In Our View: Dreams Pursued

Sweat equity is a powerful motivator. When adults put 250 hours of work into the construction of their own house, they acquire more than just an enhanced familiarity with the structure’s composition. They feel a stronger sense of pride, responsibility and stewardship. Human nature makes most of us more inclined to take better care of something we helped build with our own hands.

During the next several months, the Jatskovski and Soria families will more fully learn that lesson. They’ve been chosen for two Evergreen Habitat for Humanity homes that are being built on 98th Avenue in the Orchards area. As Dave Kern reported in Monday’s Columbian, ground was broken Sunday on the local Habitat program’s 20th and 21st homes in Clark County.

There are a lot of heroes in this story, and we’ll start with the families that did more than just complete Habitat’s extensive screening process to become the homes’ recipients: Aleksandr and Natalja Jatskovski and their five children; and Maria Soria and her daughter. The two families are down for 250 hours of hard work by each adult, helping build homes of 1,241 and 960 square feet, respectively. The smiles that they all displayed Sunday could be replaced by grimaces and groans in the months to come, but then probably will be supplanted by even wider grins when the homes are completed, likely in time for occupation in December. Imagine how merry this Christmas will be.

The list of heroes also includes other volunteers who don’t have nearly so much at stake and, thus, are to be admired strictly for their humanitarian outreach. About 75 percent of the work on these two homes will be performed by volunteers, some contributing valuable expertise, others performing more mundane, time-consuming and back-bending chores. Regardless of the level of skill, all of these volunteers share the same goodness of heart.

Financial heroes are always stepping forth in Habitat for Humanity projects, and in both of these cases, those contributions are sizeable.

Thrivent Financial Services for Lutherans donated $84,965 for the Soria home (Maria is a stocker at a local store). Nationwide, Thrivent pledged $120 million five years ago to build 500 houses.

The Jatskovski house (Aleksandr is a packer for a local company) will rise thanks in large part to $50,000 from Wells Fargo. The local bank also will contribute 600 hours of volunteer work.

And, of course, the behind-the-scenes heroes who turn this magic into homes for low-income families are the staff and volunteers for the local Evergreen Habitat for Humanity. Visit their website at http://www.ehfh.org/.

Oh, and one last group of champions are all of the heroes to come. You could be one. The website lists numerous ways to get involved, but perhaps the most profound way is to donate land. Evergreen Habitat has land for a couple more houses in 2011, but that’s it. More land donated to the nonprofit agency would set up two houses that could be built in 2012. And here’s a great way to contribute that doesn’t carry so much financial involvement: Drop by the Habitat for Humanity ReStore at 5000 E. Fourth Plain and check out the great deals on donated used and surplus building materials.

Evergreen Habitat board president Bill Bryant said helping the group is so gratifying “because I’ve seen what a difference it’s made in people’s lives.”

Then he adds the follow-up component that always seems to surface in volunteer work: “It’s made a big difference in my life.”

We hope the Jatskovski and Soria families have a great 2010, as they pursue the dream of new-home ownership.

Now get to work, and remember to smile … even through all the hard work.