Construction costs sponsored by:
151 volunteers contributed 1,305 hours to build this home. 56 FCCI employees contributed 293 of those hours!
“I don’t have the words to let them know how appreciative I am. They don’t know the blessing that it is to me and my kids.”
Diannah
Diannah’s need for affordable housing mirrors what many families in Sarasota face – long commutes from living and working in different towns, poor living conditions, annual rent increases, and overcrowded housing.
Diannah is proud to raise two “A” students. Josue, 16, is at Sarasota High School and is in the Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education Diploma program. Jadil, 11, attends Sarasota School of Arts/Sciences. For the past two years, they left the house by 7:00am to make the commute from Bradenton to Sarasota. Her oldest son is dropped off first. Then Diannah and Jadil wait in the car for an hour until his school opens. This daily routine takes its toll on all of them.
Diannah moved into her two-bedroom duplex just over 15 years ago, her rent has increased by $400 a month while the condition of the property has steadily declined.
As her boys grew, Diannah became more determined to become a homeowner for stability. She looked in to buying a home before coming to Habitat but couldn’t find a home she could afford. A friend who owns a Habitat home told her about the program and encouraged her to apply. She is grateful that she did.
Habitat made homeownership possible because of the interest-free mortgage and Habitat’s down payment program. Her hard work toward sweat equity, all combined, created an opportunity for permanent affordable homeownership.
“I feel excited, happy and blessed that I was given this opportunity to partner with Habitat Sarasota. God had a lot to say in this. I prayed for this.”
All photos seen here were taken prior to March 20, 2020 when volunteer activities were suspended due to social distancing guidelines required to contain the spread of COVID-19.
FCCI Insurance Group