Habitat for Humanity of Berks County dedicated a newly rehabilitated home Tuesday afternoon at 924 Douglass St. in Reading, celebrating the completion of a project that will provide a local family with a new start while marking the organization’s first home in the 9th and Douglass streets neighborhood.
The ceremony held Tuesday afternoon brought together Habitat officials, local leaders, educators, students, volunteers and community partners to recognize new homeowner Guadalupe and her family, who completed Habitat Berks’ First-Time Homeowner Program before receiving the keys to the home.
Habitat Berks said the property is the first rehabilitated home it has completed in the neighborhood, an area the organization plans to focus on in the future as the nearby Reading School District Innovation Academy prepares to open.
Speaking during the dedication, Habitat Berks Executive Director Tim Daley told Guadalupe she had earned the opportunity through months of work and preparation.
“Let me be very clear about something. Guadalupe, you’ve earned this,” Daley said. “You have put in 200 hours of sweat equity in 13 months, which is quite an accomplishment. She invested 45 hours in a classroom where she learned about budgeting, financial literacy, and the responsibilities that come with homeownership.”
Daley said the project reflects a broader collaborative effort involving Habitat staff, volunteers, the Reading School District, Reading Muhlenberg Career and Technology Center students and instructors, city officials and other community partners.
“What you are seeing here today is what an earned relationship looks like, a relationship where everyone rolls up their sleeves and does their part to achieve a common goal,” Daley said. “Before today, that was simply an empty structure. From this day forward, it will be a home.”
He said the effort began after Reading School District Superintendent Dr. Khalid Mumin approached Habitat about helping improve the neighborhood surrounding the future school campus.
“Once upon a time, the superintendent of the Reading School District sat in my office and told me a new school was going to be built at 9th and Douglas Street,” Daley said. “And he asked a simple question: Could Habitat help make this neighborhood a better place for the residents who live here today and for the students who will grow up here tomorrow? The answer was simple. It was yes, and it was sealed with nothing more than a handshake.”
Daley said Habitat later purchased the home, along with two other nearby properties, as part of a commitment to expand homeownership opportunities and address neighborhood blight.
He also praised the involvement of students from the Reading Muhlenberg Career and Technology Center, who worked alongside Habitat’s construction team and volunteers on the rehabilitation.
“Those students did not just learn construction skills,” Daley said. “They learned something even more important. They learned civic responsibility. They learned what it means to give back to the community in which you live in. And they learned that when businesses, educators, volunteers, and neighbors come together, real change can happen.”
Mumin said the home’s location across from the district’s new Innovation Academy sends a message to students about education, workforce development and long-term opportunity in the city.
“Being able to go up to the fourth floor and look at the castle from this vantage point, and also be able to look at housing sends a powerful message for our young people, which means that you can get a quality education, delve into innovation, delve into the areas of the workforce, and be able to afford a house here in the city so that we can make this sustainable,” Mumin said.
He added that the project represents more than a home dedication.
“This is much more than simply having a resident move into a Habitat for Humanity house,” Mumin said. “This is that opportunity where you are a forerunner for us, especially for me, to be able to provide vision and aspiration for our team and say, ‘This is what we are – this is what we want to attain. These are our goals.’”
Crystal Gilmore Harris, speaking on behalf of state Sen. Judy Schwank’s office, congratulated the family and said the project also serves as an example for local students.
“I think it is awesome that right across the street, students will go to school and be able to look out the window and actually see a home that they worked on, continuing to impact them and let them know that there is nothing that they can’t obtain as long as they believe in themselves and they believe in the future,” Gilmore Harris said.
Reading City Council President Donna Reed also addressed the gathering and welcomed the family to the city. “Guadalupe, thank you for choosing Reading as your home,” Reed said. “We’re so proud to have you as a neighbor.”
Councilman Jamie Baez, speaking on behalf of Councilwoman Melissa Ventura, said the home represents “stability, opportunity, and a brighter future.”
During the ceremony, Reverend Bryce Wandrey of Christ Episcopal Church offered a blessing of the home, and Habitat officials recognized contributions from community partners including Habitat ReStore, Redner’s Warehouse Markets, Customers Bank and Visions Federal Credit Union.
At the close of the event, Guadalupe thanked those involved in the project through her daughter, who translated brief remarks.
“Thank you, everybody for making our wishes come true,” her daughter said. “We are very grateful for everything that everybody has contributed especially to Reading.”
The ceremony ended with the presentation of the keys and an invitation for guests to tour the home.
