We are ecstatic to welcome Sheneshia to the Habitat family. She will become our 200th Habitat homeowner this September 2017! Read on to learn a little more about her Habitat journey, and join us on September 23rd to celebrate 200 homes.

Please tell us a little about you and your family.

My name is Sheneshia Anderson and I am 38 years old. I have a very good heart, I love to help people, and I love to laugh. I have a son named DeMario Anderson who is 19 years old. He is very playful and has a heart of gold, he will actually give you the clothes off of his body!

How does your family spend quality time? What are your hobbies?

My family and I love to travel and just enjoy each other’s company. We love to have family gatherings and go to sporting events.

Where do you work?

I work at Genesis Healthcare (Foxglove Center). I have been there for 8 years working as a Certified Nursing Assistant. I also work at Riverwoods Behavioral Health Services.

Why did you apply to be a Habitat homeowner?

I have always wanted to buy a house but never succeeded because of personal reasons like my financial situation. After working on my credit to improve it, I decided to give the program a try.

What are you looking forward to the most when you are a Habitat homeowner?

As a Habitat homeowner, I look forward to knowing that I do not have to sign another lease and wondering whether my rent will increase. My personal goals are to become financially stable, finish school, and continue to volunteer to help future homeowners.

Where do you live now?

I [used to] stay in a 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom apartment with my son. I moved out of my apartment in June 2017. If I would have renewed my lease, my rent would have went up another $50. My current living situation right now is with my sister and her family. I know I’m not a burden on them because they love the company, but it’s nothing like having your own.

How did you hear about Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity?

I heard about Southern Crescent Habitat through a family member.

What about Habitat has been the biggest surprise to you?

The response time once I turned in my application in was a surprise because I actually thought it was going to take longer.

Describe the hardships you have faced on your road to the American Dream of homeownership.

The hardships that I have faced are working 2 jobs and making sure my son is well-taken care of while trying to complete all my hours in order to become a Habitat homeowner.

How will your life change once you move into your new home?

My life will be different because I will be able to work on my next goal of becoming financially stable since my living situation is not a burden anymore. It’s like having a load lifted off your chest.

What is the first thing you are going to do in your new home?

The first thing I am going to do in my new home is give thanks to my God all mighty for allowing me to be a homeowner.

What would you like to say to Habitat and the volunteers that are going to help you build your new home?

I would like to say thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart to all the volunteers and donors and even those that wanted to participate but couldn’t for making it possible for my son and me to have a place to actually call our own!

It’s hard to believe summer’s half-way over, and while we are greatly anticipating the cooler fall weather, all of us at the offices of SC Habitat are not looking forward to saying goodbye to our summer interns, Mary Johnson (left) and Wendy Martinez (right). Before these ladies head back to school, we had the chance to talk with them about what it’s like working at SC Habitat.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Wendy: My name is Wendy. I am from Gainesville, Georgia, I go to Georgia Tech and I’m studying economics. I love going out to restaurants and eating new foods. I love food.

Mary: Well, my name Is Mary. I am a college student. I’m studying biology. I like to shop, swim, spend money, go out with friends, that’s about it!

How did you become interested in Habitat for Humanity?

Wendy: I learned about it through my friend Trisha. I think it’s a great organization and I really have always liked giving back to the community and I think this is a great way to serve people and help people out so I’m really glad that I’m doing this.

Mary: I’ve been with Habitat for over 12 years now because my mom is a homeowner with Habitat. I’ve kinda volunteered since I was small!

What’s your favorite part of working for SC Habitat?

Wendy: The people—everyone is really nice. I really like the casual culture too; I think it suits me.

Mary: The people we get to help is my favorite part: whenever I get to see a family kind of transition from the beginning stages to home ownership, what we’re really about.

What’s a typical day at the office look like for you?

Wendy: Usually I’ll come in around 9, check my e-mail, I read the news and then start on the work I need to get done—usually it involves shopping for food for the youth program and then just helping out Ciara, who is the youth program coordinator. I worked with Trisha and Justin to write a sponsorship package for our youth program, I was looking at food donations and ticket donations for field trips for the youth program. It was a lot of project planning, and a big part of my job is to make sure that we stay inside the budget and plan for expenses and look at details. I also had to be with the kids last week, and I got to teach them a few lessons during the day.

Mary: On a typical day I come in and see what tasks are at hand for the day, make a couple calls. My favorite work project so far has been summer youth camp, even though it has a lot of things to it, it’s been really fun. Accounting stuff has been a lot of fun too.

What has been your most memorable moment during your internship at SC Habitat?

Wendy: I really liked when everyone sang happy birthday to me! That was really nice of everyone.

Mary: Being in the room with the development team and having good laughs, talking with everybody!

If you were a superhero which one would you be?

Wendy: I’d be Tony Stark, because I really like the inside of his helmet.

Mary: Wonder woman because she’s the ultimate woman; she’s strong, she’s wise, and the woman version of Superman. She can do it all.

What’s your favorite quote?

Wendy: Philippians 4:13 – I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Mary: Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody.

Interested in getting involved this fall? E-mail our volunteer coordinator, kiera.dunn@schabitat.org to sign up to build with us.