The Laker/Lutz News

Habitat for Humanity

Eighth-grader receives presidential honor

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An eighth grade student at Torchbearers’ Christian Academy in Dade City has received a presidential honor for her volunteer work at a local hospital.

Fifteen-year-old Savannah Jones was awarded a President’s Volunteer Service Award for 2015 after she spent the summer doing all sorts of tasks at Bayfront Health Dade City.

The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizes citizens who have achieved the required number of service hours for a particular age group during a year.

Savannah Jones, an eighth-grader at Torchbearers’ Christian Academy in Dade City, received a President’s Volunteer Service Award for her contributions to Bayfront Health Dade City. (Kevin Weiss/Staff Photo)
Savannah Jones, an eighth-grader at Torchbearers’ Christian Academy in Dade City, received a President’s Volunteer Service Award for her contributions to Bayfront Health Dade City.
(Kevin Weiss/Staff Photo)

For youths between the ages of 11 and 15, those volunteering for 100 hours or more reach the “Gold Level” status, and receive presidential recognition, a personalized certificate and a congratulatory letter from the president of the United States.

Jones greatly surpassed the 100-hour qualifying figure by putting in nearly 175 volunteer hours between June 2015 and August 2015.

The middle school student typically volunteered eight hours a day, for three or four days a week, during the summer.

Jones said she was “excited” and “shocked” when she found out she was receiving the prestigious honor.

“I want to be a nurse or doctor when I grow up,” Jones said, so she thought volunteering at Bayfront Health would be a good experience.

According to Amy Fort, volunteer coordinator for Bayfront Health, Jones was willing to help in any area needed throughout the hospital and had a “can-do” attitude.

Jones’ duties included filing for the hospital’s accounting department, replenishing emergency supplies and greeting visitors at the facility’s front desk.

“I was like a floater,” Jones said.

“I really liked volunteering in the ER (Emergency Room), and before a patient comes in, I’d have to clean the beds and clean the rooms, and make sure that it was prepped for them,” she said.

Fort said that Jones “took great pride and initiative with her volunteer duties at the hospital. She was great at communicating and a bright spot in many of our patients’ days.”

Fort also noted that volunteers, such as Jones, serve as the “backbone” for the hospital.

“They are the first people to greet visitors, and they are our cheerleaders in the community,” the volunteer coordinator said. “Volunteers have played a critical role in our hospital for years, compassionately supplementing the services that (the) staff provides to patients, families and guests.”

Jones believes that more youth her age should volunteer in their spare time, especially at local hospitals, pointing out that many people need help.

In addition to her volunteer service, Jones is viewed as a model student by staff at Torchbearers’ Christian Academy, a school that has an enrollment of about 70 students, in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Principal Jan Yarbrough said, “everything stands out about her,” and added that the eighth-grader is “agreeable” and “works hard.”

When Yarbrough heard that Jones spent the summer volunteering at Bayfront Hospital, she said she wasn’t surprised.

Jones, according to the principal, ““seeks to please.”

“She has excelled and moved up tremendously, and is very much in charge of her life,” Yarbrough said.

Carolyn Babbitt, who is one of Jones’ teachers, describes the young woman as someone who is honest and wants to do well.

“Children grade their own work and the teachers re-grade it. She’s been very honest with that. If she’s not sure it’s right, she asks for some interpretation,” Babbitt explained.

Jones began attending the Christian school in 2014, after she and her parents realized that Pasco Middle School wasn’t an ideal fit.

“She has come a long way,” Babbitt said. “She’s gained all kinds of confidence,” she added.

She believes that Jones is thriving in the small-school setting, surrounded by people who accept her.

“It’s really helped her,” Babbitt said.

Jones admits she didn’t really start to enjoy school until she transferred to the academy.

“I started liking school, and I just wanted to come all the time,” she said. “I’m having good grades now, and I think it’s helped me more.”

Jones plans to continue volunteering for the hospital over the summer, and also plans to be a Habitat for Humanity volunteer.

Published March 23, 2016

Speakers present their wish list to lawmakers

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Speaker after speaker stepped up to the podium to present their request to Pasco County’s state lawmakers.

They wanted funding to help a nonprofit.

