Exelon/ComEd Employees Lend a Hand to Help Build New West Pullman Homes
Crysteal Marshbanks, 41, donned army fatigues and a rain parker on Saturday as she joined about 20 Exelon and ComEd employee volunteers along with volunteers from Windy City Habitat for Humanity who came out to lend a hand in building her new single-family, one-story, four-bedroom home in West Pullman.
“I’ve been working with Habitat towards home ownership for about two-and-a half years,” said Marshbanks. “I’ll be picking out cabinetry for my new home on Monday.”
Windy City Habitat focused their efforts on the West Pullman neighborhood, with a major, build project that includes 16 new home constructions at 119th and Union.
West Pullman boundaries are 115th St. north, the former Illinois Central Railroad on the east, the Calumet River and Riverdale to the south and the west by Calumet Park, Blue Island, and Ashland Avenue.
Windy City Habitat builds and sells homes to families using the funds and volunteers provided by corporate, faith-based and individual sponsors.
Habitat homes are not given away, nor are they earned solely through sweat equity. Homes are built by volunteers and partner families and sold to the families on the basis of need, ability to re-pay a mortgage, and a willingness to invest sweat equity labor in Habitat's work.
The group does not make a profit on the home sale and no interest is charged on the mortgage. The affordable mortgage payments the families make are deposited into a Fund for Humanity, which helps pay for the construction of more homes. Habitat families also pay property taxes and homeowners' insurance.
“All the homes are being built from the ground up,” said Jennifer Parks, Windy City Habitat’s executive director. “We worked with the City (of Chicago) to acquire the properties.”
The build event on Saturday is part of Exelon’s company-wide observance of National Volunteer month, an annual nationwide celebration of people working to improve their communities through service, one of more than 150 community service projects Exelon employee volunteers are leading.
More than 2,000 Exelon employees, family members and friends are expected to provide approximately 10,000 hours of volunteer service for the projects, that take place in Exelon’s service territories of northern Illinois, central Maryland, southeastern Pennsylvania and Texas.
“We have a Habitat (partnership) because it’s about home and community,” said Gary Prescott, Exelon vice president of Corporate Compensation. “This is immediate satisfaction in terms of commitment to community and it’s important to our volunteers and the commitment that Habitat home owners have, is really profound.”
For more information about how to volunteer or to sign up for home ownership, please visit the Windy City Habitat website at www.windycityhabitat.org.
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