Local Habitat in the running for $1000s

Published 10:23 pm Monday, October 6, 2008

Habitat for Humanity International is in the running for the big bucks and has as good a chance as any of bringing home the greenbacks.

Fred Johnson, Americorps VISTA with the Pike County Habitat organization, said he sees dollars signs and those signs could number as many at 250,000.

“That’s how much money is out there for Habitat for Humanity to win,” Johnson said, with a big ol’ grin. “First prize in the Wells Fargo Someday Stories Contest is a quarter of a million dollars.”

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Through Nov. 10, Pike Countians and “all their families, friends and neighbors” are invited to visit www.wellsfargo.com/somedaycontest/hfh and vote for their favorite Someday Story finalist.

Votes will be tracked by zip code so those in the Pike County area should enter the Troy zip code, which is 36081.

“And, when you vote for your favorite story, also vote Habitat for Humanity as your favorite cause,” Johnson said. “Wells Fargo will award $250,000 to the cause receiving the most votes. The cause getting the second most votes will received $150,000 and the third-most votes will receive $50,000.”

The three causes that Wells Fargo has selected as beneficiaries of the Someday Stories Contest are Habitat for Humanity, Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Junior Achievement.

Habitat for Humanity International will distribute its award among the three Habitat affiliates generating the most votes during the campaign. The affiliate generating the most votes will receive 50 percent of Habitat’s award, the second-place affiliate will receive 30 percent and the third-place affiliate will receive 20 percent of the total.

“If Pike County Habitat for Humanity is one of the top three participating affiliates, we will receive a lot of money, depending on which place Habitat for Humanity International wins and then which place we win,” Johnson said. “If Habitat International wins first place and we are the first place affiliate, we would receive $112,500. That’s a lot of money. If Habitat International gets third place and Pike County Habitat is in third place, we would receive $9,000. That’s the high and the low and we would be proud of either one or anything in between.”

The Wells Fargo Someday Stories Contest is a chance for Pike County Habitat for Humanity to get additional funding and to provide more homes for local families in need of decent housing.

“I want to encourage all Pike Countians to go on-line and vote for Habitat for Humanity in the Wells Fargo Someday Stories Contest,” Johnson said.