Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity Frames 1,000th House

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Oklahoma City Councilman Mark Stonecipher, around 40 recruits from the Oklahoma National Guard Recruiting and Retention division, and other longtime Habitat volunteers helped raise the walls on the house being built for future Habitat homeowner and single mother Brittani Githiri and her two children.

“I’m proud of the dedicated work that Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity accomplishes to provide future homeowners with decent, safe, and affordable homes,” said Sen. Lankford. “Congratulations to Central Oklahoma Habitat for their 1,000th home build. These are not just 1,000 homes they are 1,000 lives and families positively impacted. I’m grateful to be a part of this milestone.”

Maxwell Supply Chairman Jerry Thomason, President Charlie Thomason, and Vice President Donnie Tepsic also presented COHFH Chairman and CEO Ann Felton Gilliland with the $110,000 check for the company’s sixth full home sponsorship. Maxwell Supply provided foundation packages for rebar on COHFH builds for almost 20 years before sponsoring its first fully funded home in 2009.

“At our last home dedication, I arrived early, so I asked if I could walk around and take a look at the house,” said Jerry Thomason. “Here I am looking at this beautiful house, when the new homeowner walked in with her two daughters dressed in white dresses and a little boy in her arms. The little girls ran down the hall and into a bedroom, and then they ran into the next room. That’s what it’s all about. It is my favorite part of the whole process – changing people’s lives and giving families a better future with a new home and safe environment.”

Gilliland, who has been with the organization since its first home build in 1990, says her excitement surrounding the construction of the 1,000th house is not related to the brick and mortar of which it is made.

“For me, our 1,000th house represents all the lives that have been forever changed, including my own,” said Gilliland. “The servant hearts of our volunteers, the generosity of our donors, and the dedication of our staff have made this milestone achievable. I am in awe of a community that has taken us from a small office, with no paid staff, in a church basement that built a single home to creating stories of success for more than 45 families each year.”

Construction on Githiri’s home is set for completion in mid-March. Githiri, a nurse at an assisted living center, will put in 300 hours of sweat equity and make monthly mortgage payments once her family moves into the home.

“What I am looking forward to most as a homeowner is that it will be much more cost effective,” said Githiri. “You spend a lot of money when you are renting, and you are not even putting it into your own space or able to personalize it. I cannot wait to create my own space. I will know that the days I am working and away from my kids is going into something that will last us a lifetime.”

“You see folks getting ready to start out on their journey as proud homeowners, and they are able to raise their family in a nice neighborhood,” said Charlie Thomason, President of Maxwell Supply. “It is a blast to be a part of that!”

“It is those stories that touch my heart and make me grateful to be a part of Central Oklahoma Habitat and the caring community that makes our mission to eliminate poverty housing possible,” said Gilliland.

To learn more about COHFH, make an individual donation, become a corporate sponsor or apply for homeownership, visit: yourhabitathome.com.

About Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity

Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry that provides affordable housing for hard-working, limited-income families. The organization has built 988 new homes in Central Oklahoma since 1990, all sold at cost. For more information, visit YourHabitatHome.com or call 405-232-4828.

About Maxwell Supply of Oklahoma City

Since 1958, Maxwell Supply provides exemplary service to engineering and construction companies from a project’s beginning to end. Maxwell supports companies working on government, commercial, and residential projects. The company added a Tulsa store in 1975 and a Lawton store in 2008. Maxwell Supply supports the local community by giving back to Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity and the Oklahoma City Food Bank. Visit Maxwell Supply online at maxokc.com