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Timken Company Build 2 | Dunlap Family logo
Worksite Health and Safety: We're requiring everyone on our worksites to wear a mask so that we protect the health of our volunteers, staff and community. If you have a condition that prevents you from wearing a mask, we ask you volunteer with us once you masks are no longer required on Habitat worksites. Thanks for your understanding.  Please check your temperature before arriving at the Habitat worksite. If it is 100.4 degrees or higher or you are experiencing any other symptoms of illness including cough, shortness of breath, or muscle aches, please stay home and call 330-312-3419 to cancel. Scroll down to learn about additional health and safety precautions you can expect while volunteering with us.

family and current housing
Future homeowner, Holly Dunlap, first encountered Habitat for Humanity years ago when she helped her best friend build her Habitat home in Alliance, Ohio. Even years later, Holly fondly recalls the memories made as she worked alongside her friend on the worksite. More recently, Philip’s sister completed the program and purchased an affordable Habitat home. Holly is considered an independent contractor as a massage therapist and feared she would never find a bank willing to give her a mortgage with a portion of her income based on tips. Knowing two people who had successfully become homeowners with the assistance of Habitat, Holly and Philip decided to try it themselves. The family of four has lived in a mobile home rental in Sandy Valley for nearly three years. The doublewide trailer is not in terrible shape structurally, though there are several issues. During a recent storm, a few shingles blew off and water leaked into the trailer above the front door. The shingles were replaced, but the water damage to the ceiling remains. Holly and her son have breathing problems that did not arise until moving into the trailer. She believes it is linked to the furnace and the fact that it does not have a removable filter to replace or clean. The trailer is also infested with ants. At first, they only noticed them in the kitchen, but they have spread throughout the home even after extermination attempts. Holly keeps food stored in air-tight containers and cleans daily, but the problem persists. Mostly, the couple longs for a place they can call home and raise their children in a stable, safe environment. Holly refers to her ten-year-old stepdaughter Ameerah as her “sidekick.” A helpful young lady, Ameerah enjoys crafting, dance, and gymnastics. Six-year-old Genuine lives up to his namesake – a little boy who is real and authentic in all he does. He can be very shy but enjoys sports and everything to do with superheroes. Philip and Holly are excited not just for the blessing of a home, but for the opportunity Habitat provides to show the kids the value of hard work.

a bright future
During the months involved in the Habitat program, the couple has stayed busy investing sweat equity hours on worksites, in education classes, and at ReStore. Holly especially enjoyed the financial classes which helped her budget her self-employment income more accurately. The couple by no means takes for granted the blessing an affordable Habitat home will be. “Financially to be able to have some extra money to take the kids to do something or put back into a savings account,” is a blessing recognized by Holly. “To know that all the [payments] are going to own a home and we’ll have equity verses paying into something that you don’t have in the end.” Holly, Philip, Ameerah, and Genuine look forward to the day they receive the keys to their forever home and are so appreciative for this opportunity. “Thank you, Timken Company, for taking the time and helping our family build a home!”

Location / Venue

Habitat for Humanity East Central Ohio logo
In Support of Habitat for Humanity East Central Ohio
As a grassroots Christian housing ministry serving Stark, Carroll, Tuscarawas, Harrison, and Jefferson Counties, Habitat for Humanity East Central Ohio is driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live. People partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Through financial support, volunteering, or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability, and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. To learn more, visit habitateco.org.