WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Palm Beach County woman received a surprise welcome home after Habitat for Humanity of Greater Palm Beach County and the iTHINK Community Foundation transformed her new house into a fully furnished home.
Carla Hamilton officially received the keys to her new home this week after completing hundreds of volunteer hours through Habitat for Humanity's homeownership program.
"This is a home that she worked very hard for," said Jennifer Thomason, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Palm Beach County. "She volunteered 300 to 400 hours building her home, doing financial education, and then she purchased her home at a 0% interest mortgage based on 30% of her income and not the market."
Hamilton and her grandson walked into the home expecting an empty house but instead found every room completely furnished and personalized.
"We were surprised," Hamilton said. I noticed it was full of furniture. The stuff wasn't here the last time she visited. It was just an empty box, and now there's things like coffee makers and juicers and TVs and every drawer, every cabinet has something in it."
The home makeover was coordinated by the iTHINK Community Foundation and dozens of volunteers who worked behind the scenes to prepare the surprise reveal.
Stephen Johnson, AVP of administration and marketing for iTHINK Financial, said the organization partnered with Habitat for Humanity as part of the foundation’s ongoing community investment efforts.
"Our iTHINK Community Foundation is how we made this happen,” Johnson said. "We're celebrating 10 years of doing things like this in our communities. We've invested over a million dollars doing programs with Habitat for Humanity and other really good organizations here in Palm Beach County.”
Organizers said volunteers used information from a questionnaire completed by Hamilton to personalize the home with meaningful details connected to her family and interests.
"That was on my list," Hamilton said while reacting to items throughout the house. "That was my favorite song (American Authors 'Best Day of My Life' There [the lyrics are] on the wall."
Larissa, one of the iTHINK volunteer organizers, said volunteers transformed the house in just a few hours.
"We had 31 volunteers on last Saturday morning — kids, families, brothers, uncles, you name them, they were all here," she said. "We came into the house just over three hours, furnished it, staged it. It was really fun."
Affordable housing remains a major challenge for many South Florida families as home prices continue rising across Palm Beach County. Habitat for Humanity programs help qualifying families achieve homeownership through sweat equity, financial education and affordable mortgage opportunities.
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Palm Beach County partners with local organizations and volunteers to build homes and support long-term housing stability throughout the region.
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