Habitat for Humanity crew leaders work on the container home project. Photo by Ann Schertz Photography.

On July 8, we were so excited to welcome a small group of volunteers back on a build site for the first time since March! The focus of this crew was (and will continue to be in the next few months) the construction of our pilot container home project funded in large part by the Monroe County Community Foundation’s Community Impact Grant program.

This competitive granting program, co-funded by Smithville Charitable Foundation, is designed to fuel innovative ideas and lasting impact in Monroe County through funding opportunities to meet our community’s most pressing needs and seize its most compelling opportunities.

Converting shipping container homes to affordable housing is not an entirely new concept, but this will be the FIRST Habitat effort in Indiana. The local project was born through the Kelley Institute for Social Impact’s (KISI) Kelley Impact Competition in early 2019. The winning team of students developed a plan to construct homes from recycled shipping containers, and the idea was supported through an award of $10,000.

With lower construction costs (and then in-turn mortgage payments) than typical homes, this pilot project could potentially allow us to explore the feasibility of homeownership for lower-income households earning 25% of the area median income.

You can learn more about the Community Foundation’s Impact Grants on their website. To learn more about the campus-wide Kelley Impact Competition, visit: https://bit.ly/KelleyImpact.