Mary Catherine’s life changed forever after a rare flesh-eating bacteria infected her nearly 20 years ago. She had 24 surgeries in a matter of weeks, and both legs had to be amputated to ensure she survived. Afterwards, she wasn’t sure she would ever live in an accessible home–until Habitat came along.
“I have learned what community can do,” Mary Catherine says. “When community works together, I am blown away. Whether it’s just two people or all of Habitat, it’s really nice when people willingly help each other in a little community.”
When Mark Thorsrud and Melissa Oliver signed up for their Residential Architecture courses at Pima Community College, they didn’t know they’d be designing a home for Habitat for Humanity. But that’s exactly what happened.
Janet loves volunteering at the HabiStore. “Every sale helps build houses for people, and we do a lot here – you can see how valuable volunteers are, and it feels good to contribute.”
“I’m trying to serve mankind because I have the ability to do it. And the Lord is honored when you do something like that—helping other people.”
Nancy first joined the Habitat team 16 years ago. What started out very Mom-and-Pop developed into a thriving community of passionate people – all devoted to the mission that everyone deserves a decent place to live, and everyone can do something to help make that possible for another family.
“That’s all the special things—the workers, the homeowners, the volunteers, the donors—and the mission is on top. That’s what we always come back to,” she says. “That’s why we’re here.”
