A family headed by a single mom is on the way to a newly built home, with a little help from NKBA student designers and Habitat for Humanity. By Dianne M. Pogoda
HARMONY TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Warren County Habitat for Humanity hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday to begin building a house as well as hope for a local family.
Under bright, sunny skies, John Rolak, president of WCHFH, started the proceedings by explaining that Habitat doesn’t “give away these houses — the families must be able to pay back a mortgage and put in volunteer hours. These homes are built by volunteers working every weekend. It’s amazing how having decent and affordable housing turns around their lives.”
As a soloist played “Amazing Grace” and “God Bless America” on the flute, the partner family — headed by mom Nicole Banfield; daughter Sage Banfield, 19, and son, Giovanni Gonzalez, 12 — helped with the ceremonial first shovel for WCHFH’s 16th home. It will be the first home the family has owned; they currently live in a rental apartment in the town of Alpha, N.J., also in Warren County, near the state’s western border with Pennsylvania.
“When I found out on Wednesday night, I was shaking, I was so nervous,” said Nicole. “I am so grateful that we have this opportunity.”
“This is a hand up, not a handout,” said Ben Eskow, executive director of WCHFH. He said there’s a rigorous application process, noting that the families are chosen based on their willingness to contribute 250 hours of “sweat equity” per adult in the building process or other help for the organization, their credit rating and ability pay back a zero-percent mortgage, income that falls between certain parameters and their current housing situation, among other criteria. “People need assistance sometimes. They want to improve their circumstances, and this sets the stage to help them do so. It’s a chance for people who otherwise would not have the opportunity to be homeowners.”
Nicole Banfield, who works in customer service for a medical supply company, said she and her family have some experience with the drywall process, as her mother’s home had sustained water damage and they helped with the repairs. “But we’re looking forward to learning new skills, too,” she said. “I have a lot of plans for this home!”
Daughter Sage attends Warren County Community College and is studying to be a dental hygienist, while son Giovanni is in sixth grade and has dreams of a career in a sports-related field.
The National Kitchen & Bath Association, which is also headquartered in Warren County, partnered with WCHFH, the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, on this year’s project home through its annual Student Design Competition. The winning kitchen and bath designs in the competition, which typically draws some 300 entries, will be incorporated in the home.
WCHFH obtained the land, a wedge-shaped parcel about a half-acre with about 150 feet frontage on Belvidere Road, through a private donation from Wanda and Dave Osman Sr. The 1,020 square-foot home, designed by Mary Trubek Architects of Phillipsburg, N.J., features three bedrooms, a living area, a kitchen measuring roughly 11-by-13 feet, and a bath at about 13-by-6 feet. Trubek’s firm has designed all of WCHFH’s 16 homes — which include 14 structures, as two of the buildings were two-family dwellings. Students were given the dimensions and had to specify materials within a budget of $16,000 for the kitchen and $4,000 for the bath, exclusive of labor. The countertops specified needed to be from Wilsonart, the sponsor of the competition. The overall budget for the house (materials) is about $125,000. Student winners will be chosen in mid-May.
“This is our 16th residence in Warren County, but as an organization, we tithe, donating 10 percent of undesignated funds toward constructing Habitat for Humanity homes overseas in Costa Rica and Honduras. So this is our 50th new house overall.”
The group also takes on repair jobs, mainly for seniors or the disabled, throughout the year, and has completed about 55 projects.
WCHFH held its annual “Beams and Dreams” fundraiser the night before the groundbreaking and raised about $30,000 for the Banfields’ project home.
“Part of NKBA’s vision is that everyone enjoys safe, beautiful and functional kitchen and bath spaces. This collaboration certainly backs that up,” said Jason Solomon, senior manager of member relations and professional development for NKBA. “The winning students will join us, hopefully in the fall, here at the build site, along with celebrity designers Jennifer Bertrand, AKBD, and Chip Wade, AKBD, to help during construction. This is a great opportunity for students to see their designs come to life, and to give back, knowing that their work will help this deserving family get back on its feet.”
More than 100 schools participate in NKBA’s Affiliated Schools Program, although any student member may enter the competition. The cost of membership as well as the contest entry fee is free to students. NKBA gratefully acknowledges Wilsonart for its generous sponsorship.
“We’re proud to help in our local community as well, and hope this inspires our chapters to reach out and make a difference in their own regions,” Solomon added. “We look forward to sharing the progress of this worthy project, and rolling up our sleeves over the summer!”
The Warren County chapter of HFH was founded in 1999. Partner families must also participate in programs to learn and practice home repair, maintenance, budgeting, and other life skills; work at least one Saturday per month during the full construction process, and attend HFH homeowner meetings.
Introducing the actual groundbreaking, Chris Motzenbecker, who is on the building committee and leads the Thursday construction crew, said, “Treat the Earth well. As an old proverb says, it was not given to you by your parents, it is loaned to you by your children.” And with that, shovels pierced the dirt and the journey began.
