Habitat for Humanity, Fort Mill Elementary projects align for Paradise homeowners

Jason Baxter didn’t have to imagine where the potted pansy might wind up once he and fellow Fort Mill Elementary School fourth-graders gave it away Tuesday.

Baxter knows the home. He knew it before Habitat for Humanity of York County made improvements. He knows it because Geraldine Potts, his great-grandmother, lives there.

“It’s better,” Baxter said. “They fixed her kitchen. They fixed one of her bedrooms.”

The Potts home is one of 26 in the Paradise community tabbed by Habitat for improvements since last fall. Volunteers constructed ramps, tore out and replaced floors, modernized kitchens, wired walls. Corporations and foundations gave. The idea, as much as to complete critical home repairs, was to develop a sense of community.

A community that includes an elementary school.

Principal Jocelyn Young said when she spoke with Habitat leaders about a partnership, the decision to join in seemed obvious. Paradise, the area of Fort Mill along and around Joe Louis and Steele streets, sits in her attendance zone. Students could help in a place many of them already knew and some call home.

“A lot of them had connections to Paradise, so I thought it was important,” Young said.

Students would grow flowers and hand decorate planters. Ever the educational opportunists, staff members chose fourth-graders for the task; the flower project most closely aligned with fourth-grade standards. It also aligned with Habitat’s mission.

“It really allowed them to connect with our greater community,” Young said.

The home improvements in Paradise largely help seniors, some of them disabled. A dozen homeowners met with at least as many students at the school Tuesday to receive their flowers and thank Habitat leaders. Ben Gair, director of development for Habitat, praised the multi-generational project for creating kindness in Fort Mill.

“You’re not only teaching children about reading, writing and – do we still call it arithmetic? Math?” he said. “But you’re helping them become good citizens.”

Bernard Johnson hasn’t had reason to think about elementary schools in a while. He started to head to another one in town before rerouting to Fort Mill Elementary. Johnson was glad to meet the Habitat leaders who literally went above and beyond for him, putting on a new roof and replacing old wood in the house.

“Mine was gone,” Johnson said of his roof situation, now brand new. “I hope it lasts longer than I do.”

Johnson hadn’t nailed down a place for his planter Tuesday morning. He thanked students. Another above and beyond moment owed to Habitat.

“I’ll find a spot,” Johnson said.

Linda Potts said work on her doors, windows and kitchen “make a big difference at night.” She had a weak floor but doesn’t now.

“A lot of times you’re not able to do everything yourself,” she said. “It really helps.”

Partnerships with Paradise aren’t done. The school doesn’t have another project yet, but students and staff members said they gladly would come alongside Habitat again.

The organization has about a dozen community and corporate groups who help with repairs just in Paradise. Tim Veeck, Habitat executive director, saw an area of Fort Mill that needed some upkeep but also one that took pride in making its neighborhood the best it could be.

“It came at the invitation of the residents,” he said of the revitalization program. “In Paradise, there’s a strong sense of community, generosity and love that we’ve been the beneficiaries of.”

Which isn’t the worst lesson on citizenship, he said, that students could learn from their neighbors.

“I enjoyed, most, doing it with friends,” fourth-grader Jordan Proctor said of the two-month planter project. “I was glad we got to do it.”

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Habitat for Humanity, Fort Mill Elementary projects align for Paradise homeowners."