HABITAT NEWS

Playhouse to be Auctioned as Habitat Fundraiser
A new 6’x10’ playhouse will be auctioned soon to raise funds for the Chillicothe Area Habitat for Humanity.
11/05/07 (Story by Diane Davis, photo by Diana Wascher)

CAPTION: Retired airline pilot and woodworker Vern Wascher is finishing work on a large playhouse that will be sold after the holiday parade to make money for Habitat for Humanity. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Built to resemble the 2007 Habitat house in Chillicothe, the playhouse will be sold to the highest bidder after the holiday parade on Sat., Nov. 17. Businessman and auctioneer Lonnie Sewell will call the auction on the west side of Livingston County Courthouse in Chillicothe.

Retired pilot and woodworker Vern Wascher is building the playhouse, which features a 7.5 ft. ceiling, finished exterior, two windows, shutters, Dutch door, drywall interior and porch with railing. He will also display the playhouse as part of Habitat’s parade entry, celebrating 10 years of Habitat for Humanity in the Chillicothe community.

Funds raised from the auction will help Habitat offset upfront building expenses. Jim Houseworth, past chapter president, said, “Vern has volunteered to build this house and pull it in the parade to help us raise money toward a $2,500 challenge grant. A local individual has offered to match new funds raised by Dec. 31, 2007, up to $2,500.” Also available at the auction will be five new white window blinds, 29” wide.

Meanwhile, Habitat’s Family Selection Committee is currently reviewing applications for the 2008 house and will make recommendations to the Board of Directors at a future meeting. By Christmas, the Chillicothe Area Habitat for Humanity will choose and announce a family for the 11th Habitat home.

For more information about Habitat, visit the website, www.habitatchillicothe.org. Donations to the Chillicothe Area Habitat for Humanity are always welcome and can be sent to PO Box 913, Chillicothe, MO 64601. Messages can be left at 660-646-3667.

Chillicothe Habitat Volunteer Honored as Community Service Unsung Hero for 2003

Eric Turner, Chillicothe Rotary president, emceed the community service banquet held Monday, March 31, at the Grand River Inn, and introduced the community service Unsung Hero for 2003.

"One of the reasons we are here tonight is to acknowledge an unsung hero in our community," said Turner. "We are all truly heroes in our own families. We strive to accept, daily, with high honor, the responsibility for providing, nurturing and encouraging our immediate and extended families and our circle of friends. Our unsung hero, along with the rest of us, does this quietly and consistently and with great fervor."

Turner painted a connection between membership in service organizations -- like the Rotary, Optimist, Kiwanis and Lions clubs -- and a community acknowledgment of its responsibility to work hard to make a better world. It can also be said of the unsung hero, Turner said. "There are those of us who quietly and consistently and without need or want for praise, seek to share above the everyday giving to our family of birth and of choice, our church and community. In so doing, we strive for a higher and much broader greater good to the community around us," Turner said.