Knights Of Columbus Councils Complete Habitat Home
Deavron Farmer of All Saints Parish in Evansville is a member of Knights of Columbus Council 565 and a former student (at Mater Dei High School) of Benedictine Sister Jane Michele McClure, who serves as Major Gifts Officer for Habitat of Humanity of Evansville. Earlier this year, while having lunch with Sister Jane, Farmer mentioned his and other Knights’ collective desire to do more in and for the local community.
And just like that … the nine K of C councils of Southwestern Indiana had their own Habitat Build!
“Sister Jane told me that a donor had stepped up to fully fund a build, and the Knights were able to accept that build and get to work on a house,” Farmer said. The house, located at 1724 S. Garvin St. in Evansville, is nearing completion and will be dedicated later this year. The Message will cover that dedication.
Councils that have participated in the build include Nos. 565 (St. Boniface Parish in Evansville), 2215 (Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Haubstadt), 7544 (St. Benedict Cathedral Parish in Evansville), 8746 (St. John the Baptist Parish in Newburgh), 12541 (Holy Redeemer Parish in Evansville), 16454 (Auxilio-Corpus Christi Parish in Evansville/St. Phillip Parish in Posey County) 14659 (St. John the Evangelist Parish in Daylight), 14673 (Good Shepard Parish in Evansville) and 15092 (Annunciation of the Lord Parish in Evansville.
In addition to working on the Knights Build, volunteers from the various councils also provided outreach service in the neighborhood (e.g., weed-eating, trash pick-up and other projects), including serving Zion Missionary Baptist Church and its neighborhood with these projects.
The councils were split up into teams of two in order to spread out the work associated with building a house from the ground up. Some Knights built the foundation and floor of the home. Others completed the truss work, and others added the siding to the home. Other Knights volunteered to paint the inside of the home and get it ready for occupancy.
The partner for this home is Terri, who works for the Sodexo food-service company at the University of Southern Indiana. She also has worked on the USI maintenance team during the summer, and she volunteers with Deaconess Hospital’s hospice-care unit.
Terri’s father volunteered on Habitat builds when she was growing up, and she decided to apply for a spot in Habitat’s program.
“When I was looking up alternative-housing options, I discovered that the majority of apartments available to rent in our area had high monthly rates,” she said, “so I decided to try and apply … through Habitat.
“I’ve had to reorganize my schedule to make time for volunteering on (Habitat) build sites and for taking the required classes,” she added, “but I’m making it work.”