They wanted lawmakers to put in a good word with state highway officials.

Or, they wanted their backing for a special cause.

About 100 people gathered on Sept. 29 in the gymnasium of Sunlake High School in Land O’ Lakes for a public forum, hosted by Pasco’s legislative delegation.

Sunlake High Band members played the National Anthem at the public forum hosted by Pasco County’s legislative delegation in the high school gymnasium. (Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)
Sunlake High Band members played the National Anthem at the public forum hosted by Pasco County’s legislative delegation in the high school gymnasium.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)

State Representatives Amanda Murphy, Richard Corcoran and Danny Burgess, and State Senators John Legg and Wilton Simpson listened for nearly three hours, as about 60 representatives of nonprofits, counties and municipalities, civic groups and individual citizens talked about the needs in their communities.

The forum is an annual tradition held prior to the annual legislative session, which is scheduled to convene on Jan. 12, 2016.

Corcoran, a Republican from Land O’ Lakes, will hold the powerful position of Speaker of the House.

Nearly all of the speakers gave lawmakers packets of information detailing specific funding needs or particular policies they want the delegation members to support or reject.

Requests covered a broad range of topics from public safety and school construction, to voter registration and smoke-free beaches and parks.

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco advocated for tougher laws to help clamp down on illegal sales of synthetic marijuana.

Current law makes no distinction between the sale of one packet of the illegal substance or 1,000 packets, he said.

“We’re not trying to go after the person with a substance problem,” the sheriff said. “What we’re trying to do is go after the dealer.”

Nocco also urged lawmakers to address the growing problem of terrorist threats made via social media including threats to “shoot up” a school or church.

“There is no law in effect where we can go after them,” Nocco said. But he added, “People make statements and words have meanings.”

Sunlake High School student Mykenzie Robertson lobbied for a state law to ban smoking at public beaches and parks. Robertson is active with Tobacco Free Partnership of Pasco County and the statewide Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT).

“Parks, to me, are a place for healthy recreation,” she said.

Robertson also joined with Sunlake High School student Ormond Derrick later to talk about the problem of substance abuse among young people.

Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley asked lawmakers to consider adding veteran’s registration cards and gun permits to the list of approved identification for voters.

Corley also advocated for at least some of a voter’s personal information to be shielded from public records laws.

Now, access is open “to anyone and everyone,” Corley said. He cited a case of a man in New Hampshire who used Pasco County voter registration data to contact people for business purposes.

A handful of voters de-registered as a result of for-profit businesses accessing their information, Corley said. “That’s sad,” he said. “I think you would agree.”

Protecting data also was on the agenda for Pasco County Clerk and Comptroller Paula O’Neil who talked about the budget challenges in keeping up with technology to allow access, but also protect public records.

“About 95 percent of civil filings are electronic,” she said. “And that will soon be 100 percent.”

Funding issues are facing Pasco County’s school district as it tries to keep up with the explosive growth of new subdivisions, said Pasco School Superintendent Kurt Browning.

New residential development, especially along the State Road 54 corridor through Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel, is pumping up school enrollments.

Sunlake High, for instance, was built for 1,800 students. But Browning said, “We exceeded that number. There are very few schools that don’t exceed what they were built for,” Browning said.

Oakstead Elementary School has 1,200 students in a school built for 762 students.

“Where do we put these kids?” Browning said. “We put them in portables. We cannot build schools fast enough.”

He made a pitch for lawmakers to approve a bill that would give local school boards the autonomy to increase existing property tax millage by half a mill. Board members would need to approve the increase by a super-majority or a unanimous vote, he said.

Pasco County’s Government Affairs Officer Ralph Lair presented lawmakers with a list of priority projects and issues for the coming year, including a state loan for widening State Road 56.

Another issue is funding for the Coast to Coast Connector Trail, which will link Florida’s west and east coasts from St. Petersburg to Titusville. The Florida Department of Transportation will decide which of two routes will be built for one of the trail’s segments. One route goes through northeast Pasco, while another would bypass Pasco.

Pasco officials hope to convince the state roads department to build both routes and create a loop.

“Just have that one on your radar,” Lair said.

