The fifth Habitat for Humanity Greater Birmingham home built by the University of Alabama at Birmingham will be dedicated with a ceremony at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1.
Work began Sept. 20 on the home, located at 217 68th St. South, 35212, in the Eastwood neighborhood. The work is part of a project funded by the UAB Benevolent Fund, the employee charitable giving arm of UAB, established and governed by employees. The home was built by 523 UAB volunteers who gave nearly 2,000 hours of hard work. All UAB employees are invited to the dedication and to tour the home
The home is for Ames Farrell, who has lived in Birmingham all his life and graduated with an advanced diploma from Shades Mountain Christian High School and attended UAB. He is self-employed, running “Ames Works” throughout the year and specializing in yard work, chores and basic handyman jobs.
Farrell believes owning a home will help him because he will have his own place for the future, be able to give him more room to live and to store his tools, and help him to fulfill a lifelong dream. When asked what he would like to say to those who have helped to make his home possible, he said, “I believe that it is a greater blessing to give than to receive. I hope that you can get a double blessing from working with me … Thank you for volunteering.”
This is the fifth home built by a total of 2,853 UAB volunteers, who have given nearly 12,000 hours to providing homes for those in need in the Birmingham community.
Tiffany Wells, the 2017 UAB Habitat House homeowner, says she had never seen people give that much time and energy to anything as they did to building the home.
“That was a first for me, and it has changed my life because now I want to be like them, and I want to give like them and help people just like they have done for me,” Wells said.
See photos from throughout this year’s build on the group’s Flickr page.