By RODNEY THRASH, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Saturday, January 24, 2009
From left, Ed Rood and Christine Royster, both of Tampa, help build a home for Nikisha Felton with Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County on Friday. They were part of the SuperBuild project, a weeklong effort by the NFL and Habitat.
TAMPA — Visitors see a concrete slab. Nikisha Felton, who has lived in apartments nearly all her 30 years, sees something more:
The end of long walks to common trash bins in the back of apartment complexes.
A first step toward wealth building.
A legacy for her sons, 12-year-old Rashad and 6-month-old Asberry.
"That's what's important," said Felton, who will get the keys to her first home the day before Super Bowl Sunday. "I just want them to be able to come here and be able to say that this was their mom's house, this was their house and when I'm gone, this is some place that they can come to visit."
More than 90 volunteers — some with hard hats atop their heads, others with tool belts around their waists — fanned across east Tampa's Orient Park on Friday for the start of SuperBuild, a weeklong effort between the NFL and Habitat for Humanity to construct six homes in one week, Felton's among them.
The shell of a seventh — the Champion's House — will be constructed on Super Bowl Sunday, disassembled the next day, then shipped to a Habitat affiliate in the state of the winning team.
"We're hoping it becomes a yearly thing," said Ralph Jackson, the CEO and executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County. "Once we finish this, we'll be talking to the Miami Habitat affiliate and we'll go ahead and start helping them plan it for next year."
This year, four women from Hillsborough and two from Pinellas qualified for homes. Most of them were single mothers. They filled out applications, completed background checks, met income requirements, demonstrated an ability to make monthly mortgage payments and volunteered with Habitat.
Right now, Felton is just relishing in the fact that everything — even the concrete slab — is hers.
"That's my sidewalk," Felton said. "My mailbox is over there. I don't have to walk around the corner to go check my mail. I'm excited."
Rodney Thrash can be reached at rthrash@sptimes.com or (813) 269-5303.
FAST FACTS
SuperBuild continues today. To volunteer or for more information, go to www.habitathillsborough.com or www.phfh.org.
The Champion's House will be built on Super Bowl Sunday in the parking lot of the Renaissance Hotel at International Plaza. Construction begins at 6 a.m. Feb. 1.
FAST FACTS
How you can help
• SuperBuild continues today. To volunteer or for more information, go to www.habitathillsborough.com or www.phfh.org.
• The Champion's House will be built on Super Bowl Sunday in the parking lot of the Renaissance Hotel at International Plaza. Construction will begin at 6 a.m.
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