Photo: Riverside High School was honored as Organizational Donor of the Year.

In 2017, through the work of Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County, 11 families became homeowners and 13 families are enjoying more energy efficient homes through home preservation projects. The organization also opened a new ReStore at 3033 Wade Hampton Boulevard. These accomplishments were made possible with the support of dedicated donors and volunteers. Recently, Habitat Greenville honored individual and corporate donors and volunteers who went above and beyond over the past year to support their mission to bring people together to build homes, communities, and hope.

Organizations honored for their dedication to Habitat Greenville include Riverside High School, named Organizational Donor of the Year for their efforts in raising more than $80,000 for Habitat Greenville during their fall 2017 Spirit Week. Publix Super Markets Charities was honored as the Corporate Donor of the Year for committing $5 million to build Habitat homes across the Southeast, including in Greenville.

Individuals honored for their contributions to Habitat Greenville include Joshua Ratcliff, named Individual Donor of the Year for his support of Habitat through homeowner gifts, annual fundraiser support, and cleaning services donated to Habitat Greenville through his company Michael’s Janitorial. Additional individual honorees include John and Kitty Dillewyn, Lifetime Achievement Award recipients who have collectively volunteered 3,800 hours with Habitat Greenville. Ray and Flo Breneman were recognized with the ReStore Hero Award, Melanie Hendrix was honored with the Family Ambassador Award, Steve Worrell received the Battered Hammer Award, Justen Brewster was named Volunteer of the Year; and Tommy Blackmon was recognized with the Strong Foundation Award.

The following 28 volunteers who accumulated 100 or more service hours in 2017 were honored at the event as “100 Hours Club Volunteers”:

Bob Armbruster

Cathy Baus

Justen Brewster

Elizabeth Brewton

Kevin Davidson

John Dillewyn

Kitty Dillewyn

Henry DuPre

Doug Ezell

Linda Finlay

Karen Gagne

Robin Gallant

Ed Given

Keith Goodall

Margie Hill

Ed Hogan

Martha Kilgore

Bruce McCandless

David Morris

Ross Owen

Peter Pang

Miriam Pang

Chuck Small

Joe Smith

Jim Stradling

Ruud Veltman

Don Welch

Steve Worrell

“Habitat Greenville is truly built on the service of our dedicated donors and volunteers,” said Monroe Free, Habitat Greenville president & CEO. “More than 1,900 donors gave, and over 2,700 individuals volunteered in our ReStores and on our homebuilding and home preservation projects last year. We are deeply grateful for their work and dedication to our goal of breaking the cycle of poverty by making affordable homeownership possible for Greenville families.”