Can you imagine spending 1/4th of your income on utilities? Many families in our community are in this situation. For the past nine years, Guillermo Garcia and Maria Tovar have been raising their young children in a two-bedroom trailer. Poor insulation means their utility bills range from $220 to over $300 a month! For this reason, and many others, this mother and father of three children are excited to purchase a sturdy Habitat home at a price they can afford. This new home will mean their  children can play and sleep comfortably, and those resources currently going toward utilities can be spent on things that will help this family thrive, like health and education costs.

Guillermo and Maria are originally from Mexico, but they’ve made Bryan, Texas their home because of our community’s economic opportunities. They met in 2002, while working at Sanderson Farms. Every morning, on the way to the freezer department, Guillermo would smile at Maria as she worked on the line, deboning the chicken. Soon, they married and their family grew. Their children are Bryan (10), Madelis (9) and Dayana (1).

Guillermo is a welder by trade and enjoys learning on the job as he builds floats for cranes for Dynacon. He’s also enjoyed learning about home maintenance, budgeting, security and code enforcement in Habitat homeowner classes. Guillermo says that this is a very valuable part of the program. The Garcia family is currently at the stage in our process where they’re helping another family build their home and Guillermo describes it as encouraging to see how excited the other families are and to know that your neighbors will be helping build your home when the time comes.

We can’t break ground on the Garcia-Tovar family home until our community comes together to provide the necessary funds, but Guillermo has hope … and a message. To the future donors of their home, Guillermo would like to say, “without your help it would have been impossible to have this home. I’m thankful to God for giving you a heart to provide for others.” BCS Habitat for Humanity is determined to show that our community is the best kind of community, the kind where the love of Christ is demonstrated in how we love one another. If you believe that providing an affordable home to a mom and dad who want to supply their children with a brighter future is the right thing to do, then join us and change the lives of the Garcia family forever.

help build their home