Nice digs

Family moves into Habitat-built house Chester — Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh dedicated an Episco-Build house at 156 Dubois St. in Newburgh, the new home of the Pelaez family, on July 29. The project to was sponsored by 17 Episcopal churches in the Hudson Valley, including St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Chester. Volunteers from Habitat, participating churches, family, friends, and neighbors came on a very hot day to celebrate the culmination of months of hard work and to bring their best wishes to Veronica Pelaez and her children, seven-year-old Giselle and six-year-old Jorge. Deirdre Glenn, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh, hosted the festivities. House captains Richard Anderson and Jim Taylor presented the house to the Pelaez family and thanked all the volunteers for their hard work. The Rev. Deborah Dresser of St. George’s in Newburgh and the Rev. Wayne Nicholson of St. Paul’s Church in Chester blessed the house. The ceremony was complete with presentations, prayers, and gifts. Afterward, the churches provided a barbecue in Downing Park. Through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat builds and rehabilitates simple, decent houses with the help of the homeowner . Habitat houses are sold to partner families at no profit, financed with affordable loans. The homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments are used to build still more Habitat houses. Habitat is not a giveaway program. In addition to a down payment and the monthly mortgage payments, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor — sweat equity — into building their Habitat house and the houses of others. For more information, visit www.habitatnewburgh.org.