Habitat’s Panther House 3 ready for family move-in

According to www.habitat.org, eligible families must be in need of safe, affordable housing; fall within the low-to-moderate income bracket; be willing to partner with Habitat through “sweat equity,” that is, helping build their own home or that of others; and be able and willing to pay an affordable mortgage.

“Obviously, they have to have a steady income. They have to have decent credit, qualify for a mortgage, but then also, it comes down to necessity of needing a home,” explained Towns/Union Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Matt Donnelly. “When we get down to the final 10 families, we actually go out to see their living conditions, and then we make our final judgment on who really needs it the worst.”

July 31 was actually Donnelly’s first house dedication. It felt fitting, considering all the work he put in alongside the head of the Wimberly family.

“It was a little overwhelming at first, taking on the role of the executive director. It’s a lot of responsibility,” said Donnelly, who admitted the process was made more difficult by a lack of volunteers.

Normally, after the students complete the house up to the “rough” stage, volunteers come in to complete the finishing work. Donnelly, who luckily has a background in construction, had to install the insulation, drywall and plumbing fixtures himself, on top of painting.

Dylan Wimberly, as part of the program’s sweat-equity agreement, worked alongside Donnelly installing the flooring and doing touch-up painting.

“It’s life changing for them, and that’s what we’re here to do; we’re here to help folks,” said Donnelly, simply proud that all that hard work had come to fruition.

With a market value of $350,000 and located on property with a pastoral view that visitors agreed was “beautiful,” the house will be an upgrade for the Wimberlys; Dylan’s mother, Donna Schrek, described their current living situation as a “hunter’s cabin” where the family “is on top of each other.”

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home that they’ll be moving into will have plenty of room for Dylan, his wife, and their two daughters, and there will even be a yard to play in and a deck to sit on and continue the family tradition of watching the stars.

On the day of the dedication, Friday, July 31, Habitat leaders and community members were invited to tour the house. Although largely empty, some boxes and small items of furniture have been moved into the house, and Wimberly said the family will move in before rent is due for their last placement.

Although Wimberly’s wife and girls couldn’t attend Friday, their support team showed up to provide a warm welcome. Habitat Board President Melissa Alexander and Vice President Pam Rangel congratulated Dylan and commended him on his hard work.

Meg Whitley performed a dedication prayer for the house by instructing everyone to lay their hands on the walls and pray for the peace, health and prosperity of the family inside and for the structural integrity of those walls to hold strong.

She surprised Wimberly by offering to fill the cabinets with groceries, which he readily agreed to once the pair’s schedules allow them to go shopping together.

Other members of the community provided housewarming gifts such as a cross-stitch frame marking the 2026 move-in date and a painting to decorate the younger daughter’s room.

“I just want to tell everybody I appreciate it,” said an emotional Wimberly. “If you would have told me I was going to buy a house this year, I probably would have laughed in your face, but this is great.”

Along with Union County Schools, Towns/Union Habitat for Humanity wants to thank several organizations for their role in helping make homeownership a reality for deserving families. This includes River City Bank, which was inadvertently left out of a previous acknowledgment.