Austin Board of REALTORS® Foundation Partners With Austin Habitat For Humanity

Austin Board of REALTORS® Foundation Partners With Austin Habitat for Humanity for 2015 ‘Home for the Holidays Blitz Build’ – Association contributes 120 volunteers, $85,000 to build home for deserving family.

This week, the Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR) Foundation teamed up for the third consecutive year with Austin Habitat for Humanity during the annual “Home for the Holidays Blitz Build” to construct a new home for Jorge Ramirez, his wife, Claudia and two sons, Jorge Jr. and Adrian. The home will be located off Magin Meadow in East Austin.

“Working side-by-side with Austin Habitat is a natural extension of what Central Texas REALTORS® do each day, said ABoR Foundation Chair Michael DaSilva. “Blitz Build gives us the opportunity to put on a hard hat and pick up a hammer to help a deserving family experience the dream of homeownership.”

Ramirez and his family moved to Austin eight years ago and enjoy exploring the city and trying new things around town. They currently live in a cramped mobile home with little privacy and strict living restrictions that make it difficult for the family to feel at home. Previously, renting an apartment or purchasing a home was unaffordable for the Ramirez family and they were thrilled when they got the call from Austin Habitat.

As required by Austin Habitat, the Ramirez family has earned their new home by spending more than 300 hours helping other families build homes of their own and have invested a certain amount of their own financial resources. Thanks to the Austin Board of REALTORS® Foundation and Austin Habitat, the Ramirez family can now enjoy a backyard barbecue, build a garden and play soccer in a place they’ll call home for years to come.

Proud to take part in the Blitz Build again this year, the Austin Board of REALTORS® Foundation has dedicated more than 120 members and staff as volunteers and contributed $85,000 to Austin Habitat to make this new home a reality for the Ramirez family. The project is scheduled to take place December 1 through December 18, in a 10-day project that is estimated to take more than 2,000 hours of manual labor to complete.

Barb Cooper, 2015 President of the Austin Board of REALTORS® concluded, “Our members understand how challenging it is to find affordable housing in the Austin-area and jumped at the chance to help build a home for a local family again this holiday season. Becoming a homeowner is a life-changing experience and we’re excited to provide that opportunity to the Ramirez family.”