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Health & Fitness

NW Metro Atlanta Habitat for Humanity Builds Home for Disabled Vet

NW Metro Atlanta Habitat honors the late Colonel Ivey's wish that his donated property be used to build a home for a disabled veteran.

Saturday, Aug. 4, was the kickoff date for NW Metro Atlanta Habitat for Humanity’s first veterans build, the Ivey House, named in honor of WWII veteran Colonel Ashley Ivey. His generous donation of land and the generosity of the Ivey House sponsors—Wells Fargo West Atlanta Division, Call2Recycle®, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, WellStar Acworth Health Park and Health & Lineback Engineers, Inc.—have made this build possible.

After the kickoff, the walls are up and the house is beginning to take shape. Progress will continue on Aug. 9 and Aug. 16 made possible by a sponsorship from Wells Fargo West Atlanta Division. Wells Fargo has a consistent giving history with NW Metro Atlanta Habitat, which will continue on these exciting build days. The volunteers and crew will build interior walls, wrap the house in Tyvek, install trusses, windows and exterior doors and install insulation and siding.

After 31 years of service in the U.S. Army, Col. Ivey retired to Cobb County with his wife, Ruth. Before he passed away in February, he donated a parcel of land to NW Metro Atlanta Habitat and specified that it be used to build a home for a disabled veteran. Although Col. Ivey was not able to see his dream come true, NW Metro Atlanta Habitat will carry out his wishes while helping another veteran realize his own dream of homeownership. 

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 Col. Ivey hoped that his donation would inspire others, especially future military generations to donate to Habitat to build more homes for veterans. With this house, NW Metro Atlanta Habitat begins a program of building a house per year for a disabled veteran, keeping Colonel Ivey’s message and intentions alive.

According to the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, 6.3 percent of all veterans are living in poverty with nearly 15 percent of disabled veterans living in poverty. There is a crucial need for organizations such as Habitat to provide a ‘hand-up’ to veterans who have given so much to their country.

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Habitat for Humanity of NW Metro Atlanta was founded in 1986 and has since built 342 homes for over 1,163 family members in Cobb, Douglas and Paulding counties. The Affiliate is an ecumenical Christian housing ministry dedicated to creating homeownership opportunities in its tri-county service area through the construction of affordable homes in partnership with God’s people in need—hard working, well-qualified, lower-income families. 

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