Woman helps family with Habitat for Humanity home donation

The McAdoo home had been on the real estate for sale list for too long when Kathy Cooney of Quakake told her siblings she planned to donate the family homestead instead.

She gave the North Kennedy Drive residence to Hazleton Area Habitat for Humanity in the hopes that a new family would be able to create their own wonderful memories inside the single home with a yard, as she and her siblings did over the years.

Sunday, Hazleton Area Habitat for Humanity held an open house at the home to officially welcome the new owners two adults and two young children who nestled into it around Thanksgiving. A television in the living room played a cartoon as Habitat volunteers, the former owners of the home and the new homeowners mingled over cake and coffee. One of the two young children crawled on the floor, giggling as guests mingled inside, while his sister and mother stayed close by.

Habitat for Humanity completely renovated the entire building after obtaining it about two years ago, Hazleton Area Habitat for Humanity President Tony Sulkevich said.

The homeowners declined to give their names, but said they were grateful to have a new, safe place for their family to live and said the home has changed their lives for the better. They were given a Bible from Habitat and also a gift basket containing bread so that the house would never know hunger, salt so that their life would always have flavor and wine so that they would always find joy and prosperity in their home.

The dedication proved just as moving for the donors as it did for the new homeowners. Two of the three siblings that grew up in the home were present during the dedication.

Cooney said after finding no luck selling the home, she decided to donate it to Habitat for Humanity and on Sunday she said she could easily see she made the right call.

Im just thrilled, Cooney said. It looks beautiful, as tears welled up in her eyes.

Her brother, Bill Minor, also of Quakake, said the home contained many memories for he and his two sisters and seeing the home go to a new family that will have their own memories inside provided his family with closure. For Minor, he remembered having coffee with his father at 5 a.m. in the home before his dad went to work and big Thanksgiving dinners in the living room.

Cooney recalled all the pets the children enjoyed in the home. She said the siblings would always come home with a stray and their mother would always tell them it could stay the night. And 10 years later, we still had a cat, she said, laughing as she wiped away the tears in her eyes.

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Woman helps family with Habitat for Humanity home donation