Habitat for Humanity and THOR industries team up

ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. - Mother of six, Montasia Cole-Chilton is getting a new home. 

The panel build, constructing the interior and exterior walls of the home, took place at THOR's corporate offices, 601 E Beardsley Ave., Elkhart, Ind. 

After being accepted into the Habitat program in the fall of 2022, Cole-Chilton has worked on completing her 200 sweat equity hours and saving for her down payment.

Her home will be a 1,600-square-foot, two story, four-bedroom and two-and-a-half bath home. 

She's excited and grateful for the effort being put into her new home. 

"That means affordable mortgage, because we're in this high now, and is this going to make a better future for me and my kids," she said. 

Cole-Chilton's home doesn't come free. She needs to prove a stable income and the ability to pay for her mortgage, utilities and homeowner's insurance. Cole-Chilton also volunteers on other Habitat builds and attends classes about home maintenance and budgeting, all in a six-to-18-month journey.

President/Executive Director at Habitat for Humanity of Elkhart County Greg Conrad believes that having a home impacts future generations. 

"All of the studies show that children that are raised in a stable home environment and aren't having to move from school to school, that can be in a community, have better outcomes from an educational perspective, from a future development, from health, mental health, all those sorts of things," he said. 

Fifty THOR employees came alongside Cole-Chilton, including President and CEO of THOR industries Bob Martin, who puts his blood and sweat into Habitat projects. He hit his thumb the previous year.

For him, it's personal.

"You know, I grew up in Elkhart. I, you know, worked my way to my position from the bottom," he said. " And you know, just watching people get an opportunity to, you know, work hard and improve their life has been something that has touched me through Habitat for many years."

THOR has committed to a million dollars for Habitat over the next five years, but Martin fundraises for Habitat with his family because to him it's about being, "part of helping a family's life get better for many years to come."