Wells Fargo goes far to help Lynn family get Habitat for Humanity home

LYNN-Employees from Wells Fargo are helping a Lynn family achieve the dream of home ownership.The company has invested $35,000 in the Northshore Habitat for Humanity project at 87 Camden St., where the two-story structure under construction will become home to Francisco Morel, his wife and their two children.GE donated the land in 2007.Wells Fargo spokeswoman Andrea Tilkes said the volunteers worked at the site last weekend and will return again on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wells Fargo has signed on as the lead sponsor to build the single-family, energy-efficient house.More than 80 Wells Fargo employees from the Boston area will provide at least 400 volunteer hours to erect the house between now and October.”For more than 20 years, Wells Fargo has enjoyed a supportive relationship with Habitat for Humanity,” said Boston-based Wells Fargo executive Bill Mayer. “Habitat for Humanity provides an important service to our community ? furthering home ownership in the Boston area,” he said. “This investment shows our continued support for and commitment to our communities across America.”The three-bedroom, two-bath home is expected to be completed in spring 2010. Construction, which started June 6, follows in the wake of another single-family home that Wells Fargo volunteers built in Salem last year.Tilkes noted that since it was established in 1993, the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation has teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to create low-income home ownership opportunities. During that time, the Housing Foundation has contributed more than $45 million towards loans and grants, more than 100,000 volunteers and more than four million volunteer hours.Together, the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation and Habitat for Humanity have built more than 2,300 homes in the past 14 years ? an average of 164 homes annually.Habitat for Humanity’s mission is to provide secure, affordable housing to low-income individuals who have been living in substandard housing. The organization, with a branch on the North Shore, believes home ownership is a vital step in creating self-esteem and empowerment in both families and neighborhoods, and is the most basic way to break successive generations of poverty.Don Preston, president of Lynn-based Habitat for Humanity North Shore, said the Morels, who have been living in a small apartment in Salem, were among many needy families to apply. “They demonstrated a need and a willingness to partner with Habitat. The family puts in 400 hours of sweat equity to build their own home,” Preston said. “Mr. Morel and his son have been working at the site. It’s a great experience to help build your own home.”