MEMBER SIGN IN
Not a member? Become one today!
         iBerkshires     Berkshire Chamber     MCLA     City Statistics    
Search
Northern Berkshire Habitat Marks Completion of Latest Home
By Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
01:44AM / Sunday, November 09, 2014
Print | Email  

Alison Rice is the new homeowner.

Garden tools for the spring.

The Rev. Rick Spalding and the little dots of purple he brought along.

Cutting the cake.


Paul Austin hands new homeowner Alison Rice a gift — a homeowner's guide — from the Habitat board

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Nearly 200 people have left their mark on Alison Rice's new home.

Some in the form of tiny shiny purple dots.

"We want you to be reminded as you look around your home of the people here and the many many others who helped with this house," the Rev. Rick Spalding, chaplain of Williams College, said, after passing around a bowl of the dots to be "planted like little seeds" as he offered a prayer.

Rice also received more practical house warming gifts — a propane certificate from H.A. George, a bag full of samples, garden tools and a book on home repair.

"It's great," she said afterward as cake was passed around. "It's a great group of people."

Nearly a dozen volunteers were gathered at the West Shaft Road house on Saturday to celebrate this latest completion of a Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity project.

"This is a closing for us with the volunteers, but a beginning for Alison and her two children in their new home," Paul Austin, board president and project manager.

It's season of change for Rice. She her children Connor, 13, and Samantha, 10, moved in last month and she started a new job a Kapiloff Glass.

But the work on the home started last year.

Rice was selected to participate in the program in fall 2013. By that time the structure had been selected and gutted.

"I heard about it on the radio and decided to apply," she said.

Like other Habitat applicants, Rice was expected to put in "sweat equity" not only on her own home, but the next one as well.

The three-bedroom home is a step up from her apartment off East Quincy.

"Allison was the perfect fit," said Linda Cernik, a member of the selection committee. "She was in an apartment too small for her family.

"We're very happy to have her."

Rice picked out all the finishes and decorated with pops of country. Her children, both of whom were hunting in Vermont, also love the home and were disappointed their age kept them from helping out.

"They wanted to," she said. "It was a battle every week."

The Northern Berkshire chapter has built or renovated 10 homes over the past 24 years. Rice's new renovated home is next to a couple others done by Habitat in the past.

The 1999 Cape Cod has been completely remodeled, including new windows, flooring, insulation and siding. The kitchen and bathroom were redone and the basement insulated. A small deck is off the kitchen and a storage shed was built in the back.

Habitat officials estimated about 1,700 hours were put into the house along with thousands of dollars of reduced or donated goods by a host of local businesses. MountainOne provided the funding and a number of Williams College students participated.

"I really enjoyed working on it and look forward to the next one," Rice said.

0Comments
More Featured Stories
NorthAdams.com is owned and operated by: Boxcar Media 102 Main Sreet, North Adams, MA 01247 -- T. 413-663-3384
© 2011 Boxcar Media LLC - All rights reserved