Kanya Johnson holds the key to her Habitat home that was made possible by Riverside students raising more than $100,000 during Spirit Week.
Riverside students raised more than $100,000 during Spirit Week last fall to help fund the construction of Johnson’s new home. Students have also volunteered to help build the house.
Johnson has always been inspired by her mother, a single mom who worked hard to rear five children from the time Kanya was 13-years-old.
As a participant in the Habitat homeownership program, Johnson put more than 200 hours of sweat equity into the construction of her home over the past few months.
“The sky is the limit. You can go wherever your determination will take you,” Johnson said. “Once you put your mind to it and set goals, the things you want most will begin to happen.”
The three-bedroom, two-bath, energy-efficient house was the 351st Habitat for Humanity home built in Greenville County in the past 33 years. Johnson will pay a monthly affordable mortgage.
The Riverside build is a first for a Habitat Greenville spirit week partnership,
“These students did more than raise money,” Monroe Free, Habitat Greenville President/CEO, said. “They helped a family get a new future. They are not just building a house, but a home where the Johnson family will thrive.”
Heather Greene, Riverside’s Spirit Week Coordinator, said a major reason the students decided to work with Habitat is because they could see their project completed by the end of the school year. “There is a feeling of accomplishment,” Greene said. “They were able to do so much in such a short amount of time.”