The Lydia’s Homeplace project was fully funded, completed construction, and welcomed its first student residents in the fall of 2020. We thank all our supporters, sponsors, and partners for making this dream a reality! To support Athens Area Habitat’s current projects, please see our donations page. Thanks!
This year, we’ve teamed up with Lydia’s Place to serve students in our community who’ve never had a stable home.
Lydia’s Place helps young folks who have fled abuse, aged out of the foster care system, or are otherwise in danger of becoming homeless. They have no one to cosign leases for them. No family to help them out in a pinch. No safety net when times get hard.
Here is the challenge we’re meeting:
For those who do manage to enroll in college, with no family to support them and no homes to go to, the odds are still steep. Some have to choose between books or a meal plan. Many are homeless during summers and holidays. And a single unpaid parking ticket or infirmary bill can get them locked out of dorms and class registration, putting them back on the street.
“Lydia’s Homeplace” will provide pre-paid housing for local students striving to beat the odds!
Lydia’s Homeplace is an off-campus residential unit that will house 8 local college students at a time, at no cost to them, so they’ll never have to worry about where they’re going to sleep, and they can focus on studying for classes and building a future. These students are some of the most hard-working and optimistic people you’ll ever meet — maybe because they have to be.
Our Committee of 1000 was based on the potential of small gifts to do great things. Last year, the Committee helped kick off the Kinda Tiny Houses which are now under construction! This year, our goal is to complete Lydia’s Homeplace.
Lydia’s Place and local donors have already contributed $50,000 toward construction and rent.
For a tax-deductible gift of $80 or more per person, you can join the Committee of 1000 and be part of this powerful collaboration that will change lives year after year. And you’ll receive an invitation to our annual gala, hosted by our local sponsors in January.
Your contribution can be matched dollar-for-dollar!
This year, we have an offer from a local foundation to match all gifts to Committee of 1000 with a donation to the Athens Area Habitat General Fund — dollar-for-dollar for the first $10,000, and fifty cents for every additional dollar up to our goal, which would turn $30,000 into $50,000. Your gift right now will help us maximize this generous matching gift offer!