In 19th century America, building barns was a community affair. The whole village would come out to pitch in and “raise” their neighbor’s barn.

Why? Well, because new farms benefitted everyone, and because a barn that burned down threatened to bring the whole farm down with it if one family had to take weeks to construct a replacement.

It’s in that spirit that the non-profit Athens Area Habitat for Humanity has declared October 2026 to be “Barntober,” celebrated with an open call for neighbors to pitch in on the Micah’s Creek neighborhood build site, and culminating with the “Solar Barn Raising” on Saturday, October 24th.

Typically, volunteer groups sign up weeks or months in advance to work side-by-side with the Habitat crew and future homeowners on Saturdays at Habitat build sites. In October, Athens Area Habitat will be accepting individual or group volunteers on Tuesdays through Fridays as well, as we push to complete all 15 bungalows for “Lydia’s Second Home,” located on the Micah’s Creek site.

Lydia’s Second Home is Athens Habitat’s second collaboration with Lydia’s Place to provide safe, stable housing for young adults in the Athens area coming from a background of homelessness who’ve been accepted into colleges and universities here. The odds are heavily stacked against these youths, who have no family to fall back on, no one to cosign loans, nowhere to go when the dorms close. The bungalows being built this month will be their safe haven, giving them the stability they need to earn their degrees and change the trajectories of their lives for the better, so they can achieve their dreams!

Working on the Lydia’s Second Home project truly is a labor of love for us, an opportunity to make a crucial difference in the lives of young people. If you’d like to join us, please register for a volunteer shift today. No special skills are needed. Our crew will direct volunteers to on-site jobs depending on their experience and abilities and what needs to be done on that day. You can learn more about volunteering with Habitat on this web page: Volunteer on a Build Site.

 

The capstone of Barntober is the Solar Barn Raising, scheduled for Saturday, October 24th, from 10 AM to 12 noon (rain date November 7th), organized by the Bright Homes Energy Initiative. At this event, folks will be able to learn more about residential solar power, view the structures under construction, and ceremonially help to raise new solar panels onto one of the bungalows.

Bright Homes Energy Initiative, a volunteer group of Habitat supporters spearheading the solarization of Micah’s Creek, is working to reduce dependence on fossil fuels by facilitating the use of clean renewable energy, while creating a neighborhood with some of the lowest utility bills in the state. It’s rare to see homes in Georgia equipped with solar installations at move-in, and even less common for those systems to include battery back-up. With batteries installed, homeowners in Micah’s Creek and students living at Lydia’s Second Home will have limited power during outages, which can be critical for residents who are insulin dependent or rely on electronic medical devices.

Athens Habitat and Bright Homes view Micah’s Creek as a replicable framework for new affordable neighborhoods in Georgia and across the country. The “Solar Barn Raising” is an opportunity for the general public to see what’s happening locally, learn about the technologies involved, and meet the workers, volunteers, and sponsors who are driving the effort forward. Mayor Kelly Girtz, Lydia’s Place executive director Diane Brantley, and Athens Area Habitat executive director Spencer Frye will speak at the event.

To RSVP or to learn more about the solarization project, go to BrightHomesEnergy.org or respond directly by clicking the button below:

 

We look forward to seeing you at Micah’s Creek, as a volunteer or to help us celebrate the Solar Barn Raising. Together, we’re doing great things!