LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (ACCNS) -- About 50 base members and the local community braved the cold, wet weather to take part in a historic and special ground-breaking ceremony recently.
It was historic, because it is the first time that the base has partnered with the Habitat for Humanity. It was special, because the Hampton home will be built for an Army and Air Force Exchange Service employee and her family.
Were all excited about the partnership we have started here with Langley Air Force Base and Habitat for Humanity. Habitat is all about partnerships partnerships with the community, families, and our many, many volunteers, said Olin Walden, Habitat Board Chair.
This new partnership started in Langleys chapel last fall when the Catholic and Protestant parishes agreed to donate their time and money to the Habitat cause. But it took some intervention from God according to 1st Fighter Wing Chaplain (Col.) Philip Fain for all the pieces to come together.
Initially, we couldnt get a Hampton location to build on, but then Hurricane Isabel dropped a large tree on an existing home. The damage was so extensive that the retired Air Force member who owned the home donated the land to Habitat. Then we found out that a Langley employee was the next one to get a home, said Chaplain Fain. This is definitely one of those God things.
This will be the 76th house Habitat has built on the Peninsula, and a common misconception is that the houses are given away.
We sell houses to very deserving, hard-working families who have full-time jobs, good credit and are in need of housing. We do this at no profit to us and provide an interest-free mortgage for the family, said Mr. Walden.
In this instance, the hard-working and deserving individual is Sabrina Jennings, an AAFES employee here for more than 10 years. She asked AAFES to put her on the night shift so she would also be able to perform volunteer duty for the Habitat on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., in addition to meeting the demands of being a single parent. Ms. Jennings has been on the list for a home for more than two and a half years.
My family and I are very blessed with this. I want to thank everyone for all they have done and Im really looking forward to working with everyone on this home, said Ms. Jennings. I have to thank my Habitat family, my AAFES family, and especially my family for the support they have given me.
To assist with the home, Langleys Catholic and Protestant parishes have donated more than $27,000 and more than 350 Team Langley volunteers have signed up to help.
Speaking on behalf of Langley, Col. Frank Gorenc, 1st Fighter Wing commander, was extremely proud of Ms. Jennings and the team effort it would take to complete the home.
While this certainly makes a huge difference in Sabrinas life, more importantly, it makes a huge difference in everybodys life as we are coming together for the good of the community, said Colonel Gorenc.