedicated last spring, was for Janie’s sister, Sylvia Smith.

Schiller presented Janie with a framed Habitat for Humanity poster, which read, “Of all the keys to all the locks in all the world, the one that opens my home opens my heart.”

Also at the ceremony, special recognition for UC Habitat steering committee co-chair Anne Fitzgerald, the UC senior who proposed the idea for the first university-wide project with Habitat for Humanity through her work with the UC Center for Community Engagement. The chemistry and anthropology major from Greenville, Ohio will be graduating in June. Anne, along with fellow UC Habitat steering committee co-chair Annmarie Thurnquist, director of renovations for UC Construction Management, were both presented with bouquets.

Committee members and Construction Management Senior Staff Engineers Dewey Enderle and Kurt Ponting were recognized for spending their Saturdays, many evening hours and numerous lunch breaks supervising construction at the site.

A UC freshman Honors Scholars English class got an early start on Cunningham’s two-story, three-bedroom home two weeks before classes began last fall, as part of a service-learning course for first-year students. Their instructor, Beverly Brannan, also had a gift for Janie – a photo album filled with pictures of the Honors Scholars at work on the project.

UC’s third project in partnership with Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity and Fifth Third Bank will get underway in the fall.