The holiday season is a great time to reflect on the bounty of our lives. And when it comes to making the warm, fuzzy feeling last as long as possible, giving back to the community is the way to make it happen. The Dorchester County Habitat for Humanity is gearing up for another year of The Angel Tree Program, a special way to ensure neighbors in our area have hope for a home. According to Resource Development and Marketing Director Moriah Hollander, donations to Dorchester Habitat throughout this holiday season are a gift that keeps on giving.

“Donation opportunities in various amounts on the Angel Tree help cover the cost of tools and other supplies to build our next home in the New Year,” she explained.

So what exactly is this magical Angel Tree, and how can you find it? It is a physical tree set up in the ReStore with donation pockets. The tree has been around for many years, and folks who cannot find the time to help with the building of a Habitat home welcome the option to give back another way.

“It’s a chance for people to give just a little and make a big difference,” remarked Hollander.

Best of all, the Angel Tree concept extends throughout the community, beyond the walls of the ReStore. Dorchester Habitat partners with various churches during the season and sends donation cards for each church to hang on their own angelic trees.

This December, a special family is the recipient of a new Habitat for Humanity home, glowing with holiday cheer. Lakisha Oliver and her four children have just taken residence at Rambo Drive, where, according to Hollander, “more than 3,000 volunteers have raised walls, swung hammers and nailed shingles over the past three years.” The Oliver home is the final house on this bustling street, and, for this mother, it is nothing short of a miracle.

Lakeisha Oliver put in her time building her dream house, even switching shifts at work so she could be on the construction site daily.

“My kids would miss me because they would go to school while I’d come straight to the house, and when they were out of school, I was at work. They never saw me for about three months,” she said.

But it was all worth it as it is for so many other families. The home is complete, and the Oliver family story is just one example of so many happy endings provided by Habitat and the generosity of its supporters.

“They would tell me when I first started on that lot it would one day be my house, and I didn’t believe them,” Oliver admitted. She added that in the new abode, her children, aged between 5 and 11 years, can sleep soundly in their own rooms and play outside.

“When people give to Dorchester Habitat for Humanity, they are giving more people in the community a chance to own a home,” Hollander pointed out. “The Oliver family is the 63rd family helped during our 25-year history.”

To donate to the Angel Tree Program this season and give hope for a home visit the Dorchester Habitat for Humanity website at DorchesterHabitat.org, or drop by the ReStore.