State Farm gives $20k to help build Southwood Homes with Habitat for Humanity

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - A grant from State Farm is helping Habitat for Humanity fund a big project.

The money will go towards building more houses in the Southwood Community.

“We’ve been raising funds for this development since I guess for the past three years, so it’s been great to see it in person, how it’s come to life, since all of the money we raise goes directly towards this,” said Cailan Kelly, president of UVA’s Habitat for Humanity club.

The project brought together students like Kelly from UVA’s Habitat for Humanity group and State Farm employees, like Gary Albert.

“Being able to make homeownership accessible - it’s a bridge, it helps get people maybe that didn’t think homeownership was a possibility. It was just a dream, something out of reach, and now you can see yourself being part of that,” Albert said. “You wanna have people start making progress towards financial stability and home ownership and having a permanent place to call home, it’s a big part of that.”

The UVA Habitat for Humanity club plans to match $20,000 grant through its own fundraiser this month.

“Rakeathon is our largest fundraising event. We do it every year. Last year, we raised $45,000 and had 700 volunteers, 500 of them being UVA students. It’ll be on November 12,” Kelly said.

When finished, Southwood is expected to have more than 1000 homes with mixed incomes.

“As students, it’s really important to get outside of the UVA bubble and be in the community and understand our impact too on the affordable housing crisis, and so it’s really powerful to feel like you’re having a more tangible impact,” Kelly said.

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