Other speakers included Timothy Beard, president of the Pasco-Hernando State College. Help for a performing arts center was among his funding requests.

Brian Anderson advocated for veterans and discussed his nonprofit, Veterans Alternatives, which provides alternative therapies for veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorders.

Representatives for Pasco Fine Arts Council, Habitat for Humanity, AMIKids Pasco and the Good Samaritan Health Clinic of Pasco also brought their concerns and talked about their program successes.

Peggy Wood of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs and Janice Howie of the Nature Coast Chapter of Florida Native Plant Society spoke about environmental issues.

Howie said her organization supported Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment approved by 75 percent of voters to use real estate taxes to purchase land for conservation. In the last legislature, only a fraction of the anticipated $700 million was budgeted for land purchases.

“There is an opportunity to do better this year,” said Howie who is conservation chairwoman.

Wood asked lawmakers to oppose a bill that would bypass local control and give the state sole authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing, often called “fracking,” which is a controversial method of oil drilling.

At least 15 counties in Florida have approved bans on fracking, Wood said.

Texas has passed a bill that bypasses local authority, Wood said. “Now Texas has fracking, whether they (local government) want it or not.”

Published October 7, 2015

Children’s Home benefits from their ‘Champion of Service’

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When Rachelle Duroseau received the Champion of Service award from Gov. Rick Scott, she didn’t have much advance warning that she was up for the distinction.

“I did not know I was nominated. It was a surprise to me,” said Duroseau, who volunteers for the Children’s Home Society of Florida and lives in Wesley Chapel.

Rachelle Duroseau holds up the Champion of Service award she received on Feb. 5 at Governor Rick Scott’s cabinet meeting. In addition to Gov. Rick Scott, other government officials, her parents and Children's Home representatives were in attendance. (Courtesy of Children's Home Society of Florida)
Rachelle Duroseau holds up the Champion of Service award she received on Feb. 5 at Governor Rick Scott’s cabinet meeting. In addition to Gov. Rick Scott, other government officials, her parents and Children’s Home representatives were in attendance.
(Courtesy of Children’s Home Society of Florida)

She had just a few days to prepare for the presentation at the governor’s cabinet meeting Feb. 5 in Tampa.

Those few days gave her enough time to have her mother and father, Javeline and Serge, present, along with the supervisors who had nominated her.

Duroseau is a volunteer coordinator at the Children’s Home Society, which provides care and resources for abused, neglected and abandoned children.

As part of the Gulf Coast division, she works at the Joshua House in Lutz. Her main duties include managing volunteers and working on larger campaigns, which include an annual back-to-school drive and a toy drive during the holiday season.

If that sounds like a full-time job, it is.

Duroseau works a 40-hour-a-week schedule. She’s in the Americorps VISTA program, a national service program designed to help fight poverty. She receives a living allowance through an Americorps grant.

Since the money she receives is set at the poverty line and works out to around $1,000 a month, the Nazareth College graduate isn’t doing it for the money. She simply sees people suffering and can’t let it continue without doing something about it.

“It honestly doesn’t even feel like service to me. It just feels like a natural thing that needs to be done,” Duroseau said. “I don’t even feel like I’m doing anything special or out of the ordinary.”

But the 26-year-old’s volunteer resume is anything but ordinary.

She said her parents taught her the importance of helping others when she was young, and she’s been following that path.

Duroseau has a long history of service to others.

Before coming to Children’s Home, she took care of hospice patients, traveled to India to help women and orphans, and worked with homeless shelters and foot clinics to provide foot hygiene to the homeless, including efforts with at-risk youth, Habitat For Humanity and emergency shelters.

The volunteer’s experiences appealed to volunteer program manager Meghan Pfleiderer when she interviewed Duroseau for the position at Children’s Home.

Duroseau’s college studies in sociology and community-based youth development were a plus, as well.

The volunteer’s demeanor is another big asset, Pfleiderer said, especially when dealing with volunteers. It’s important to make them feel rewarded and appreciated, since they’re such a big part of the organization. They might have five to seven volunteers for their regular day-to-day operations, but utilize 125 or more for large projects. And Duroseau is able to handle them and their efforts effectively.

