BLOUNT CO., Tenn. (WATE) — A single mom of three daughters is ready for a fresh start on a new home. It was built by team members with Clayton Homes, a company that encourages its employees to give where their heart leads them.
In this case, hundreds of Clayton employees decided to throw their support behind Blount County Habitat for Humanity, and a home for Johna Hawk and her kids.
Johna proudly gave a tour of her soon-to-be-finished home to one of the volunteers who helped build it.Ted Rutland works for Clayton Homes.
“We got to come out here,” he said, ” just to be a small part of this was really a big deal.”
It is a big deal for Johna and her daughters.”I’ve actually been on this process for four years, saving,” Johna said. “I ended up getting custody of my granddaughter in the process, which slowed it down a little bit. A blessing but slowed it down a little bit.”Johna went on to tell us, “I think (the kids) are happier than me. They’ve never had a home.”
“To come over and watch them play with the other kids and run around the yards? It’s a blessing.”
381 Clayton Team Members helped make this home happen, volunteering 1500 hours over the summer and into the fall. Clayton pays 8 hours of volunteer time off for full time staff, and 4 hours for those working part time.
Rutland said, “Clayton started this team member volunteer program. It’s a companywide program for our 21,000-plus employees.”
The team helped transform a piece of property into a place to call home for a hard-working and thankful mom.
“Thank you again,” Johna said, “I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”
For more information on Blount Habitat for Humanity, visit www.blounthabitat.org
