Columbus Family Set to Move into Habitat for Humanity House this Weekend

COLUMBUS, Neb. - After months of hard work, a Columbus family will move into their new home on Saturday. The home, built by Habitat for Humanity, will be dedicated on Saturday before the keys are handed over to Stacey Gronenthal and her three children. Gronenthal has come, along with volunteers, to work on the house every weekend for the past 16 weeks. She put in the work time, along with homeowner classes, to build up her sweat equity so that she gets a deal on the home. "It's not a free house, it's an interest free mortgage, that's the difference," says executive director for Habitat for Humanity - Columbus Jamie Snyder. While contractors were hired to work on the plumbing, roof and gutters, it was Gronenthal and a group of committed volunteers, that built the home from scratch. "It's usually on Saturdays, we have work teams that come and they spend the day, we have certain tasks starting from the basics up," says Snyder. "This house was all built by volunteers." Gronenthal, who went through an application process that ensured she has lived in sub-standard housing before, as well as credit checks, will have a nice view from her residence as there is a community garden next door. "Anybody who would like to have a small plot can come and we provide the water and the ground and they just have to keep the weeds down," says Snyder. The home will be dedicated at a public event at 11 a.m. on Saturday.