William R. Toler | Daily Journal Dobbins Heights resident Edward Tender points out the repairs that have been done to the back of his home by Habitat for Humanity. The organization recently received $28,000 to go toward the building of a new home in the community.

Courtesy Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity of the N.C. Sandhills is awarded a check for $28,000 from the Arthur Perdue Foundation. Front, from left to right: Jana Green, Linda Lindsey, Rita DiNapoli, Alice Robbins, Marilyn Morgan Grube, Lesley King (Perdue), Wayne Osborne and Paul Davis. Back, left to right: Amie Fraley, Carolyn Goltzow, Tim Dwyer, Rev. Michael Dubbs, Michael LaGraff and Jeff Casey .

DOBBINS HEIGHTS — Hammers will begin swinging in September on a new house for one local family.

Habitat for Humanity of the N.C. Sandhills was recently awarded a $28,000 grant from the Arthur W. Perdue Foundation to go toward the building of a home in the small Richmond County community.

“We’re so excited,” said Amie Fraley, executive director of the local Habitat organization, who added the grant money helped fill the gap needed to build the house. “That helps us stay on track with our goal.”

A total of $35,000 was needed for the project.

“Habitat for Humanity is the kind of program that can truly transform a neighborhood, not just by providing a home for a family, but by inspiring leadership and change,” said Kendall Casey, director of Perdue operations in Rockingham. “At Perdue, we are honored to lend our support to Habitat’s new home-building project in Dobbins Heights through foundation funding.”

The check was presented to Habitat’s board of directors in Aberdeen on Tuesday.

Fraley said the organization has been helping with repairs in Dobbins Heights for the past two years, but this will be the first actual build.

Edward Tender is one of the recipients of those repairs.

“Man, they really did some serious work here,” he said at his Gordon Avenue home Tuesday afternoon. “They put new windows in, the put vinyl siding on, it’s been rewired.”

Tender said the group Military Missions in Action helped with the windows.

“It don’t even look like the same house on the block,” he added.

With all the repairs already done to his home, Tender said they’re not done yet.

He said he will be having new insulation and a heat pump installed soon.

“I really appreciate it,” he said. “They have really been a tremendous help. Everything they said they was gonna do has come true.”

There have been 10 Habitat homes built in Richmond County since 2005, according to Fraley.

She said that the land for the location of the home — where construction is slated to begin Sept. 12 — and the receiving family have already been selected.

The organization’s overall goal is to improve home ownership in Richmond County by developing relationships with the communities, she said, adding that another goal is to revitalize Dobbins Heights.

“We’re not just gonna waltz in, build one house and leave,” she said.

Tender agreed, saying he’s been working to help acquire land — including the block across from his home — for more projects.

“We’ve been pushin’ to try and get new housing,” he said. “New housing brings new people and new tax dollars.”

Fraley said there are “all types of ways to support (Habitat for Humanity) without swinging a hammer.”

One of those ways is to provide the 15 lunches once a month, “so our construction team can stay fueled throughout the workday,” she said.

Fraley said the organization was currently working to secure those lunch sponsors, who can be families or church groups.

She said they are also looking for “Muffin Mamas” to bring snacks to the volunteer builders.

Shopping at the Re-Store in Rockingham is another way to help out, Fraley added, since 100 percent of all profits go toward building projects in this county.

For more information about this project or volunteering or on Habitat for Humanity of the N.C. Sandhills, contact Danielle Castellino 910-331-3846 or [email protected].

Reach reporter William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 and follow him on Twitter @William_r_Toler.