Churches, families, and volunteers participate in Habitat for Humanity's faith build

Dozens of volunteers gathered together Monday to participate in the annual Habitat for Humanity Detroit Faith Build. 

Volunteers started arriving early in the morning to help build homes in the Morningside Commons community on Detroit's east side.

The major house sponsors include The Presbytery of Detroit, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, and Habitat Grosse Pointe Partners -- a coalition of twelve various denominational churches in the Grosse Pointes.

The city of Detroit also helped sponsor a home with a Community Development Block Grant.  The state also contributed funds.

Governor Jennifer Granholm and First Gentleman Dan Mulhern made it a family affair.  Their family is helping to fund and build a home with Henry Ford Health System.

"This is such a tremendous… tremendous… way for our family to help give back," said Granholm.

The First Gentleman's mother grew up a few miles from the site. 

"We have cousins coming from New York, Louisiana, Chicago, Florida.  All around the country people are coming back to make a difference," said Dan Mulhern.

The future home owner is Kenyotta Lewis who is a single mother of three girls.

"I can say that no one in Detroit has ever had the governor to build a home for them.  So I am so excited," said Lewis.  "It means a lot to me."

Lewis just moved back to Michigan from Arkansas.  To own this low interest home, she will take financial literacy courses and earning sweat equity hours by working on her home and others in the neighborhood.

Her home is one of two new homes on Maryland that will be built from the ground up.  A third home next door will be rehabilitated.

Governor Granholm also encouraged other families to consider planning a family reunion around building a Habitat for Humanity home. 

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