by Dennis Dalman
An old house in St. Joseph once owned by Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict will become a new home for a family in need this summer.
The house will be completely updated and refurbished by volunteer members of Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity. Last December, the Sisters donated the house, known as “Genesis House,” to that organization. The gray-colored, two-story house, near the downtown area, is located at 103 First Ave. SE.
On Sept. 21, Habitat volunteers, two Sisters, St. Joseph residents and some business owners gathered at the house for prayers and a kick-off celebration of the ambitious project. One of the participants was Chad Johnson of St. Joseph who was recently named the new chief executive director of Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity. The work to make the old house “new” will cost Habitat about $100,000 to complete, Johnson noted, and that is why ongoing fundraising is so important – for that and other Habitat projects in the central Minnesota area.
One important fundraiser, dubbed Breakfast for Humanity, will take place from 8-9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27 at Kelly Inn, 100 Fourth Ave. S., near downtown St. Cloud. That event will also be livestreamed. Parking is free for those who attend the breakfast. Another way to donate and to find out how to help through volunteerism is to visit the Habitat website at www.cmhfh.org.
Built in 1926, the house was purchased by the Order of St. Benedict in 1950. At first it was a working space for lay members of the College of St. Benedict and later it was a housing accommodation for chaplains. Still later, during the past decade, some Sisters of the Order lived in the house.
The renovations and additions to the house will include both exterior and interior improvements – repair of siding and windows, structural work on the old garage, an air-conditioning system, a new furnace and two new bedrooms to be constructed in the basement.
There is currently a waiting list for families wanting a home via Habitat for Humanity. Decent, affordable housing is a vital need in this area because too many people living on the edge cannot afford rental properties whose prices keep rising every year, Johnson said.
Johnson said so many assume Habitat homes are provided, free of charge to families. It’s not true. Each family must spend a certain amount of time helping build and/or refurbish a house. Then they sign an agreement to pay back a no-interest loan.
To be eligible for Habitat homes, a family, depending on its size, must make between 35 to 60 percent of this area’s median income.
Sr. Dorothy Manuel (left) and Sr. Karen Streveler, members of the Order of the Sisters of St. Benedict, wield sledgehammers at a recent kick-off for what will become a Habitat for Humanity home in St. Joseph. The nearly 100-year-old home was donated by the Order to the Habitat organization last December.
