Assemblyman Troy Singleton (D-Burlington) will be teaming up with staff members and local carpenters this Saturday as part of a Habitat for Humanity project in Mount Laurel to help a local father and son realize their dream of first-time home ownership.
The renovation project will take place at 104 Cedar Street in Mount Laurel on Saturday, April 14.
“This is single-handedly one of the most gratifying experiences to take part in,” said Singleton. “To be able to use your bare hands to help somebody achieve the American Dream is beyond rewarding and something I hope everyone will consider taking part in at some point in their life. Habitat for Humanity has been doing tremendous work for decades and we are honored to be teaming up with them.”
Singleton, who serves as President of the New Jersey Carpenter Contractor Trust, serves as President of the New Jersey Carpenter Contractor Trust (NJCCT), a network of union carpentry and construction labor.has been working with Todd Ermer, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity’s Burlington affiliate, to organize Saturday’s event. The project was inspired, in part, by Habitat for Humanity’s national campaign called Homebuilders Blitz, which aims to build 200 homes nationwide over the course of five days.
Saturday’s project is a scaled back version of that concept where a team of skilled carpenters organized by Singleton will descend upon the Mount Laurel home to expedite the process of readying it for the Hughes family to occupy, a commitment Singleton and his team have pledged to build upon for future projects.
“I’d like to thank Assemblyman Singleton for putting together such a skilled team to take part in this volunteer day and for helping to raise awareness about our organization,” said Ermer. “Their efforts will have a lasting impact on the Hughes family as they realize their dream of first-time home ownership.”
Singleton and his team of volunteers will help renovate an existing single family home to help ready it for occupation before the end of June for first-time homebuyer Brandon Hughes and his six-year old son Brandon, Jr., who are currently residing with family in Marlton while the home is being worked on.
Hughes, a 25-year old college graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from Bloomfield College, works full time and is also a full-time father to Brandon Jr. The move is particularly inspiring because it will help Brandon, Sr. obtain his dream of first-time home ownership after struggling to find affordable homes and a mortgage for his income level.
After learning about Habitat for Humanity from a family member, Hughes viewed the organization’s website and handed in an application the very next day.
Habitat for Humanity of Burlington County is now rehabbing the Mount Laurel home for Hughes to purchase at a 0% interest rate mortgage. Before being eligible to purchase the property, Hughes had to spend 250 hours helping to build his own house, the houses of others and attending homeowner education workshops.
Hughes has mentioned numerous times that what excites him the most about buying a house through Habitat for Humanity, is that he will be able to walk Brandon Jr. to his new room and finally be able to tell him, “This is yours.”
To learn more about Habitat for Humanity – Burlington County or to volunteer on future New Jersey projects, please visit: http://www.habitatbcnj.org/.