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MEDIA INVITE: Three Local Families to Celebrate New Habitat Home Dedications Today Through Monday, June 24, 25 and 29
Samuel W and family
Samuel W., a streetcar operator with EMBARK in Oklahoma City, poses with his three children. He and his oldest daughter are preparing for his wife, Gezu, and two other children to immigrate to the United States.
Streetcar Operator, Father of Three, Prepares to Reunite Family in New Habitat Home
OKLAHOMA CITY —An Oklahoma City streetcar operator with EMBARK, Samuel W., will celebrate the dedication of his family’s new home with Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity (COHFH) at 2 p.m. today, Wednesday, June 24, in Cornerstone Creek, Oklahoma City
The home dedication today is one of three separate celebrations by Habitat with families from Oklahoma City, Moore and Edmond – all of whom have purchased new, energy-efficient homes in COHFH’s newest and largest affordable housing development, Cornerstone Creek.
In Samuel’s New Home Construction application, he stated that he has been living with his oldest daughter in a one-bedroom apartment in Oklahoma City while his wife, Gezu, and two other children are completing the final stages of their immigration process from Ethiopia to the United States.
“They’re expected soon, and once they arrive, our current one-bedroom apartment will not be sufficient to accommodate our family,” Samuel stated. “It (homeownership) means truly having a place we can call our own and build our future in.”
He said he is eager to have his family reunited and believes his new Habitat home will help provide the room his family of five needs, along with added “stability, security and peace of mind.”
Moore Mom of Three Finds “Forever Home” with Habitat
From left, Zaiden P., 11, hugs his little brother, Jacobi M., 2, while his mother, Evonna P., a new Habitat homeowner from Moore, holds Dakari M., 1.
MOORE – Evonna P. is a busy mother of three boys who works as a pharmacy benefits navigator with OU Health. She and Zaiden, Jacobi and Dakari will celebrate their new Habitat home dedication at 2 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday, June 25, in Cornerstone Creek in Oklahoma City.
Evonna stated in her New Home Construction application that she has been paying high rent in Moore and wants to provide a “forever home” for her sons.
“Having a home, we can finally say is ours is a big blessing,” Evonna stated. “My boys will create lifelong friends in the area we live, have stability in the same school district, and build stronger community connections. Being a homeowner will provide the opportunity to save money for my children for the future.”
Edmond Newlyweds Buy First Home with Habitat
Channing N., who lives in Edmond, and her husband, Shahil F., who married in late May, will celebrate their new home dedication on Monday afternoon in Cornerstone Creek in Oklahoma City.
EDMOND – Newlyweds Channing N., an Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club public relations professional, and her husband, Shahil F., married in late May, and they cannot wait to participate in their new home dedication at 2 p.m. Monday, June 29, at Cornerstone Creek in Oklahoma City.
Channing stated in her New Home Construction application that the Habitat program is giving them the opportunity to buy and build their first home as they start their life together. She added that the home will help relieve financial stress and give them a place to “put down roots.”
COHFH Chair/CEO Ann Felton Gilliland and several of Channing’s coworkers recommended Habitat, and the young PR pro wasted no time in applying.
“These families have worked hard for the opportunity to buy safe, stable and affordable homes,” Felton Gilliland said. “Homeownership changes lives because it gives families a foundation for the future, and we are grateful to celebrate these milestones with them.”
The dedications will include brief remarks by Felton Gilliland and the homeowners, prayers by local clergy, gifts from community members and the presentation of keys.
About Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity:
COHFH builds new, energy-efficient, and affordable homes in central Oklahoma. Habitat homeowners help build their homes, complete homeowner education classes, and purchase their homes at cost with no down payment. To donate, text MAKEHOMEHAPPEN to 50155 or call 405-232-4828. For more information, visit www.cohfh.org.
