Habitat for Humanity Wall-Raising Ceremony

Christ School and Asheville Christian Academy Raise the First Wall of their Habitat for Humanity Student Build Project

After months of planning and fundraising, the Christ School community finally realized their vision of building a Habitat home this year by raising the structure’s first wall at the Swannanoa build site.

On Friday, April 5, Christ School faculty and nearly one hundred Greenies joined with friends from Asheville Christian Academy and Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity to participate in the wall-raising ceremony, cheering the group's motto: “One Home. Two Schools. Everyone’s Future.” Together, both schools raised nearly $40,000 to build the Habitat home that will be given to Swannanoa resident Tammy Haynie and her three children. They also recruited additional students, faculty, and school community members in order to put in thousands of hours needed to build the house.

Tammy Haynie and her daughter Shelby also participated in the wall-raising ceremony. Tammy visited Christ School in February, and told students that she is forever grateful to Asheville Christian Academy, Christ School, and Habitat for Humanity for the home that they are building for her family.

Despite a history of rivalry and competition between these two schools, Christ School student Alex Hudak reminded the crowd that “we are all wearing the same hard hats, competing on the same team to beat the same opponent: a lack of affordable housing in the Asheville area.” 

The student service leaders hope that this partnership will serve as a blueprint for future partnerships between other schools. The students plan to speak at conferences and assist other schools that are interested in undertaking cooperative builds.

Students and school community members will continue building the house through June. The Haynie family hopes to move into their new home in October of this year.

Watch a video of the wall-raising celebration here, courtesy of WLOS. 

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