The Volunteering Page of Amanda Thomas

FAMILY AND CURRENT HOUSING
Like many of our Partner Families, Dannie came to Habitat looking for a fresh start. In 2013, Dannie’s life was turned upside-down after he lost his job of eleven years. The sudden loss of income forced Dannie and his daughters to move out of their home at the time while trying to get back on their feet financially. Low income and past credit issues made it difficult for Dannie to find an affordable home to rent or buy. As a result, the family moved several times sharing living space with extended family or friends. Then Dannie remembered the Habitat homes built across the street from one of his previous residences in Waynesburg and decided to look into the program himself. He applied to Habitat hoping to once again secure a safe, affordable place for his family to call home. Dannie is a true family man and it doesn’t take long to see how proud he is of his daughters, Kaelie and Chloe. Kaelie recently graduated from the dental assistant program at RG Drage and Chloe is a sports lover. She is currently on a gymnastics team at the YMCA and plays softball at her school in Sandy Valley. Not only has Dannie proudly watched his daughters compete, he considers coaching their softball teams to be one of his most enjoyed activities.

A PERFECT FIT
While awaiting the day construction begins on his future home, Dannie has faithfully completed numerous hours of sweat equity in the Habitat Homeownership Program. His work ethic has made him valuable on worksites where he has helped complete many different aspects of the construction process. He has also completed the House2Home education series where his life experience and openness made him an important part of class discussion when it came to home maintenance or personal finance. In addition to completing the Habitat sweat equity requirements, Dannie also works incredibly hard to provide for his family. For roughly two years Dannie has worked as a material handler and forklift operator at Ohio Gratings Inc. Soon, all of Dannie’s hard work will pay off and his dream of owning a home will become reality. In his own words, “I am looking forward to providing a real home for my kids.”