4210 Kennedy Road, Urban Neighborhood, Madison

The Yang Family
Started on: 10/01/08
Completed: 06/25/09

Dear Volunteers,

Thank you so much for making our dreams come true. We have been dreaming of this for quite some time since we got together. This means so much to us knowing that you all took the time out to help with this house. It makes us not only think how lucky we are but how lucky we are to have people who care about our dreams.

Before building this house, I would like to introduce myself and my family. My name is Melissa Yang and I am a proud mother of three, Kobe, 11, Abby, 9, and Ash, 1. Ash and Abby live with me, while Kobe stays with his father. One of my biggest anticipations for the house is that I get to have my own privacy, finally; and it’s permanent. I hate moving from place to place. I hate having to pack and unpack. It’s such a big stress, and especially as a single parent everything depends on you. As a mother, I want Abby to be able to have her own room now that she is getting older. One thing she tells me is that whenever she goes to her cousin’s house, she envies her cousin who gets her own room which makes her a “Big Girl”. I want her to feel like she is a big girl because she shows great responsibility in helping to take care of our house and toward her little brother, Ash. She deserves great things.

Ash, my one year old, loves to explore. He goes from room to room and eventually ends up in the bathroom, his favorite room. Having a room to himself would give him enough room to walk around, play and explore. Hopefully it will keep him out of the bathroom for a while, although now he will have more bathrooms to explore!

Pa Dao Yang, my cousin, watches and takes care of my kids. She is a senior at DeForest High School and also a mother of a beautiful one year old, Pearl Vang. She dreams of having a house where no one will come knocking on the door to tell her to quiet down or that her kids are being too noisy. She is a busy mother with school, homework, kids and cleaning, so she can’t quite keep up with everyone and everything. She would love to have her own room because she thinks privacy really matters. She has big dreams, especially now that she will be going to college. So having a room to herself will allow her to keep it quiet and organized for doing homework. She has more plans for her future and I want the best for here as a guardian, a cousin and a sister. Pearl, on the other hand, is getting older and one day, she will start asking why she doesn’t have a room or may want one, and now I will be able to provide her with an answer because all of you have made it possible.

We thank you all again, though words cannot express how we feel. We are truly thankful for your time and kindness. We appreciate this opportunity and look forward to working with each and every one of you. We would also like to thank Habitat for Humanity for making this possible and everyone who donates their time. We respect that very much. Thank you all again.

Yours truly, The Yang Residents

The Yang Family