MTSU’s Office of Leadership and Service is partnering once again with Rutherford County Habitat for Humanity to build a home, this time to celebrate the University’s Centennial.

In January 2006 MTSU students began fundraising efforts through various programs for the first MTSU Habitat Blitz Build. 2012 will mark the completion of the third home built for a Rutherford County resident by MTSU and Habitat.

MTSU’s Centennial Habitat Build began Jan. 25. Construction is continuing, and the completion date and dedication ceremony are planned for April 19.

During the dedication, Rutherford County resident Yvonne Summers will receive the keys to her new home, where she said she looks forward to having a special place for her grandchildren to visit and a yard for a garden.

“Before I leave this earth, I can say I owned something,” Summers said.

The Centennial build is unique in that the only onsite volunteers are MTSU students, faculty and staff.

The house cost $60,000 to build with $20,000 being funded by members of the MTSU community. Other contributions came from supporters who wanted to help but were unable to physically participate in the build, organizers said.

“MTSU students are not just about building a house. Our students working with Habitat are learning servant leadership through experience. Yes, it is fun and exciting, but ultimately our students were able to set aside their time and responsibilities to giving willingly to Ms. Summers and her future home.”“Our students are able to share in the sweat of building a house and also the gift of giving a home,” said Jacqueline Victory, director of the Office Leadership and Service, which is part of MTSU’s Division of Student Affairs, Enrollment and Academic Services.

Summers made sure to express her thanks to her family, friends, MTSU, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati and Haynes Brothers Lumber, a Building Rutherford partner, for making her dreams come true.

“As our True Blue pledge states, ‘I am engaged in the life of this community. I am a recipient and a giver,’” Victory pointed out. “We hope that every time Ms. Summers passes MTSU, she truly embraces True Blue with us!”

For more information on MTSU’s department of Leadership and Service visit www.mtsu.edu/leadandserve. For more information on Rutherford County Habitat for Humanity, visit www.rchfh.org.

– Lauren Price ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Like Us On Facebook

Follow Us On Twitter

Follow Us On Pinterest

Rutherford County Habitat for Humanity and the City of Murfreesboro’s Community Development Department have received national recognition for their partnership in building the organization’s 100th house in Rutherford County.

The project, completed in April 2011, was one of seven in the nation to receive the Audrey Nelson Community Development Achievement Award from the National Community Development Association. The award recognizes innovative use of Community Development Block Grant funds to address the needs of low- and moderate-income families, homes and neighborhoods.

“The review committee was impressed with how many different partners came together to make this project work,” said NCDA Executive Director Cardell Cooper. “The key to successful community development work is bring the public, private and nonprofit sectors together and this project accomplished that many times over.”

“This award means a lot to us in the Community Development Department because it is our peers saying, ‘Well done,’” said Murfreesboro Community Development Director John Callow.

Also honored were Malden, MA; Quincy, MA; Orlando, FL; Hialeah, FL; Davenport, IA; and Gresham, OR. The award was presented on January 20, 2012, in Washington, D.C., at a luncheon highlighted by remarks from Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary Mercedes Marquez. Audrey Nelson was NCDA’s assistant executive director at the time of her death.

One of our very favorite things to do at Hobnob is to let the community know about the hidden gems of Rutherford County. What we have for you this week might not be a secret palace or a lost jewel, but it is certainly something everyone in Murfreesboro should put on their treasure map. Habitat for Humanity ReStore will sound very familiar to a lot of readers, but most people still don’t know what the ReStore actually is.

At the forefront, Habitat for Humanity ReStore is a great place to shop! It is a store where the entire public can come in and find incredible deals on all sorts of home products. The ReStore is stacked from wall to wall with new and used doors, light fixtures, cabinets, windows, kitchen appliances, rugs, bathroom fixtures, flooring, furniture, paint, artwork, sinks, and tubs. It’s got the same great selection you would find at a chain home improvement store, but the prices are a lot easier on your wallet.

The local ReStore opened 7 years ago when Habitat for Humanity realized that builders were just throwing away thousands of dollars’ worth of building materials that they didn’t use for their projects and that individual families who were remodeling or updating items in their homes were just throwing them away because there was nowhere to take them. The ReStore was founded as a way for builders and individuals to put these unused or gently used materials back into the hands of people who needed them.

Anyone can come into the ReStore to donate new and used home items . Habitat then offers these items back to the public for well below retail value. Any profit that the ReStore makes goes directly back into the Habitat for Humanity organization.

Anything you buy from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore goes to helping out a family in need, but Habitat isn’t in the business of just giving away houses. The money you spend at the ReStore helps provide a hardworking family with a home mortgage equal to the amount of the cost to build it. The family makes a monthly no-interest mortgage payment. Habitat for Humanity’s goal has always been to provide an affordable mortgage for low-income, working families who are living in unsatisfactory conditions . When you shop at the ReStore, you are helping another family in Rutherford County live a better life.

Don’t take my word for it. Go visit the Habitat for Humanity ReStore for yourself. Located at 850 Mercury Boulevard in the heart of Murfreesboro, the ReStore is something you truly have to see to believe. Once you see the wide selection, great prices, and friendliest employees in town, you will be hooked on Habitat for Humanity ReStore for life.

Visit the Habitat for Humanity ReStore today at:

850 Mercury Blvd
Murfreesboro, TN 37130

You can also follow them on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/ReStoremurfreesboro

And you can call them directly to learn more at: 615.849.5994

Murfreesboro, TN - The Sixth Annual See Spot Run 5K, a run/walk for participants and their canine friends, is slated for 8 a.m. Saturday, May 14, at MTSU’s Walnut Grove. All proceeds, including entry fees, admissions and sponsorships, will go toward the MTSU Habitat for Humanity Building Fund.

The MTSU Office of Leadership and Service, which sponsors the event, seeks to raise the $60,000 necessary to sponsor a Habitat for Humanity “blitz build” on campus during the University’s centennial year.

Jackie Victory, director of the office, says the See Spot Run 5K is only one in a series of campus fundraisers designed to generate money for the “blitz build.” Victory says construction of the home will be a way for MTSU students to give back to the Murfreesboro community.

“We’ve solicited a number of sponsors, worked to promote the event on- and off-campus and helped to recruit a number of participants and volunteers for the event,” says Victory.”See Spot Run is a race unlike any other for the campus and the community. We encourage everyone to come out to enjoy a great event and support an even greater cause.”

For the first time ever, this year’s race will feature chip timing. This technological advance in running facilitates the documentation of running/walking times by having participants wear small, lightweight electronic chips. As the participants cross over strategically placed electronic mats, their times will be recorded automatically.

Entrants may pre-register for a fee of $20 through Sunday, May 8. On-site registration, which is $25, will open at 6:30 a.m. on the day of the race. To register, go to http://www.active.com and search for “See Spot Run,” or call 615-898-5812.