WEST SPRINGFIELD — When people think of the Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity, they may picture volunteers swinging hammers.
On Oct. 5, however, the organization is bringing the community together in a different way with its first-ever Family Fun Fest.
“It’s that typical fall fair nostalgia that you’re looking for,” said Program Coordinator Olga Callirgos. From noon to 4 p.m. at the Morgan Road Pavillion, 459 Morgan Rd., there will be food trucks and breweries on site, along with raffles, craft vendors and activities for children. All of the festivities are free and open to the public.
“We used to have the Feastival,” said Callirgos, “but we realized it was the same thing every year” and “it wasn’t really accessible to the entire community.”
The Greater Habitat for Humanity is a housing ministry that empowers low-income families through the generational change of homeownership and home preservation. The organization partners with families who purchase their homes from Habitat for Humanity via an affordable mortgage. The partner families also complete financial education classes and provide sweat equity on Habitat for Humanity projects.
Aside from the home ownership program, Habitat for Humanity also offers a home preservation program, repairing homes in the community. Currently, Callirgos said only military veteran homeowners are being accepted into the repair program.
The organization is funded through private donors and grants. Aside from three full-time staff members, Habitat for Humanity is crewed by volunteers who work in the office and in the field. Callirgos said another reason for the Fun Fest is to allow more people to become aware of Habitat for Humanity and the services it offers community members. Since 1987, Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity has helped 74 families make their homeownership dreams come true.
More information about Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity can be found at habitatspringfield.org.
