MSU, Habitat break ground at Maroon Edition site

Contact: Zack Plair

STARKVILLE, Miss.--A new subdivision the Starkville Area Habitat for Humanity is developing in north Starkville has the organization's message of "hope" right in the name.

Mississippi State University has partnered with Habitat for its seventh annual Maroon Edition home, which will be the first of five Habitat homes built on Hope Lane -- located off of Douglas L. Conner Drive.

"We want this to be a showcase for what Habitat can do," said Joel Downey, Starkville Area Habitat for Humanity executive director. "We want this to be a community pride, where deserving families can live and raise their kids."

MSU President Mark E. Keenum turned dirt and drove the ceremonial first nail during a groundbreaking celebration Monday [Aug. 10] at the home site -- officially No. 5 Hope Lane. Volunteers, including MSU students, faculty, staff and retirees, all will help build the home over the coming months, Keenum said. The project coincides with MSU's Maroon Edition, an initiative meant to engage incoming freshmen by challenging them to read the same book. This year's Maroon Edition is "Same Kind of Different as Me," by Ron Hall and Denver Moore.

At Monday's groundbreaking, Keenum lauded MSU's longstanding partnership with Habitat for Maroon Edition homes. He also presented the organization a $5,000 check toward this year's project, which is expected to be complete by Thanksgiving.

"You feel good when you know you are making a difference," Keenum said. "I vividly remember the times I've come out and worked on these projects, and how wonderful it feels knowing you are helping someone who is in need. Beyond that feeling, the students who volunteer will also learn practical skills that will help them later in life."

Downey said Habitat's board wouldn't officially announce the family receiving the home until Aug. 19, but he relayed on Monday this year's Maroon Edition home would go to a single mother with four children who now are living in a two-bedroom apartment. Once they move to Hope Lane, they'll live in a 1,200 square-foot home with four bedrooms and two bathrooms.

About 500 volunteers who work on the project will come through the Maroon Volunteer Center, said Cade Smith, interim assistant dean/director for MSU Student Leadership and Community Engagement. Each year, he said those volunteers work a combined 3,000-5,000 hours on the Maroon Edition project. Volunteers work under Habitat project managers on site, who also are volunteering their time.

Smith said MSU's Fraternity and Sorority Life organization also has raised $75,000 to partner with Habitat for a second Habitat home on Hope Lane this year.

"We think Habitat does a wonderful job providing volunteers with a meaningful experience that has a positive impact on real people," Smith said. "…Any time you connect learning and hard work with purpose, great things happen."

Over the last 30 years, Starkville Area Habitat for Humanity has completed 57 homes for families in need and offers 20-year, no-interest loans to recipients. All applicants go through a selection process, Downey said, and recipients must have the means to pay the mortgage, they must put at least 300 "sweat equity" hours into building the home and they must agree to complete three self-improvement classes -- one of which must focus on financial literacy.

Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman, who also spoke at Monday's groundbreaking, said he's always excited to see a Habitat family receive a home, and he's especially looking forward to seeing the impact Hope Lane will have for its residents and the city as a whole.

"A home offers an opportunity for a better way of life for these families," Wiseman said. "This neighborhood will also provide a physical improvement to the center of our city. Truly this is an example of how giving and good works are multiplied."

For more information on the Starkville Area Habitat for Humanity, visit www.starkvillehabitat.com. Maroon Edition and other MSU volunteering information is available at www.mvc.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi's flagship research university, available online at www.msstate.edu.