April 28, 2008 — A crew of volunteers from Team UT-Battelle gathered this weekend to begin construction of a Habitat for Humanity house in Clinton's Hickory Ridge Subdivision.
Team-UT Battelle is a volunteer service organization of staff from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The group has more than 2,000 participants who have contributed to a number of Habitat homes and more than 30 service projects in the Oak Ridge area.
"Working with a family to build a home is a wonderful experience," said Michelle Buchanan, ORNL's associate laboratory director for Physical Sciences and leader of the Team UT-Battelle effort at the Habitat house. "Previous volunteers from ORNL have pitched in to nail subflooring, install siding and paint while enjoying the camaraderie of co-workers and contributing to a very worthy cause."
The family of Lisa Daugherty of Clinton will be occupying the new home when construction is completed this summer.
Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County builds homes in partnership with hard-working, low income families and individuals. Future homeowners must put in at least 400 hours of "sweat equity" labor by helping build their own home and working on other Habitat projects.
"One of the many great things about Habitat for Humanity is that volunteers who work on the projects don't have to be experienced in construction," Buchanan said. "There are plenty of other jobs that volunteers can help with that lead to the construction of a family's new home."
A $500 down payment is required, which can be paid in installments before construction begins. After construction is completed, houses are sold to partnering homeowners with no-interest mortgages.
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy.