We have exciting news to share! Donor Carol Shearon has renewed her giving commitment for 2023 and funded an additional year of the First-Time Homebuyer Fund administered by Mt. Airy CDC. This year, eligible participants who have completed our housing counseling program will receive $2,000 toward closing costs on their first home.
Kerri Kelly is a recent grant recipient who settled on her home in April 2023. Kerri and her two daughters (ages 24 and 14) had been living with and taking care of Kerri’s mother in the Ogontz neighborhood prior to purchasing their first home – a spacious two-story brick duplex with a large side yard.
Thanks to grants she received, Kerri was able to walk away from closing with additional funds to make needed repairs and renovations to her home, including creating a separate living space for her older daughter on the lower level.
She is hoping to eventually buy an additional property as an investment and to begin building generational wealth for her daughters.
With regard to their new home, Kerri said, “I’m in heaven. This is a true blessing. I had some challenges in my past that prevented me from ever buying a home. But now I am rising up and I am flying.”
“I needed a space of my own,” she said. “This is my time.”
Donor Carol Shearon visited with Kerri and her daughters and took pictures with them outside Kerri’s new home. Seeing them happy at their new home “really feels good,” she said.
The FTHB Fund aims at reducing barriers to home ownership for low- to middle-income buyers. It works in combination with City grant sources to make home ownership more accessible for families like Kerri’s.
Since the Fund’s creation in April 2022, we have raised a total of nearly $30,000 thanks to Carol Shearon’s primary giving commitment plus contributions from Mt. Airy neighbors. Grant payments have been disbursed to 6 homebuyers so far, with many more to come.
We invite you to make a donation to help grow the Fund and support more first-time buyers in their journey to home ownership. By reducing the barriers to homeownership, this Fund strengthens Mt. Airy’s identity as a diverse community of opportunity for all.
