Turning Hard Work into a Home

ETBU partners with Northeast Texas Habitat for Humanity to build new home for Marshall family

Just as building materials are essential to the solid foundation of a house, community engagement is a key component in the foundation of the ETBU student experience. East Texas Baptist University students joined up with a Marshall single mother and her sons to work side by side during their Spring Break in order to build the family a brand new home through Northeast Texas Habitat for Humanity.

Marshall mom of five and Certified Nursing Assistant LaToya Brooks completed the 18+ month long process, thanks to the help of more than 200 ETBU faculty and students who volunteered their Spring Break to help build Brooks’ new three bedroom, two bathroom home in Marshall.

Brooks first applied for the home through Northeast Texas Habitat for Humanity in late 2018 and was notified she qualified for the at cost mortgage on the home in the summer of 2019.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I was so excited and humbled. This is truly a blessing. To be able to say ‘I’m a homeowner,’ that’s just amazing.”

Habitat, a 501©3 nonprofit, is able to help build and finance new homes at an affordable rate to qualifying families, due to the donations of local residents, businesses, and organizations like ETBU, Northeast Texas Habitat for Humanity CEO LaJuan Gordon said.

“This is a hand up, not a hand out,” Gordon said. “The homeowner will have put in a $1,000 down payment and more than 350 volunteer hours by the time their new home is built. They also attend financial classes to help them understand mortgages, property taxes, and home insurance, so we can help them keep and maintain their home.”

ETBU owned and donated the parcel of land on which Brooks’ and a future Habitat home will be built, helping Habitat build the home at a reduced cost. Several business sponsors and individuals also donated materials and services to help with the home build.

“ETBU has rehabbed about 15 homes in the community over the past four and a half years as part of our Neighborhood Renewal Initiative we started in 2016,” ETBU President J. Blair Blackburn said. “This

is ETBU’s first ‘BLITZ’ home build in partnership with Northeast Texas Habitat for Humanity. The University has also acquired 16 vacant properties in deplorable conditions and removed the houses and debris so future homes for Marshall families and students can be built.”

East Texas Baptist owns seven more properties which it plans to donate to provide affordable, quality housing in Marshall.

“I personally knew Millard Fuller, who started Habitat for Humanity in Georgia and the Fuller Center for Housing. I had the opportunity to help build a number of houses with him, so to know ETBU is now carrying on his vision is incredible.” Dr. Blackburn added. “This is the first of many homes ETBU will build with Habitat in our community. When people have a safe home in a secure neighborhood, it changes the quality of their life. As servant leaders, we are trying to set a model for other organizations and businesses to adopt this community renewal initiative to bring new homes to Marshall and transform our community.”

The Arbor Day Foundation recognized East Texas Baptist as a 2019 Tree Campus USA university. Tree Campus USA is an Arbor Day Foundation program that honors colleges and universities and their leadership for promoting healthy trees, and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation.

“East Texas Baptist is grateful to have our Director of Landscaping Jason Funderburk, who cares for our campus every day,” Assistant Vice President for University Operations Chris Crawford said. “Because of his leadership, our campus is recognized for being one of the most beautiful in Texas, and we are proud to receive recognition as a Tree Campus USA institution.”

In order to achieve this recognition, the University met the five core standards for sustainable campus forestry required by Tree Campus USA, including: establishment of a tree advisory committee, evidence of a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance, and the sponsorship of student service-learning projects.

“We continue to grow the Tree Campus USA program and drive more campuses across America to strive for Tree Campus USA recognition each year," president of the Arbor Day Foundation Dan Lambe said. "This program sets an example for not only students, but the surrounding communities on how trees are a critical part of healthier and more sustainable communities."

In honor of Texas’ Arbor Day in November, a group of Tiger student leaders helped plant five Live Oak trees in front of the new Oaks on Grove Townhomes along North Grove Street, and the ETBU Landscaping team planted an additional 50+ more trees at sites across the East Texas Baptist campus.

“The most important part of the tree planting to me was seeing fellow ETBU students and athletes all together for a good cause,” freshman Tiger Baseball player Jake Miller said. “I thought it was really cool to be able to plant trees that will be here for future students, because it will make the campus more elegant and beautiful when they begin to sprout with leaves and life. It was really special being able to plant trees that will be here for years after me, because whenever I come back to visit, I will see the tree that I helped plant and remember the good times with my teammates.”

ETBU continues to foster and create opportunities for the University community to donate their time and service for the efforts of campus beautification and for the sustainability of the Marshall community. "ETBU and the Arbor Day Foundation share a vision to help others understand and use trees as a solution to many of the global issues we face today, including air quality, water quality, climate change, deforestation, poverty, and hunger," ETBU President J. Blair Blackburn said. "We want our students to understand the story of God's creation and our responsibility as His stewards to care for the Earth He entrusted to us."