1302 N Champaign , Champaign

Homebuilders Blitz 2006

1 Neighborhood

Four Families

Four Homes

Five Days

1,000+ Volunteer Hours!

Full list of donors here.

Meet Roxanne Grantham and her daughter Melorene

Fifteen-year-old Melorene Grantham – who prefers to be called Mel – peered out the window as Habitat's representatives walked up the drive to confirm the good news.

“You really came!” exclaimed her mother, Roxanne. “I told Mel I wasn’t sure I really believed we had been selected for Habitat’s program. When I saw you coming up the drive, I knew it was true!”

Roxanne has been an addictions counselor at Prairie Center for four years. For the 44-year-old mother, it’s been a long, ironic – and very hard – journey. After serving in the military in Germany, she moved to Iowa, got married, and began a stint with the Postal Service. Mel was born shortly thereafter. Two years later, her problems began.

When Mel was two, Roxanne became addicted to crack cocaine, a problem she battled for years. Faced with jail time, she realized she needed to get her life back on track. At sentencing in 1998, she was put in court-ordered rehab and has been clean for over seven years.

As the story unfolded it became quite clear how desperately Roxanne wants a normal life for her child. “This Habitat house is a blessing,” said Roxanne. “For Mel’s sake – she sees that anything is possible, and that’s important.”

The Granthams' three-bedroom home will be built for them at 1302 N. Champaign Street by Timbercreek Developers during the Home Builders Blitz, June 5 through 9, 2006.

Photos by Vickie Jo Varvel