SALISBURY — More than 30 Keller Williams employees volunteered their time Thursday to make someone’s dream come true in the form of a new home.
This is how some of the local agents chose to spend the company’s annual RED Day, which stands for Renew, Energize and Give. The global company sets aside a day each year for everyone to get out and do good in the communities it serves.
Agents Susanna Hollingsworth and Jessica Fava are in charge of the social and cultural committee of the company’s mall in Kannapolis. They alternate the day’s activities between Cabarrus and Rowan counties each year. It was Rowan’s year and the local group decided to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. The group completed most of the cladding on a new Habitat home in a day, pushing construction progress forward by a few weeks.
The house, on Union Heights Boulevard in Salisbury, is part of a row of nine. Most of the houses are already finished and occupied. The next has most of its foundation work completed by masonry students from South Rowan High School.
Rowan County Habitat construction supervisor David Rowh said the home Keller Williams employees focused on has been under construction since February. Owners must contribute 400 hours of “sweat equity” to their own home, including bringing in their own volunteers.
Rowh said Habitat is looking to help people who have income and housing need, but may not be able to get a traditional mortgage. Habitat owners pay a mortgage like anyone else, but Habitat does not make a profit on the loan.
Keller Williams employees had never worked with Habitat before. Two years ago they volunteered with Rowan Helping Ministries. Last year, they volunteered for a therapeutic riding center in Cabarrus. The company bought lunch for everyone on site, including the habitat volunteers.
“We have a great office and we had a lot of fun,” Hollingsworth told the site.
Hollingsworth said volunteering with Habitat makes sense because they all work in real estate, so they help people find homes every day.
Fava said being part of the construction process was “awesome” and she expected the owner to be shocked when she saw the amount of work being done.
Owner Shawnte Heilig received pictures of progress but said she couldn’t believe how much progress had been made in one day when she stopped that afternoon.
“My mind is blown,” Heilig said. “It’s incredible.”
Heilig said the house would provide him with an opportunity, a gathering place for his family and perhaps a place of worship.
“There’s always time for a Jesus,” Heilig said.
