On Friday March 18, 2022 Habitat for Humanity Northumberland board members, volunteers and staff joined community members, neighbours, politicians, and the May-Kearsey family to celebrate the completion of another Habitat house within the Town of Cobourg. Jenny May and her two daughters received the keys to their new house at 600 Daintry Crescent which they will now turn into a home.
Similar to the house Habitat dedicated in Hamilton Township last Friday, this project was also the relocation and rejuvenation of an existing house. The story of this house began in 2018 when Northumberland County offered Habitat Northumberland a donated brick house which was located on Courthouse Road in Cobourg.
The house had to be moved to allow for the redevelopment of the Golden Plough Lodge & Northumberland County Archives and Museum. In 2019, Habitat secured the vacant land at 600 Daintry Crescent through a partnership with the Town of Cobourg. In the summer of 2020, with the expert help of Pollard the Mover, the house was relocated onto a new foundation on the lot on Daintry Crescent.
Since the summer of 2021 Habitat volunteers, staff and local contractors have been renovating and rejuvenating this house.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has made it so that projects we hoped would be done in 2020 have experienced serious delays,” explains Executive Director Meaghan Macdonald. “However, we are so thankful that we were able to keep going over the last two years, even if it was at a slower pace than we are used to. So, while our projects took longer and had more complications, we are so grateful for the incredible volunteers, donors and partner families who have worked so hard to get us to the point where we are dedicating another house today.”
In addition to the major partnership with Northumberland County and the Town of Cobourg, this project received support from local contractors, suppliers and local donors who participated in the Finish a Home campaign. This project is also receiving down-payment assistance funding from Northumberland County through the Home Ownership Revolving Fund Loan program.
As new Habitat homeowners, the May-Kearsey family has and will continue to give back to the local community through their partnership with Habitat. Along with family and friends, they have contributed over 500 hours in the ReStore and on Habitat construction sites. Their property taxes will help maintain roads, fund schools, and create jobs. And their monthly mortgage payment will help fund future builds here in our community and in other countries through the fund for humanity.
Now that this project is done, the construction team of staff and volunteers are focusing on renovating -two other houses in Cobourg and preparing for the first project in the village of Hastings which will start this spring. For more information or to stay updated with Habitat for Humanity Northumberland’s upcoming plans, please visit the website at www.habitatnorthumberland.ca or follow Habitat’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/HabitatNorthumberland/
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
