Rice County Habitat for Humanity dedicated the second of its two 2007 homes on Sunday, November 18th. The home on Lamb Avenue in Nerstrand was built in partnership with the Bridget Cook family, and was opened to the public at the celebration. Bridget and her two children have moved into the home, and were welcomed with numerous generous gifts by friends and supporters of Habitat for Humanity. 
Bridget and her children are shown in the photo at the right being welcomed by Gary Irmiter of Thrivent Builds, which provided major financial support for the home. Thrivent Builds is an international partnership between Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Habitat for Humanity International, and provides support for construction of hundreds of additional Habitat homes annually nationwide and internationally.
The home features an energy-efficient shell of insulated concrete form construction thanks to the generosity of VanHaren Construction of Faribault. Numerous other area businesses provided labor and materials for the project. Many individuals volunteered their time working on the home as well.
Rice County Habitat for Humanity is currently looking for partner families for 2008 and 2009. Partner families put sweat equity into their and other Habitat homes, and are able to move into the affordably-priced homes upon their completion.
Habitat’s mission is to build decent, affordable housing in partnership with qualified homebuyers. Rice County Habitat for Humanity has now built 14 houses since its inception in 1991, and plans to build two more homes in 2008. For information on becoming a partner family, volunteering opportunities and more, call 507-323-5167 or go to http://www.habitatricecounty.org.