Habitat for Humanity, a United Way agency, is proud to announce the selection of the newest homeowner, Ms. Stephanie Ross; she and her two children (ages 10 and almost 1) were recently selected for house No. 14 at 726 Smith St. Ms. Ross presently works at Frazier School. She was selected from a list of almost 30 applicants.

Habitat had the lot surveyed, courtesy of Jordan, Kaiser & Sessions engineers, and are currently clearing the lot of trees and designing the floor plan. Work on the foundation should start soon after the building permit is obtained.

Habitat homes are built with volunteer labor and one group has already signed up to help in March 2010. Fifteen college students from Central College in Pella, Iowa, are coming to Natchez during the week of March 14, to help us build the house.

Last year, 13,000 college students participated in Habitat’s Collegiate Challenge and spent a week of their vacation working on Habitat homes around the country.

If you have a group interested in working on the next home, please call 601-445-8639. Individuals are welcome also.

As many of you know, Habitat for Humanity is a Christian ministry engaged in the construction of decent, affordable housing for lower income families.

More than 350,000 houses, housing 1.75 million residents, have been built worldwide. Here in Natchez, this is the 14th home built by Habitat since 1991.

You can make a financial donation through United Way by designating Habitat on your pledge card or you may send it directly to Habitat for Humanity, P.O. Box 100, Natchez, MS, 39121.

For more information, visit our Web site, NatchezHabitat.org.

Duncan McFarlane is the secretary/treasurer of Habitat for Humanity.