Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County will celebrate the Labor Day weekend with its annual Jimmy Johnson Labor of Love Blitz Aug. 27-30. The blitz, during which volunteers will begin building three new houses, will take place in the Happy Hill neighborhood.
For the first time, the blitz will be an “all-green” build. The three homes will incorporate environmentally friendly construction techniques and materials. Habitat has previously built 12 homes in the Happy Hill community and completed its first green build house earlier this year in the Glenn Oaks neighborhood. Both neighborhoods are being revitalized by the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem through a federal HOPE VI grant.
Sponsors of the three blitz houses are:
- Winston-Salem State University, GMAC and Dell Inc.
- Winston-Salem City Employees Credit Union
- Women Build, with key support from Lynn Young, GMAC and Wake Forest Baptist Church
Two other new houses, started earlier in the summer, are nearing completion in Happy Hill. They are sponsored by St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church and Nell Cavenaugh. The Labor of Love honors the late Jimmy Johnson, a well-known builder, leader in the Home Builders Association and supporter of Habitat. Johnson died in 2004.
“We are particularly excited about this year’s Labor of Love blitz, because all of the houses will be green,” said Sylvia Oberle, executive director of Habitat Forsyth. “We know that Jimmy would be proud of the fact that we are building environmentally sustainable homes for local families.
Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County is an independent affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. Since its founding in 1985, Habitat Forsyth has completed 260 houses.
