Shoes have more value than you might think.
Thanks to pallets of shoes donated by Walmart, Habitat for Humanity today joined Walmart associates to break ground on a new home for a deserving family in need.
“We’ve seen firsthand how Habitat for Humanity helps families get out of substandard housing and achieve their dream of homeownership,” said Stanley Wood, general manager of the Walmart Distribution Center (DC) in James City County. “Walmart strives daily to build and nurture relationships and serve the communities where we live. Our associates are very excited to help build this Habitat home.”
In 2016, the Walmart DC found itself with excess inventory. Based on its previous relationship with Habitat, Walmart reached out to see if it could use 159 pallets of new shoes. Those shoes were later sold at the Habitat ReStores for $200,000 – proceeds that funded the materials needed to build the home.
It’s the fourth home Walmart has sponsored with Habitat for Humanity to make families’ dreams come true.
“We look forward to partnering with Walmart on building a home so close to the Walmart Distribution Center,” said Cathy McQuade, president of the local Habitat Board of Directors. “It is inspiring to have Walmart donate product for us to sell in our Habitat ReStores and also come out to help build a home.”
The excited homeowner-to-be is the Ruttley family. Lakia Ruttley was born and raised in Toano and is very close to her family. She has steady employment and has worked at Eastern State Hospital since 2005. She has three children, one attending Hornsby Middle School and two at Matoaka Elementary. The Ruttley family attends Chickahominy Baptist Church, where Lakia sings in the choir.
The Ruttley family is more than a little eager to begin construction on their new home. They have completed over 200 of the 400 hours of “sweat equity” working at the Habitat ReStores and helping to build other Habitat homes, a basic tenet of Habitat for Humanity. They will repay the no-interest mortgage over a period of 30 years, illustrating Habitat for Humanity’s objective to give families a “hand up” rather than a “hand out.” “We are so excited to own our home finally,” said Lakia Ruttley. “We actually look forward to paying a mortgage instead of paying rent.”
About Habitat for Humanity PGW
Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg is a non-profit organization serving the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson and Williamsburg and the counties of Charles City, James City, New Kent and York. The local affiliate has built, renovated and repaired more than 250 homes since its founding in 1985. Habitat relies on building partnerships, volunteer labor, and donated materials to continue to produce safe, decent, affordable housing to homeowners with excellent credit, an income between 45-80 percent of the area median income, and the ability to pay for their new Habitat home. Homeowners purchase the new house with a no-interest, 20 to 30-year mortgage carried by Habitat. For more information, visit HabitatPGW.org or contact Habitat CEO Janet V. Green at 757-377-3434 (cell).
About Walmart in Virginia
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, over 260 million customers and members visit our more than 11,600 stores under nearly 60 banners in 28 countries and eCommerce websites. In Virginia we serve customers at 155 retail units and online through Walmart Grocery Pickup, Walmart.com and Jet.com. We are proud to employ 44,000 associates in our stores, Sam’s Clubs and four distribution centers in Virginia. Walmart supports local businesses, spending $ 2.6 billion with Virginia suppliers in FY17, which supported more than 40,000 supplier jobs. Learn more at the Walmart Today blog, and our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram channels.
Submitted by Sara Hunt
