Every donation given in December will be matched by Citizens First Bank, up to $100,000.
This is an incredible opportunity to double your impact and help us reach more families in need. That’s why it’s so urgent that you give before December 31st.
Your $15 becomes $30, your $50 becomes $100, and your $500 donation becomes $1,000!
Every day, we see the transformations of having a safe place to call home. Families gain stability, children perform better in school, and neighborhoods thrive.
Give the gift of home, donate today!
“This is more than a house, this is a dream for us coming into reality,”
explains Elexis Broughton, mother of 4 and a first-time homebuyer alongside her husband, Rodney.
Elexis and Rodney have been dreaming about becoming homeowners for as long as they can remember. Having both come from families with separated parents who experienced frequent moves, Elexis explains that for herself and Rodney, constantly moving during their childhoods has led to a desire for stability. She recalls “I moved almost every year as a child to different cities and states, and Rodney moved a lot throughout his childhood as well. As you can imagine, the instability we lived through as children caused us both to crave stability in our adult lives, not just with our families but our living situation as well.”
Elexis believes that this shared past prepared them to cross paths in 2019.
“I was then a struggling single mother of two, Mia and Aubrielle, and Rodney was a young hardworking man who fell in love and became a father of two as he asked me to be his wife.”
Shortly after, their intimate backyard wedding in 2022, the Broughton’s welcomed two more baby girls, Reyah and Oakley, to their family. It was then that they realized that the home they were renting was no longer going to provide their family with the space and security they needed to thrive. It was vital to Elexis and Rodney that they give their growing family the kind of stability they both craved as children.
That’s where Habitat for Humanity of Lake-Sumter stepped in.
The Broughton’s found out about the program from a friend at their church, a community they are deeply and proudly invested in. Elexis explains that after a series of disappointments trying to find decent housing through other avenues, she figured a Habitat home might be long shot. This didn’t deter the couple, however, and they took a leap of faith. Elexis and Rodney worked closely with Habitat staff, making use of Habitat’s financial education resources to help make sure their application qualified. When they received the call that they were selected as Habitat Homebuyers, they considered it a blessing, but also knew it was the result of hard work, perseverance, and consistency.
More than a year after receiving their keys, the Broughton family of six is settled, safe, and thriving in their new Habitat home—a testament to what affordable homeownership can do.
Want to help a family like the Broughtons gain stability and strength this holiday? Give today!