“The personality that Rachelle brings to the table is perfect for that sort of relationship, and engaging somebody in service that is truly just 100 percent from the good of their heart,” Pfleiderer said.

Those healthy relationships have translated into tangible results for Children’s Home. They had a successful back-to-school drive just a couple of months after Duroseau began working there last May. And their holiday toy drive, with an ambitious objective of helping between 400 children and 500 children enjoy presents at that time of year, met its goal.

“It couldn’t have been done without Rachelle,” said Michelle Smith, administrative supervisor. She’s not sure how everything got done before Duroseau came on board, but now that she’s here, Smith wanted to make sure she was staying.

Americorps volunteers are only in their positions for one year, though they can extend it another year if both parties agree.

Smith didn’t want to wait until the end of her term to find out if they would get to keep Duroseau.

“I have been asking for the past six months if she was going to renew,” she admitted.

Much to the relief of her supervisors, Duroseau did want to stay.

“The fact that she wanted to do a second year just made us all so happy,” Pfleiderer said.

Duroseau is happy as well, and eager to continue working on projects and advancing the Children’s Home’s many goals throughout the year.

With so many who need assistance, Duroseau believes she’s in the right position to do her part to help.

“I do want to play as active a role as I can to alleviate suffering,” she said. “Even if it’s a small contribution I can make, it makes me feel good to be able to do that.”

Published April 1, 2015

Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce pays it forward

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The scent of barbecue and the sounds of bands belting out the blues aren’t the only sweet things to come out of the fifth annual Pigz in Z’Hills BBQ and Blues Fest at the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport.

There’s also the money that the event generates.

Children rode the ‘rails’ at the Pigz in Z’Hills BBQ and Blues Fest on Jan. 17. The event was sponsored by the Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce, which has donated $15,000 to local youth and civic groups. (File Photo)
Children rode the ‘rails’ at the Pigz in Z’Hills BBQ and Blues Fest on Jan. 17. The event was sponsored by the Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce, which has donated $15,000 to local youth and civic groups.
(File Photo)

This year, the Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce handed out more than $15,000 in donations to eight civic clubs and youth groups, thanks to money raised through the event. The donations ranged from $750 to $1,500.

The chamber also announced new scholarships of $1,000 each for performing arts and culinary arts that will be presented to two graduating Zephyrhills High School students in May.

“We are fortunate to have a community that embraces volunteer service and grateful for the enthusiasm by businesses and community organizations that support this event,” said Vonnie Mikkelsen, the chamber’s executive director.

Groups that received the money are excited about what it can do.

The YMCA of East Pasco will spend its donation to send four students and a supervisor to the YMCA’s Blue Ridge leadership program in Black Mountain, North Carolina this summer.

“It’s a huge event,” says AJ Hernandez, the East Pasco YMCA’s program director. “It’s a great opportunity for the kids to network. It’s a great learning experience.”

The students work year-round to collect funds to pay for the trip with car washes, drawings, dinner events and selling snacks at sports events.

The Zephyrhills Museum of Military History, at 39444 South Ave., in Zephyrhills, will be getting some display cases, mannequins and other items to freshen up its look, said Cliff Moffett.

“It’s going to be huge for us,” Moffett said. “We need a lot of stuff to make the museum up-to-date and more modern.”

He thinks the museum visitors will enjoy the acquisitions.

Visitors, he said, “like to see something new.”

The museum is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It also hosts some special events. It had an event on Dec. 7 to remember the day that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, on Dec. 7, 1941. It is planning a similar event on June 6, to honor D-Day in World War II.

About three-dozen members of the Interact Club at Zephyrhills High School plan to pass on their donation to a local charity at the end of the year. The club is the high school extension of the Noon Rotary Club of Zephyrhills.

Last year, the students donated funds to Sunrise Domestic Violence Center, Thomas Promise Foundation, Habitat for Humanity and East Pasco Meals on Wheels. They usually visit and do volunteer service at area charities throughout the year before deciding which charities will receive donations.

“They gain a broader understanding of the needs that are out there,” said Amy Chappell, the club’s advisor. She also serves on the chamber’s board of directors but not on the committee that awards the donations. “Locally, it’s an eye opener to the needs that are right here.”

