Alabama Power Service Organization volunteers turn young mother’s Habitat dream into brick and mortar
Volunteers with the Magic City Alabama Power Service Organization spent 10 days this month working on a Habitat for Humanity home for Ra'Shuna Jackson. (Eric Mason)
For Ra’Shuna Jackson, owning a home seemed out of reach. But the impossible becomes possible today for the young mother, with the help of Magic City Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO) volunteers.
The Magic City APSO chapter built Jackson’s home in Calera June 1-10, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Birmingham. It’s the 23rd Habitat home constructed by Magic City volunteers since 1998. They will present the keys to Jackson at a ceremony today.
“When I moved out of my parents’ house, I saw how expensive an apartment was and wanted something better for me and my daughter,” said Jackson, a loan processor at BBVA Compass Bank. “I wanted more space, a better school system for my daughter and a place for her to play, so I thought I might as well try to get something that I can call my own.”
Habitat for Humanity, Alabama Power help Ra’Shuna Jackson become a homeowner from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
When a family friend told Jackson about Habitat’s home ownership program, she knew she had found her answer. Habitat for Humanity helps provide affordable housing for working families like Jackson and her 2-year-old daughter, Kassidy.
Buying her new house is not a cakewalk. Along with agreeing to pay a no-interest loan, Jackson has completed 300 hours of “sweat equity,” which included working alongside Magic City volunteers to help build her home. She has also helped with other Habitat construction projects and attended various home ownership education classes.
A project of that magnitude doesn’t just happen. Several months before the build, Magic City APSO Project Co-Chairs Adam Swafford and Wayne Garner and their team began working with Habitat to line up subcontractors to assist with the construction of the house, recruiting volunteers, arranging for snacks and meals, and obtaining paint, lighting fixtures and other materials.
Since the 10-day project began, Swafford, Metro South engineer, and Garner, Power Delivery Contract Services team leader, have worked together to keep the volunteers on track to ensure the house is completed on schedule.
“First and foremost, you can’t do it without the grace of God,” said Swafford, who helped build his first Habitat house as a co-op student at Alabama Power 14 years ago. “We always have employees who volunteer year after year. Employees who work for our company can pull off just about anything. It’s the family atmosphere we work around.”
Superior Solutions
More than 140 Magic City volunteers teamed to build a Superior Solutions gold-rated home for Jackson. They helped with everything from raising the walls, installing siding, windows and doors, and framing the rooms to painting, laying tile and putting shelves in the closets.
“Most of the volunteers who come out here are willing to do anything,” Garner said. “We just give them some steps to get them started on the right page. They’re doing a great job and have been really receptive to what we’ve asked them to do.”
For Zack Graham, volunteering to help build Jackson’s house is his way of giving back to the community.
“I would say the biggest challenges have been the heat and trying to stay hydrated,” said Graham, materials coordinator, Trussville Crew Headquarters. “There are also a lot of people here to help, which is great for Alabama Power and APSO. But there are close quarters in the house. You’re having to walk around people, and make sure you don’t scratch up the walls.”
Jackson’s Superior Solutions home is equipped with several features that are expected to help lower the family’s energy bills. Along with high-performance windows and doors, there will be Energy Star appliances, lighting controls and fixtures, an electric water heater and energy-efficient heating and cooling. As an Alabama Power all-electric Superior Solutions home, it will receive a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rating, which is the industry standard for measuring energy efficiency.
Low-toxic paints, caulking and adhesives will make the home cleaner and healthier. A rain barrel will be installed to help with water conservation. Volunteers will recycle leftover wood and other construction materials when possible to help reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.
“A Superior Solutions gold-rated home is 15 to 20 percent more efficient than a traditional house,” said Alabama Power Market Specialist Starla Curry-Hilliard. “We developed the Superior Solutions program here at Alabama Power because we are leaders in the industry, and we want our customers to have a more comfortable living environment and lower energy costs. What’s great about Habitat is they care about homeowners long after they’ve moved in, and that’s why Habitat has adopted our Superior Solutions program.”
‘A great attitude’
Ra’Shuna Jackson and her daughter, Kassidy, are ready to move into their new home. (Eric Mason)
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Birmingham site supervisors Chris Cosby and Tim Agee were on hand throughout the project to provide advice and guidance when needed. Their job, said Cosby, is to bring “order out of the chaos,” especially with so many volunteers working together in close quarters.
“We have forged an alliance with APSO over the years,” Cosby said. “All the volunteers show up with a great attitude. They are always asking what they can do to help. We can count on APSO to build a house in a short time and do it well. That makes a difference.”
At the ceremony today, along with the keys Jackson will receive a hammer and a family Bible as symbols of the hard work and the hundreds of hours that went into building her home.
“I’m really excited to have my own home,” said Jackson. “I really appreciate Habitat and Alabama Power for putting in all these volunteer hours for me. I’m pretty sure there are a lot of other things they could be doing. For them to take their time out to help someone else is awesome.”
