The Volunteering Page of David Rankin

When T’Chara Broyles thinks about her future Habitat home, she pictures holiday dinners, and her teenage daughter’s car parked in the driveway, and her family sitting on the front porch of a home she owns – her version of the American dream. T’Chara and her 17-year-old daughter, Shontaejah, live in a rental property in NE Canton that sits near a busy street and that frequently has mice. The kitchen is only big enough for the stove and the sink, which is a problem, since T’Chara and Shontaejah like to cook big meals and bake desserts together while they talk about what’s going on in their lives. Several members of T’Chara’s family have built homes with Habitat for Humanity East Central Ohio, and T’Chara was encouraged by seeing how people who come from the same place she does have built and maintained their own homes for years. Now that it’s her turn, she hopes her Habitat home will provide a safe place for her daughter forever, even after she’s gone. “I would say I’m most excited to look at something that I know that I worked for and that I built myself,” T’Chara said. “And to have something for my family that will be secure.”

Since beginning the Habitat partnership, T’Chara has balanced her sweat equity for Habitat with her job working as an STNA at an assisted living facility. She views the hours she’s logged at the ReStore, in particular, as her way of giving back. T’Chara’s daughter, Shontaejah describes her mom as a person with a good heart who cares for people more than she cares for herself. And seeing her mother go through the Habitat program has been example to her of the importance of hard work. “You got to work for what you want to get in life,” Shontaejah said. “That’s kind of the price of building your own house –you got to work for it.” T’Chara’s experience with Habitat has reminded her the world still is full of good people who want to help others, and she is thankful to those who will dedicate their time and financial support to building with her. She said she can’t wait until the first time she opens the door to the home she built. “It’s going to be emotional, I’m going to cry, and I’m going be amazed that this is something that I did for my family with my own two hands,” she said.