The chamber project is building this house on Poole Place, off Bailey Road in Cornelius, for the Patterson family.

CORNELIUS – Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce members have hit their goal of raising $71,500 to pay for construction of a Habitat for Humanity House for a family in Cornelius. The group hit the target thanks to a recent fund-raising party and last-minute pledges from local businesses, according to Denis Bilodeau, chair of the chamber board’s community affairs division.

The chamber had been raising money and planning the Business Build project since last fall, according to Mr. Bilodeau, who also is president of Aquesta Insurance Services Inc. Wells Fargo kicked off the effort by committing $50,000, of which $20,000 was set up as a matching challenge: The Chamber had to raise another $20,000 to get the rest.

A May 4 fundraising party organized by Mr. Bilodeau brought the campaign within $3,714. Then last Thursday, May 17, Kevin Mahl and business partner Jamie Rolewicz (of Champion Tire and Wheel and Hyde Park Storage Suites) stepped in to fill the gap. Mr. Mahl actually helped launch the Business Build project last year as the chamber’s 2011 community affairs chairman.

On Tuesday, Mr. Bilodeau said the campaign was a community effort. “Clearly, Wells Fargo stepped up in a big way that helped us make it happen,” he said. But, he added, “It doesn’t just happen, it’s the effect of a number of volunteers who see the need and get the word out in the community.”

Mia Patterson and her daughter, Tamya, 8, and son, TJ, 5, will move into the Habitat House. (Our Towns Habitat for Humanity photo)

A HOUSE FOR THE PATTERSONS

Mia Patterson, a single working mother of two, has been waiting eight years to own a Habitat home. Construction began recently, with the help of many individuals and company teams.

Ms. Patterson also has been working too, putting in the “sweat equity” Habitat requires for home ownership.

VOLUNTEERS WANTED

For more information or to volunteer to help complete this project, call Cathy Petriano 704-86-8957 ext. 108, or visit www.ourtownshabitat.org/chamber_2011.html and click on the “Volunteer Up” button.

Other major contributors included American Tire Distributors ($5,000), Champion Tire and Wheel / Hyde Park Storage Suites ($4,714, including NASCAR passes), Carolinas Healthcare ($2,000), McIntosh Law Firm ($2,000), AT&T ($1,000), Boatsman, Gilmore ($1,000); Lake Norman Chrysler Dodge Jeep ($1,000), Park Ave Properties ($1,000) and The Herald Weekly/Mooresville Weekly ($2,700 in ad space).

RELATED LINKS

More information about Our Towns Habitat for Humanity on ourtownshabitat.org

Dec. 1, 2012, “Chamber seeks businesses to support 2012 Habitat build.”