Thanks to the amazing community support after our finishing trailer break-in, we are able to be finishing Jasmine’s new home this month.

Since we have been referring to the 6th Street Court home as the future home of Jasmine and her children, it might be nice for you all to know a little more about her!  I met up with Jasmine and her kids on Saturday afternoon. In the morning she had volunteered along with another future home owner and a great group from Chris-Craft Boats who placed sod over the entire back yard!  Then Jasmine went home, cleaned up, got the kids dressed for photographs and came back to be interviewed for this blog post.

After going over some basic questions like:

“How did you hear about Manatee Habitat?”                                                                                                          Researching down payments and what else she needed to purchase a home.

“When did you first enter the program?”                                                                                                                       Started the application process in April 2017. It was not long after that she started logging in her volunteer hours.

“With parenting 2 children, and working full time, was it difficult to do your 300 volunteer hours?”                          Well it took a while but my family helped by taking care of the children while I did my volunteer hours. They have even helped a few times here at the house.

Jasmine’s entire family is super excited for her!  She will have the distinction of being the first homeowner in her family. Ari,yanna and Ja’sai are most excited about having a safe yard to play in; both have big plans for outdoor games!

Something a lot of people don’t realize about Manatee Habitat home ownership is that with the 0% interest rate loans we work with, the mortgage, property tax and insurance monthly payments are less than what many were paying for rent alone.  It’s a dream come true for families to be able to have a savings account and build equity in their homes! For Jasmine, the monthly savings will be going to pay for her nursing school classes!

Moving into her own new home means Jasmine has a few things she needs!  Our homes come with kitchen appliances; stove/oven, and fridge are donated by a national program with Whirlpool! Homeowners must furnish their own washer and dryer so Jasmine in in need of those. She needs everything else for the kitchen except a microwave; one has already been donated.  If you would like to donate a gift card that Jasmine can use to purchase kitchen equipment or help pay for a washer/dryer please reach out to Sheryl Boddy our Director of Community Programs. sboddy@manateehabitat.org