Chapel Hill home will give family place in community

Linda Parson made the walk down the driveway with her two children to what will be their new house -- and about 50 people turned out to greet them.

By the end of the summer, Parson and her two children, Isiah and Imani, will have a new Habitat for Humanity home in which to live -- one that is affordable and in Chapel Hill, making the commute to work and to her kids' schools easier.

Parson, a 29-year-old single mother, is an accounting technician at UNC. She also is a former student, having spent 2 1/2 years at the University as a psychology major.

She has been a permanent employee with the Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children division for four years and used to make a 25-minute commute from Mebane each day to work. Now, she lives in Timberlyne Village.

Owning a home in Chapel Hill, she said, will help her to be a part of the community and to give back to it.

"With UNC helping out, it's kind of like you feel obligated to the University," Parson said. "Just being able to help build a house helps give me a bigger appreciation for it."

Parson's house is no ordinary Habitat home -- it's part of a Blitz Build and will be built by members of the University community.

"Our goal was to come up with a project for students, faculty and staff," said Becca Sowder, Blitz Build coordinator. "We wanted to unify all factions of the University."

The UNC Habitat Blitz Build took place this weekend from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The foundation already was in place for Parson's home, so the goal was to finish the structure's frame, its roof, its siding and its doors. Professional contractors will come later to do the wiring of the house and the floors.

Sowder said UNC Habitat usually has 10 to 12 student volunteers to work each shift. This past weekend, that number was closer to 20.

"We had more than enough volunteers," she said. "Fund raising hasn't been a problem."

Habitat covers half of the cost of building the house, which in total is about $60,000.

The University is underwriting the cost of the other $30,000.

Parson will have to give "sweat equity" -- putting in hours to build her home and other Habitat homes. She has to give a total of 325 hours, but family and friends can work 60 of those hours.

"To me, it's just a day's work," said Bobby Parson, Parson's uncle. "It's a blessing to give back. It's just exciting to be able to do something like this."

Parson has put in 165 hours so far.

"The more we see it, the more (the excitement) builds," she said. "We're building on each other's energy."

Five-year-old Isiah and 4-year-old Imani said they are excited about their new home because they will be able to have their own rooms.

And Imani added that if she could, she would help build the roof.

Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.