Wyrick Family Selected as Seventh Recipients from the Chillicothe Area Habitat for Humanity

Dalton Wyrick, 8, reads some of his prepared remarks to the crowd with help from his mother, while his sister, Elizabeth, watches. Each one of the Wyricks expressed their thanks to those gathered during the ceremony.
"Unless the Lord builds the house, man labors in vain" Psalms 121:1

Dedication Ceremony Held for Seventh Habitat Home

About 40 people gathered around a little house at 343 Wise Street on Sunday to help dedicate the seventh Chillicothe Area Habitat for Humanity home which, in a matter of days, will be occupied by Judy Wyrick and her two children, Elizabeth and Dalton.

Lois Turner, Habitat president, made a few brief comments to the crowd, explaining that the day's occasion was made possible because of a successful partnership between Habitat and the Wyrick family, two groups working toward a common goal. "This joining is coming into fruition today because a young, single mother and her two children have a need for adequate housing -- a situation we all pray will sometime only be a memory of history in our own community and in the entire world," Turner said.

Officially, the ceremony was called a dedication, but Turner likened the event to a homecoming celebration. She quoted the reflective writings of Tim Moran, a "veteran care-a-vaner" who, for about two weeks, worked on the Wyrick family's home this summer along with several other traveling Habitat volunteers.

"He (Moran) saw a new beginning here for Judy and her children -- not just in the form of a home being built from love, but a family finding love in the building of a home," Turner explained. She went on to add that Moran spoke of the home building process as a journey in healing, in seeing human kindness and caring. "And, Tim stated, 'This has been less of a build, and more of a homecoming,'" Turner said.

The roots of Sunday's event, Turner said, could be traced back over 40 years to a man named Dr. Clarence Jordan (the founder of Habitat for Humanity) who recognized the need for adequate housing in a small rural, racially and economically divided community near Americus, Ga.

"Our country's history of pushing forth toward equality and humanity and God's holy love are all part of us today. And, the gift from God in the form of his Holy Son, Jesus, set high example for this coming together," Turner said.

Ending her remarks, Turner thanked those gathered as well as those who were involved in the process but could not attend the ceremony.

OUR SEVENTH HOME
Information and photos about our homes come from articles published by the Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune. The following excerpt was published in the C-T. Article and photos by Megan Neis

Local Habitat Home Nears Completion

Work on the seventh Chillicothe Area Habitat for Humanity home is coming to a close and Habitat officials report that they expect the new homeowners to be able to move in sometime mid-August.

According to Ron Urton, former president of the local Habitat, most of the work that needs to be finished is in the home's exterior and includes work on the wood trim doors and cabinet installation.

Once these are finished, he said that the carpet and linoleum floor coverings can be installed.

The three-bedroom house, located at 343 Wise Street, will be the new home of Judy Wyrick and her two children, Elizabeth, 10, and Dalton, 8. The Wyrick's were selected for the home late last year. Wyrick has also been helping with construction of her soon-to-be new home.

Although all that is left for the home to be finished is mostly inside finish work, Urton reported that a little outside work needs to be done as well. "The outside of the house if 95 percent done," he said.

The home's exterior is mostly finished thanks to the Habitat for Humanity Care-A-Vanners who were in Chillicothe working on the home during the first two weeks of May.

When the Care-A-Vanners arrived in May, the only thing that was finished on the house was the concrete foundation and wood flooring. The Care-A-Vanners started working on the house from ground up and by the time they left two weeks later, walls were up, siding was on, the house had a roof and the doors and windows had been installed. Urton reported that local contractors helped with installing the roof.

By the time the Care-A-Vanners left, they even had some of the drywall up. "Once you get the drywall up, you're home-free," Urton said.

Local Club Decorating Habitat Children's Rooms

A local sorority is lending a hand to the new Habitat for Humanity homeowners by adopting the children's rooms and decorating them in themes that interest the children.

Elizabeth and Dalton Wyrick, 10 and 8, are the children of Judy Wyrick of Chillicothe. The family was selected to receive the seventh area Habitat home late last year.

The Xi Alpha Kappa chapter of Beta Sigma Phi decided to help the family out by furnishing and decorating the children's rooms.

"We will provide them with all new rooms," said Julie Barnes, committee chair for Dalton's room.

Barnes reported that members of the sorority spoke with the children about three months ago and found out what their interests were and what their dream bedroom would be. The children looked through magazines and picked out things that they thought they would want.

The sorority members then took this information and broke into two committees, one for each child.

Dalton's room will have a racecar theme with red and black and Elizabeth's room will be adorned with butterflies and colors of pink and purple.

"We are doing both rooms so that the children can grow into them," Barnes said.

She reported that this all came about after the sorority members began discussing how great of an organization Habitat of Humanity was.

Family Notified: Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Home Dedicated:

VISITORS HELP WITH HABITAT HOME
Care-A-Vanners work on seventh local Habitat home

Several Habitat for Humanity Care-A-Vanners lift an interior wall of a home they are helping construct on 343 Wise Street. The Care-A-Vanners are a group of retired and traveling individuals and couples who stop at different Habitat affiliate home sites across the United States and help with the construction process for two weeks. C-T Photo / Megan Neis

The Care-A-Vanners are a group of retired or traveling individuals and couples who travel in their own recreational vehicles to Habitat affiliates across the United States and Canada. "They build new friendships, build awareness of Habitat and build decent houses in partnership with families in need," the website states.

There are currently eight Care-A-Vanner couples in Chillicothe helping with construction of Judy Wyrick's home on 343 Wise Street. Wyrick and her two children were selected as the seventh area Habitat Home recipients late last year.

Habitat for Humanity Care-A-Vanners nail together an interior wall of a home they are helping construct on 343 Wise Street. The Care-A-Vanners will be in Chillicothe for the next two weeks to assist with the home build. C-T Photo / Megan Neis

For the third year in a row, the Habitat for Humanity Care-A-Vanners are in Chillicothe and began working on the seventh Chillicothe Area Habitat for Humanity home yesterday (Monday).

According to Ron Urton, Chillicothe Area Habitat for Humanity president, the Care-A-Vanners arrived in Chillicothe on Sunday. They parked their vehicles and are staying at Grand Oaks Baptist Assembly. They began work on the home yesterday (Monday) and will be working there for two weeks. Urton reported that the group works Monday through Friday.

This is the third year that a Care-A-Vanner group has traveled to Chillicothe to help with a Habitat home. However, Urton reported that seven of these couples have chosen to return to Chillicothe. "That is a plus for this community," said Urton. "That really says a lot about Chillicothe."

Jack and Pat Settles of Dayton, Ohio, are serving as the team leaders for the group. "We loved it so much, we came back," Pat said of many of the group members' decision to come back to Chillicothe. The Settles are retired and have participated in around seven home builds since they first began working with the Care-A-Vanners in 2001. She reported that many of the group members travel throughout the summer helping with various Habitat for Humanity affiliates. Some even travel all year round.

All of the Care-A-Vanners this year are retired and they all come from a range of career backgrounds. Settles reported that some of the group members have retired from sales, computer work and engineering. Another couple will be arriving in Chillicothe to help with the home build next week, however, they are not retired.