FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) – The seventh annual Habitat for Humanity CEO Build at BBI Village in Fort Lauderdale kicked off Saturday, with local business leaders building new homes for several new homeowners.<\/p>\n
Homeowners received an American dream come true, as people came together to build for those in need.<\/p>\n
Mario Josselin, a single father with two jobs before he soon becomes a registered nurse in October, showed off his new home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will be Omari\u2019s room right here,\u201d said Josselin.<\/p>\n
Josselin\u2019s new home is a fresh start for his two teenagers, Omari and Omani, and a way for them to plant roots.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy kids will have the stability they need, the comfort to know that they can make a mistake, and still have a place to come back home,\u201d said Josselin. \u201cCause usually, when you\u2019re renting, you can have your kids leave, and then the economy changes and rent just shoots sky high, and now you have to keep moving.\u201d<\/p>\n
7News anchor Craig Stevens also attended, as well as major CEOs and local business leaders representing about 400,000 employees. <\/p>\n
\u201cImagine a world where everyone gets a safe and decent place to live,\u201d said Stevens.<\/p>\n
All of those attending stepped up and got to work, and showcased the need for Habitat for Humanity of Broward\u2019s major role.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe inventory shortage in this community makes it the most housing cost burden situation in the whole country, and to have a vibrant economic community requires creative solutions,\u201d said Nancy Robin, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Broward. \u201cIt requires leadership, and it really requires the private sector, the social sector and the public sector to come together for solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
CEO co-chairs Robert Taylor of BBI and Brent Burns of JM Family Enterprises said this is a great way for their companies to give back.<\/p>\n
\u201cHousing, and housing costs, are a national problem, and they\u2019re certainly a huge problem here in Broward County, so the sense we have is that we\u2019re at least chipping away at one of the biggest problems that we have as a community,\u201d said Taylor.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe numbers are staggering with respect to how lives are transformed when they own a home. The education level of their children goes through the roof, and their grades at school go up, their health improves,\u201d said Burns.<\/p>\n
Co-President and General Manager of Sunbeam Television Paul Magnes also shared his thoughts.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s never been more difficult to buy a home in Broward these days, so to help families with kids get into a place in the community so close to their jobs, it\u2019s really important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
WSVN is a longtime supporter and sponsor of Habitat For Humanity.<\/p>\n
FOR MORE INFORMATION:<\/p>\n
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami
305-634-3628
www.miamihabitat.org<\/a><\/p>\n