Clinton Habitat Build Gets Boost from Mississippi College Students

Volunteers helping with Habitat build in Clinton in April.

April Scott expressed her thanks to the many volunteers for doing the painting, sheet rock, roofing and clean-up work to build her Habitat home in Clinton.

“Everyone has been really great,” says Scott, 34, an imaging services specialist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. “We kept the faith – we wanted to remain in Clinton,’’ she said. “It really was a blessing.”

A working mom with five children, Scott plans to move into the renovated three-bedroom residence with four of her kids in late May. The one-story Habitat home in the Cherry Park subdivision sits just a block away from her rental unit.

Mississippi College students joined volunteers from Clinton businesses, churches and elsewhere around the bustling Hinds County community to work on the project in recent weeks. Additional painting, putting up doors, and other odd jobs are scheduled in early May before an inspection and the residence is home for the Scott family.

The volunteer-driven venture represents the third project in Clinton by Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Capital Area.

Making her first Habitat build, Julie Sanders was among five volunteers with Mascagni Wealth Management in Clinton. From painting to sanding doors, they all worked hard at the site on April 10.

“We are blessed and want to give back to others,” says Sanders, the company’s vice president-office manager. The Brandon resident has worked with the firm for two decades. Volunteer service is part of the company’s DNA.

While scores of volunteers pitched in, the new homeowner, April Scott, worked just as hard to see her dreams take shape. Her daughters, Aria, 15, Asiana, 11, Madeline, 10, and Ardesia, 6, students in the Clinton public schools, are thrilled to be moving in.

“It was a great experience – we are called to reach out to people,” says Mississippi College sophomore Claire Fisher, 19, of Ridgeland. On Saturday April 26^th, Claire joined other students with MC’s Omicron Delta Kappa chapter to volunteer to rehabilitate the Habitat residence.

“It was definitely fun,” says Fisher, a business administration major at the Baptist-affiliated university. A faithful volunteer at Mission First and the Salvation Army, Claire wants to work on another Habitat project before she graduates from Mississippi College.

Mississippi College students with the Civitan men’s service club and the university’s social tribes were among others assisting with the Habitat project in the Christian university’s hometown.

The Clinton build received a thumbs up from Cindy Griffin, executive director of the Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Capital Area. “All of the volunteer slots are filled,” she said. “These hard working Clinton volunteers have gotten the job done. We may even be a little ahead of schedule.”

Volunteers typically spend about eight or nine weeks building Habitat homes around the nation.

For more information, contact Habitat offices in Jackson at 601.353.6060 or go to habitatjackson.org.