As December 10th rolls around, I find myself reflecting on what for most of us is a grudging ritual. Yup, you guessed it, paying the first installment on our property taxes.
I just signed checks for $105,554.66 to do just this, passing on the escrowed payments for our now 138 Habitat homeowners.
While I suppose tax paying will always be a little grudgey, the thing I’m feeling more than anything else is pride for our homeowners.
Our families had almost nothing when they came to us except family and an eagerness to work hard. Pair these with the hands of our volunteers, the generosity of our supporters, an unusually large supply of determination and the results are astounding: 138 families moving into the middle class, whose children attend schools that needed more students, in homes on lots that were vacant, in neighborhoods that needed more homeowners, and helping to pay for our shared burden of government.
At Habitat, we offer folks a hand up. It is heartwarming to know that a hand up can make all the difference.
Happy Holidays,
Rob Kerth, Chief Executive Officer at Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento
