Clark Howard gets his hands dirty to benefit north Tulsa families

TULSA, Okla. — Popular KRMG host Clark Howard put on his hard hat and got to work hosting the 2nd annual Clark Howard Blitz Build to benefit Green Country Habitat for Humanity on Saturday.

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Popular KRMG host Clark Howard was back in Tulsa on Saturday to benefit Green Country Habitat for Humanity. (Ben Morgan)

Howard, along with five local companies, is sponsoring the Blitz Build, which builds six new homes simultaneously as part of the organization’s North Tulsa initiative.

The Green Country Habitat for Humanity organization is placing a great focus on the North Tulsa area and is committed to building 250 affordable homes there.

Nearly a hundred volunteers showed up at the neighborhood just across the street from Chamberlain Park to help start the first day of framing the 6 houses in North Tulsa.

“Habitat was based on something from the 1800′s,” Clark tells KRMG. “It was midwestern barn raising. Where people in a farming community would get together and all build each other’s barns. And so that same concept shows what people power can do.”

Five local companies (Ameristar, J.M. HUBER Corporation, ONE Gas, ONEOK, and Williams) were assigned to a different home and worked on-site with Green Country Habitat for Humanity construction staff. While this is the second Clark Howard Blitz Build, Howard is a long-time supporter of the Habitat for Humanity organization nationwide for many years.

This is Clark’s 30th year working with Habitat for Humanity. He tells KRMG the reason he keeps coming back is, “It works.”

“I’m really thrifty and I hold on to my money. But for me to open my wallet and put it to work in something, I have to believe in it. I’ve seen again and again that Habitat is the best form of charity, in that we create an opportunity for someone and we create independence. You know when you’re contributing to Habitat as a volunteer or as a sponsor, you’re putting your hard-earned money into it, and it pays off. The responsibility will pass from us as volunteers to the homeowners when these homes are completed. And it’s their job to see that they take care of the home, they take care of their neighborhoods, and they make their payments.”

Clark says this event has a major impact on the families these homes are built for.

“It’s life-changing. So often, people who are at the lower end of the income scale don’t have stability in housing. They’re moving all the time. And for their kids, it’s brutal. For these families, being able to have a sense of permanence and the children that will be raised in these homes, will be part of a neighborhood. They’ll have a network of friends. They’ll have consistent schooling.”

Cameron Walker is the President and CEO of Green Country Habitat for Humanity. He tells KRMG this year’s Blitz Build is just part of their 250-home north Tusla initiative.

“Habitat for Humanity International and our local affiliate have an advocacy physician of advancing black homeownership opportunities. So, we’re really trying through real estate to chip away at the black and white wealth disparity for households. Real estate is one of the quickest ways to help a low-to-moderate-income family really begin to build meaningful wealth in a very short amount of time.”

Walker tells KRMG it’s the first time that so many houses have been able to be built at once on the same sight.

“It helps so much with efficiencies going from slab to slab. Helps us save money with our contractors. It really helps these communities see the instant impact of all this effort.”

Walker says these homes are different than the types of homes that have been built through Habitat for Humanity in the past.

“One of the things we’ve really spent a lot of time doing is designing homes to fit into the existing neighborhood. So, while these are going to be brand-new homes, we’ve gone to great lengths to really try and match the architecture of the existing homes here. These homes are post-world war 2 homes and so they’re a little more ramp style. They’re long versus deep.”

He says the homes will have at least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms each with a one-car garage with a variety of colors and roof lines.

“It creates a real sense of uniqueness that I think is a bit of a departure from what Habitat is known for in the past.”

Would you like to help further Clark Howard’s efforts? You can click here to make a donation to support the Blitz Build initiative.

To learn more about the blitz build effort by the Green Country Habitat for Humanity, click here.

You can listen to the full interviews with Clark Howard and Cameron Walker below: