About 20 City of Champaign employees worked with Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County to help build a home last week as part of National Public Service Recognition Week.

The home is located in the 900 block of West Beardsley Avenue in Champaign.

Every year as part of the National Public Service Recognition Week, the city staff looks for an opportunity to give back to the community and work on team building skills.

National Public Service Recognition Week was held on May 5-11 this year. This purpose of the week is recognize the people who serve the nation as federal, state, county and local government employees, according to the Partnership for Public Service website.

“This great project with Habitat for Humanity allowed city employees who may not normally work together an opportunity to get to know each other better while working for a good cause,” said communications manager Jeff Hamilton.

The goal of Habitat for Humanity is to “bring people together to build homes, communities and hope,” according to their website.

The organization helps build sell quality and affordable homes to families at a 0% interest rate. It also provides educational programs for financial management and maintenance to homeowners.

Chad Hoffman is the executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County.

“We’re very thankful for the City of Champaign and their employees who helped out with our home build today,” Hoffman said. “We rely upon community volunteers to create decent, comfortable and affordable housing for individuals looking to build strength, stability and self-reliance through home ownership.”

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