By Don Steen
Staff Writer n [email protected]
Hatfield was a happening place Friday afternoon as a crowd lined the corner of Parker Street and County Road 900W for a groundbreaking of the first Spencer County Habitat for Humanity home in the unincorporated community. This project is a collaboration between Habitat for Humanity and A Better Hatfield, a group dedicated to improving the community.
A member of ABH donated the lot for the construction of the new home. This milestone was also made possible by $50,000 in funding support by the county, and many county officials were present to mark the occasion.
One stipulation of this Habitat home is that the owner must be a current resident of Hatfield. The first new homeowner through this partnership is Katelyn Robinson, along with her daughter Brynlee.
Robinson is a lifelong resident of Spencer County, growing up in Rockport and graduating from South Spencer High School in 2016. She has many relatives in the Hatfield area, and recently followed her mother, Angela Gunter, in relocating to the community. Habitat for Humanity happened to expand into Hatfield right around the time Robinson began looking for a home.
“God planned it all out,” said Gunter.
Robinson and her daughter will be the 31st family to benefit from Spencer County Habitat for Humanity, but there’s a lot of work to do before that happens. In addition to paying a mortgage through Habitat for Humanity’s home ownership program, Robinson will be putting in plenty of “sweat equity” alongside other volunteers during construction.
“Getting this house is not an easy thing,” said Jenny Thomas of Spencer County Habitat for Humanity.
That sweat equity began with a ceremonial groundbreaking, complete with golden shovels. Mother and daughter also got a chance to check out some of the heavy equipment being used at the site.
Thomas reported that Spencer County Habitat for Humanity has a lot of projects in the pipeline. In adition to future homes elsewhere in the county, more are planned for Hatfield thanks to generous donations and community support.
Featured Image: Jenny Thomas, Sandy Martin, Katelyn Robinson and her daughter, Brynlee, and Carolyn McGinnis breaking ground at the future site of Hatfield’s first Habitat home.
On Left, Brynlee and Katelyn check out some of the equipment being used to prepare the site of their future home.
On Right, county officials were present to support the first Habitat home in Hatfield, a project which received financial backing from the county. In back from left are Councilman Mac Webb, Commissioner Jim Seiler, Councilman David Gogel and Councilman Aaron Benton. In front are Commissioner Heather Gries, Councilman Brian Greulich, Councilwoman Susan Harris, Councilman Steve Haaff and future homeowner Katelyn Robinson and her daughter, Brynlee.
