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Bush helps build home, support for program
By DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN
© St. Petersburg Times, TAMPA -- Every time 14-year-old Elena Chandler looks around her sister's new home, she's going to think of the president. That's because a sticky, sweaty and dirty George W. Bush helped build it. Bush joined Habitat for Humanity volunteers Tuesday morning, hammering nails and lifting lumber at the house in east Tampa to shine the light on faith-based organizations and home ownership. He ended his two-day visit here by putting up the last wall of the four-bedroom house for Johana Rodriguez and her family and promising more funding for religious groups that provide social services. Grant Park residents camped in front of their houses to catch a glimpse of Bush. Tuesday morning, a black limousine, with its tinted windows and impressive emblems, weaved through the area. Men in suits and ear pieces looked around while police rerouted traffic. At 7:45, the limousine stopped in front of a row of partly built homes, and Bush emerged, wearing a tan cap and a navy blue Habitat for Humanity shirt. He shook hands and greeted volunteers, many of whom wore T-shirts that read, "I worked on the Habitat House the President built." He signed the shirts. Bush was assigned to Team No. 1, led by Doris Meyer, a nurse from Valrico. "I was his boss," Meyer said. "It was strange telling him to put this here, nail it this way." Bush strapped on a carpenter's belt. With the sun beating down on him, he got on his knees and pounded nails into two-by-fours that became a frame for the right side of the house. He also lifted windows and moved lumber. When volunteers asked how he was holding up in the heat, the sweat-drenched president reminded them he was from Texas. After joining the group in raising the wall, he and Rodriguez grabbed opposite ends of a welcome mat and raised it. She gave him a thumbs up. Rodriguez, a single mother, will move into the house with her two children and two younger siblings in a few months. "He did real good," Meyer said. "He doesn't seem like a stranger to physical work." Meyer said Bush put in a solid hour. While they worked on Rodriguez's house, others hammered away at four other homes on the street. The sounds of construction are not unusual in this neighborhood just off Interstate 4. About 25 homes in the eight-block area were built by Habitat volunteers. Rodriguez's house is the 80th home in Tampa built by Habitat for Humanity, a non-denominational Christian organization that uses volunteers and donations to build homes for the underprivileged. Bush said he wants to triple funding for groups like Habitat for Humanity, which has a partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Grants from HUD pay for property and such things as sewer lines and roads, said Lew Frazar, executive director of Hillsborough County Habitat for Humanity. "Our government should not fear working side-by-side with faith-based organizations," Bush said. "To the skeptics of faith in our society, I say come to the Habitat for Humanity building sites . . . listen to the words that are said, that inspire people to take an extra step to help a neighbor in need."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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Headlines From the Times local news desks Howard Troxler |