In addition to local initiatives, club members reach out to global organizations that work on issues such as clean drinking water and human trafficking. But, Chappell said the local volunteer work gives them a unique perspective.

“They see what a difference it can make,” she said.

Other groups and organizations that received donations were the Pasco County Sheriff’s Mounted Posse, Sunshine Swampers 4 x 4 Club Inc., Zephyr Airport Cadet Squadron, Zephyrhills High School Drama Club and Zephyrhills Army JROTC.

Nearly 10,000 people attended the barbecue and blues event.

Published March 11, 2015

The new Holy Name Monastery: A place for spiritual growth, refreshment

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When the Benedictine Sisters of Florida arrived in East Pasco from Elk County, Pennsylvania, in 1889, they lived in a three-story hotel in San Antonio.

This week, they’re hosting an open house at their new quarters, marking another major milestone in their 125-year history in Pasco County.

Holy Name Monastery, the home of the Benedictine Sisters of Florida for 125 years, has moved into new quarters. The new structure is much smaller and more modern than the sisters’ previous home, which is just across State Road 52. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Holy Name Monastery, the home of the Benedictine Sisters of Florida for 125 years, has moved into new quarters. The new structure is much smaller and more modern than the sisters’ previous home, which is just across State Road 52.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

The new Holy Name Monastery replaces the sisters’ former quarters, which were in a 100,000-square-foot structure across State Road 52.

Saint Leo University purchased that building in October 2012, along with some additional acreage from the sisters. The purchase helped cover the cost of the new 28,000-square-foot monastery. The sisters also conducted a capital campaign for $500,000.

Like any new home, there are advantages and disadvantages.

The sisters have less space. However, the old multi-story structure where they had lived since 1960 had become too large for them and too expensive to operate and maintain.

Sister Mary Romana Gomez is delighted with the sisters’ new home.

“I just thank God for a dream come true,” she said.

“I’m just in awe,” added Sister Margaret Mary Roberts.

“It’s what we wanted,” Sister Jean Abbott agreed.

Visitors arriving at the monastery, at 12138 Wichers Road, will be greeted in a small lobby, which is flanked by stained glass windows representing Saint Benedict and his sister, Saint Scholastica.

The chapel is large and in a place of prominence, signifying its important role in the monastery. Furnishings for the chapel were moved there from the former monastery’s chapel.

Other features of the new monastery include a dining room and kitchen, as well as two small kitchens, where light meals and snacks can be prepared.

There’s also a multipurpose room adjoining the chapel. It has a wall that can be moved to create a larger chapel space when that is needed. Or, the room can be used to provide additional dining space.

The monastery also has an archives room, a library, an exercise room and a laundry room. There’s a television room, too, equipped with a wide-screen television, a gift to the sisters from the Tampa Bay Rays.

The living quarters are housed in a separate building, connected by a corridor that incorporates additional storage space.

There are 20 bedrooms, including four guest rooms.

It is easy to see that this is a place devoted to worship and spiritual growth. There’s an outdoor statue representing the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, which stands near the front of the building.

At the end of one corridor, there’s a statue representing the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In the dining hall, there’s a sign that says, “Give us this day, our daily bread” — an excerpt from the “Our Father,” a prayer recited in Catholic masses. There’s also a painting of the Last Supper, which represents when Jesus instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist, a fundamental part of the Catholic faith.

With just four guest rooms, the new monastery cannot accommodate overnight retreats. Still, Sister Mary David Hydro, who helps plan retreats, said she thinks the opportunity for hosting such gatherings may be even greater now.

Many people who are unable to attend overnight retreats may be able to break away for a day of reflection, she said.

The need for retreats is there, she said. “People are hungry for spiritual life.”

Providing spiritual replenishment is just one role the sisters have played through the years. They lead lives of prayer and accept prayer requests from the community.

They also have been instrumental in schools and on organization boards including Sunrise Spouse Abuse Shelter, Saint Leo University Haitian Mission Project, Florida Association for the Education of Young Children, Catholic Charities, Coalition for the Homeless, Hospice, Habitat for Humanity, and DayStar Hope Thrift Store and Food Pantry.

