CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Habitat for Humanity of Cleveland marked its 20th anniversary Thursday with the start of house No. 79, a new partner and a new program.
The house will belong to Vickie Ledford, who symbolically hammered the first nail during a ceremony at Century Village, Habitat’s subdivision in southern Cleveland. She was joined by Andy and Natacha Hudgins, who symbolically burned the mortgage note for their home, Habitat’s third.
It also was the first day of the “20 Day Blitz Build” sponsored by Whirlpool, with more than 150 company volunteers on hand.
Local Whirlpool plant leader Dicky Walters told a large crowd that Whirlpool began its partnership with Habitat for Humanity International by donating a range and refrigerator to every Habitat home built in the United States.
In 2005, Whirlpool set a new goal of being involved with every Habitat home built in the world by 2011, either by volunteering, product donations or funding, he said.