By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
MENTONE — The next home being constructed by Habitat for Humanity of Kosciusko County is super-sized in several ways.
The house is intended for an especially big family — bigger than what Habitat normally tries to accommodate — and is getting more corporate support than previously seen, according to Executive Director Ben Logan.
Kimber Boyd is the mother of four daughters who will be joined in their future home by Kimber’s mother and a dog.
Boyd is originally from North Manchester and has been living in Warsaw for nearly five years. She said her current residence is cramped and run down and causing her family a lot of stress.
She said she hopes the future four-bedroom and two bath layout will provide enough living space to ease the chaos that currently exists under their current roof.
“It’s a three bedroom, one and a half bath, but half the time, the bathroom downstairs doesn’t work because it doesn’t flush,” Boyd said. “The one bedroom gets so hot in the summer, we can’t really do anything with it. They go in there, grab their clothes and get out of there because it’s a sauna.”
Boyd’s future home will sit on one of three lots acquired by longtime town council member Tim Croy and his wife, Jackie, who then converted it into two lots and donated it to Habitat.
“I do that stuff because I care about our community. I wanna help people in our community and this is the perfect opportunity,” Croy said after Thursday’s groundbreaking.
Donations like that help Habitat move more quickly with future projects, and the local chapter is also seeing an uptick in corporate support.
The upcoming project has lined up commitments from Wildman Business Group (where Boyd works) and Creighton Bros., which has its headquarters north of the town and has enjoyed longtime ties to the community as a result of the famed egg production industry.
Creghton’s President, Mindy Truex, said the company quickly committed to support the future build, marking the company’s first direct involvement with Habitat.
While she’s familiar with Habitat’s track record of success, Truex said the chapter’s decision to construct a house in Mentone led to their involvement.
Truex said they have been wanting to get more involved in community projects in the Mentone area where her family grew up.
“There’s a long history with the Creighton family in Mentone so that was a big driver,” she said.
She said she hopes some of her employees can get involved.
“I hope writing a check isn’t the end of our involvement,” Truex said.
Seeing more involvement from companies is yet another good sign for the growing chapter.
“This is actually our most generous year for business sponsors, especially with the support of Wildman and Creighton Bros. with this build,” Logan said.
Seeing increased involvement alongside volunteer efforts, he said, adds to the sense of a more well-rounded effort from the community, he said
The local chapter completed two homes in Claypool earlier this year and is also working on plans for a home in Warsaw — possibly for later this year, he said.
He said they’re still working to line up a family for the second lot in Mentone.
Logan said they’re planning to host another “women’s build” for the upcoming Mentone project and that more details about that will be released soon.
Habitat hopes to begin initial work on the lot within weeks, he said.