Each year they provide a Thanksgiving meal to feed more than 200 people. They’ll do the same this year, but will need to adjust their logistics, said Sister Mary Clare Neuhofer, the monastery’s immediate past prioress.

While a move to a new place requires adjustments, there are plenty of pluses, the sisters said.

For one thing, the views are fantastic. The monastery’s back porch sits at the top of a grassy hill.

Clusters of wildflower add bits of color, and the hills slope down to stands of trees below. There’s a wide expanse of sky above, and off in the distance, is a view of the steeple for Saint Leo Abbey church.

There is beauty and serenity at this place, on a hill.

As they were sharing their first meal together in their new dwelling place, the sisters saw a double rainbow arch across the sky. They took that as a sign of God’s blessing on their new home.

Published September 17, 2014

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Habitat for Humanity helps woman who helps others

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Tiffany Porter is accustomed to helping other people. But she never expected the tables to be turned, courtesy of Habitat for Humanity.

Porter, a compassion ministry director for Victorious Life Church in Wesley Chapel, is the area’s newest Habitat homeowner, receiving the keys earlier this month for the home at 15054 Gainesville Road.

“I had no idea that Habitat even did this for people like me,” Porter said. “I thought they only helped single moms, or people who were destitute and homeless.”

Volunteers through Habitat for Humanity’s National Women Build Week program put up a wall for Tiffany Porter’s house during its construction in north Land O’ Lakes. Porter, who dedicates her time to helping others through her church, moved in earlier this month. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Black)
Volunteers through Habitat for Humanity’s National Women Build Week program put up a wall for Tiffany Porter’s house during its construction in north Land O’ Lakes. Porter, who dedicates her time to helping others through her church, moved in earlier this month. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Black)

In fact, Porter was trying to help a family get a Habitat home, and realized through the process that she actually qualified.

“So I said, ‘what the heck, let’s try this thing,’” she said. “My best friends kept telling me that all they could do is say no. And they didn’t.”

Porter, 29, grew up in New Mexico, but realized at a young age she wanted to be a pastor. But it was while she was in seminary, she discovered an even more direct calling.

“I wanted to be more hands-on and see people’s lives improve,” she said. “VLC gave me the opportunity to do that.”

Porter started as an intern at the church in 2003, and since 2005 has served as the compassion ministry director. She runs the church-owned Lily of the Valley food pantry outreach center in Wesley Chapel, where she not only helps feed those who are hungry, but provides other help when they need it.

That includes even her home, where she has served as a foster mother for teenagers who need a home.

“With my budget, I was not able to find a place that was able to foster a young child,” Porter said. Just before moving into her new home, she was living in a mother-in-law suite that was not in the best living conditions.

But now she can apply to take in younger children, thanks to having a safe home in a safe neighborhood.

And while Habitat’s mission is to provide homeownership for those who may not have had it otherwise, it’s certainly not a handout, said Stephanie Black, director of development and public relations for Habitat for Humanity of East and Central Pasco County.

“I think the biggest misconception is that Habitat gives away homes, but they don’t,” Black said. “We provide a zero-interest, no-profit mortgage, but it’s still a mortgage.”

Candidates for home ownership have to meet certain income levels ranging from between $11,950 to $31,850 annually for one person, to between $21,150 and $56,400 for a family of seven.

Families have to demonstrate a need for affordable housing and currently live in a substandard home. However, they also have to prove they can make mortgage payments, and have a steady job with no recent bankruptcies or court judgments.

“Most of our home payments are less than what people are paying for rent,” Black said. “That includes their taxes and their insurance.”

And while Habitat is always looking for volunteers, their biggest need recently has been qualified candidates.

Porter’s home was the 117th Habitat home built in East and Central Pasco County. It was constructed over a seven-month period, and was a women-built project. The entire construction crew was female, part of an international campaign to encourage more women to join construction teams typically dominated by men.

All of that is just a bonus for Porter, who is enjoying her new home with plans to stay in it for quite a while.
“I didn’t grow up here, but I just love this area,” she said. “I never know what might happen next, but right now, I don’t plan on living anywhere else.”

For more information on how to apply for a Habitat home, call (352) 567-1444, or visit www.ephabitat.org.