The Herald, Sharon, PA Published Sunday, July 2, 2000

WHEATLAND

Hosanna group does praiseworthy work

By Kristen Garrett
Herald Staff Writer

The sounds of hammers striking nails rang through the air in Wheatland as houses were built for local families.

Hosanna Industries, Inc., is a faith-based, non-profit organization based in Rochester, Pa. Hosanna builds houses for low-income families. The families then have an affordable mortgage payment each month.

The group spent Monday through Friday "blitz-building" a house at 85 Woodland Ave. It is the fourth house on the avenue, and there is one more left to build.

Brian Hetzer, new construction supervisor for Hosanna, said the term "blitz-building" came from the philosophy of helping one person as soon as possible so they can move on to help someone else.

They began building the houses in March. He said they have 60 people working on the 3-bedroom, ranch-style house.

The house is 1,176 square feet and is built at $27 a square foot, Hetzer said. He said it costs the average home builder about $70 a square foot for a house of the same size. Hetzer said Hosanna is able to build the house at such a low cost because they don’t charge for labor. All the work is done by volunteers. Most of the material is also donated or discounted, he said.

Many of the volunteers are high school or college students, Hetzer said. He said they come from church groups, schools or scouting organizations. Teaching a bunch of kids who don’t know anything about building is a challenge, he noted, but it’s worth it. He said as long as the kids have flexibility and a big heart, everything gets finished.

Ashely Songer, 16, of Cranberry said this is the first time she’s volunteered for a project like this. She said she heard about it in church and signed up. "It’s incredible," Ashely said, adding that it’s a lot of work.

Mayor Thomas Stanton said it means a lot to Wheatland to have Hosanna build in the community. He said the borough lost nearly 400 residents after the tornado in 1985 because they couldn’t afford to rebuild, and there weren’t enough houses.

Stanton said the volunteers were treated to dinner during the week by Scoccia’s, McDonald’s, Three By The River and other donors in the community.

Hosanna is affiliated with the Mercer County Housing Authority. Hetzer said the authority has received about 25 applications for the housing. All applicants must meet financial criteria, he said. The authority will determine who receives the housing.



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