AFRC AND SPS HABITAT PARTNER TO MAKE DREAM OF HOMEOWNERSHIP COME TRUE

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Forest Products Industry, SPS Habitat for Humanity Partner to Make Dream of Homeownership Come True for Local Family

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WHAT: South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity Home Dedication Event for Ahmed and Townes Family Home

WHEN: Saturday, June 30, 2018, 12 -2 pm

WHERE: 4405 37th Ave. SE, Lacey, WA

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Tanya Mote, South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity

[email protected],  360-859-4842

Travis Joseph, President, American Forest Resource Council

[email protected], 503-222-9505

Olympia, WA – The Ahmed and Townes Family (pictured below) will be joined by representatives from the local forest products industry, South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity, volunteers, and community leaders as they are handed the keys to their new Habitat home in the Deyoe Vista neighborhood in Lacey, Washington on Saturday, June 30 .

An affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, South Puget Sound Habitat (SPS) for Humanity is dedicated to the principle that everyone in the community deserves a safe, decent, and affordable place to live. “South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity can be summed up by the statement ‘We build,’ but what we build is so much more than housing. We build strength, stability and self-reliance through our affordable homeownership program. But we can’t do it alone and we truly believe that SPS Habitat is an expression of our community’s generosity, compassion and commitment to positive change, an expression best exemplified by organizations like American Forest Resource Council” said Tanya Mote, SPS Habitat’s Marketing, Development and Communications Manager.

The Ahmed and Townes Family home –  a two-story, three-bedroom in the beautiful Deyoe Vista neighborhood –  was sponsored by the American Forest Resource Council (AFRC), a non-profit trade association based out of Portland with an office in Olympia. AFRC represents the forest products industry in five western states, with operations throughout Washington state. AFRC and its members provided locally-manufactured lumber and wood products, volunteer hours, and cash donations to build a home for the Ahmed and Townes Family.

“This project embodies what the forest products industry is all about,” said Travis Joseph, president of AFRC. “We work in the woods, help care for our public lands and forests, and make local, renewable wood products every Washingtonian depends on every day – including the lumber for our homes. Our members – the family business owners, engineers, loggers, foresters, and millworkers – are passionate about the health and vitality of the communities in which they live, work, and play. This project is another example of that commitment. It’s a perfect fit. We are ecstatic to be using our members’ local products and expertise – and tapping into their passion for and commitment to rural communities – to build a home for Sharaf, Kayleigh, and their three kids, including a newborn!”

In partnership with SPS Habitat, the Ahmed and Townes Family completed over 400 hours of volunteer “sweat equity” including helping with the construction of other Habitat homes at Deyoe Vista, homeowner education courses, and building their own home. Now that the requirements have been completed, the Ahmed and Townes Family will purchase their home with an affordable Habitat mortgage that sets the monthly mortgage payment at no more than 30% of their combined income at the time of sale.

The Habitat for Humanity Dedication event will include five family home dedications in total, presentation of volunteer awards (AFRC will receive the Community Builder Award), blessings of the homes, and home tours.

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About the American Forest Resource Council

AFRC is a regional trade association whose purpose is to advocate for sustained yield timber harvests on public timberlands throughout the West to enhance forest health and resistance to fire, insects, and disease. AFRC does this by promoting active management to attain productive public forests, protect adjoining private forests, and assure community stability. It works to improve federal and state laws, regulations, policies and decisions regarding access to and management of public forest lands and protection of all forest lands. The ultimate goal of AFRC’s programs and initiatives is to advance its members’ ability to practice socially and scientifically responsible forestry on both public and private forest lands.

About South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity

South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity is a local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity

International. Founded in 1989, SPS Habitat serves the very-low income families whose dream is to own their own homes and self determine their own futures. Working with donors and volunteers, SPS Habitat develops and builds affordable housing communities in Thurston County. To date we have completed four developments and 54 houses with an addition 8 currently under construction at Deyoe Vista, a thirty-three single family home development in Lacey. A Christian-based ecumenical (all-inclusive), non-profit organization South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity is welcoming to people of any or no faith.