A number of volunteers will be helping out a local non-profit Friday that works to transform lives by building, affordable quality homes with families in need.

Livingston County Habitat for Humanity is working on its latest partner family home, located on North Street in the City of Howell. AVI-SPL Michigan is a provider of audio video technologies, and managed audio/video services to businesses and organizations. The company selected Habitat for Humanity for this year’s company-wide activism day and around 20 employees will be helping install siding on the house Friday. AVI-SPL Michigan’s Office Manager/Director of Spirit Diane Blakeney told WHMI they felt it was the perfect fit and continues their commitment to community outreach.

Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Rob Johnson says all of the walls are up, electrical work is done and windows and doors are in. The inside walls have been studded, HVAC work is done and plumbing is 90% complete. Groups were recently brought into install drywall but Johnson says there is still a lot of work left to be done including landscaping. It’s ADA compliant, as the hope is to make it a forever home for the family selected, which must have an income and a need to qualify for the program.

Habitat for Humanity homes are not a hand-out but a leg up for someone right at the cusp where they just can’t quite get ahead but have worked hard to get where they’re at. The once empty lot will eventually be the new home for Becky Gremore, who says it’s perfect for her and her two children, as well as others she hopes to foster one day. Gremore had a tough childhood and was in and out of foster homes but managed to graduate with honors from Howell High School and has held steady employment. After getting divorced, Gremore and her two children lived in her friend’s basement while trying to find something she could actually afford in the area as a working mom. She earlier told WHMI that was no easy feat and she applied for a Habitat for Humanity home after seeing an ad in the ReStore.

Volunteers will be broken up into smaller groups on Friday to install siding. Johnson says it’s a two-story home so volunteers will be going up and down ladders, which takes up time. He stressed their number one goal is safety and while there are ways to install siding faster, they’re going to do it right and with safety at the forefront. AVI-SPL volunteers and others will be working Friday at the build on North Street from 9am to 3pm. Facebook photo. (JM)