Vonda Horst, and her son Grant (18) currently live in north Goshen. They will help volunteers build their Habitat home around the corner. They hope to have it done around Thanksgiving.
Vonda Horst has worked at Church Community Services for 7 years as their Director of Social Services. Church Community Services in Elkhart is a faith-based interdenominational non-profit agency that assists people in crisis and empowers them to move out of poverty. One successful program, Soup of Success Job and Life Skills Training Program, empowers women in poverty to make positive changes toward greater self-sufficiency. Vonda oversees applications for emergency financial assistance, schedules volunteers working at the food pantry, and like many who work at non-profit agencies, fills in wherever needed. They were recently blessed with a spacious new location on Oakland Avenue, and Vonda's new lavender office is much more comfortable.
The downturn in the economy was keenly felt at Church Community Services. Vonda noted that, starting around Thanksgiving 2008, many more people came to the food pantry than in previous years. They also felt a strain on their emergency assistance funds.
To relax, Vonda immerses herself in books. "I'm always reading," she says. She recommends Nora Roberts, a romance/mystery writer, for some good fiction. "My girlfriend got me started on Jodie Picoult, Janet Evanovich, and Sue Grafton. And I try to read one self-help book a month." She also likes to paint and make collages, and plans to find a space in her new home dedicated to her artistic side.
Like his mother, Grant enjoys reading, especially biographies and other historical books. He also hangs out with friends, and likes trivia. "He's a walking trivia nut," Vonda laughs.
Her work with Elkhart County indirectly brought Vonda to Habitat. "I'm pretty sure it was a Homeless Coalition meeting," she says. "[Former Executive Director] Richard Miller was talking about it." She investigated the program for herself, and applied in the fall of 2008.
When two Selection Committee members made a home visit, Grant had done research on Habitat and was prepared with questions. He wanted to know the history of Habitat and exactly what it was about. He's a methodical young man, and hopes to study business or accounting at some point. Vonda describes Grant's 18th birthday as a "tearful day, so I'm anxious to see what graduation day is going to be like."
Vonda describes Habitat as "the chance to be a homeowner. I'm not sure it would have happened, especially now, with the economy." She appreciates the unique chance to help build her own home.