Habitat for Humanity of Fond du Lac County is a nonprofit, nondenominational Christian housing ministry organized to work with the local community to build simple, decent, affordable houses with those who lack adequate shelter.

Member of:

Home Builders Association of Fond du Lac & Dodge Counties, Inc.

Fond du Lac Association of Commerce

Habitat for Humanity International

Meet the Schmitz Family

Tara and Catherine SchmitzMy name is Tara Schmitz. I was born and raised in Fond du Lac. I was the last class to graduate from Goodrich High School in 2001. I am a single mom working as a childcare teacher, raising my daughter on my own.

Since my daughter Catherine was born we have moved six times in six years, living with family or friends. They have not all been ideal living arrangements. In two of the places we lived we had to share a bedroom and even a bed. In one of the apartments,Catherine's room was a very small room you had to walk through to get to the bathroom. For one reason or another it never worked out living with friends. A few of times we moved in with my mom, but we were always dreaming of a home of our own. Currently we are again living with my mom in her half-finished attic. Luckily we have the half that is finished off.

A couple of months ago my brother was at a Builder's meeting, where Habitat for Humanity was speaking about the program. Thankfully he thought of me and Catherine as he listened. He thought I would be interested in applying for the program. I went to the meeting thinking I would never have a chance of having a stable home for my daughter but thought, "Why not give it a try?" I was so excited when Habitat called and told me that we were chosen for the house. All I was thinking was "Thank you, God!"- finally a place Catherine can call home and not be worried that we are going to move again.

I am grateful that my brother was at that meeting and thought of us. I don't know where we would be living next without his help. Catherine and I would like to thank Habitat for Humanity for this opportunity and helping to make our dream come true.

Habitat for Humanity Invites you to a Dedication Ceremony on August 29

FOND DU LAC, Wisc. – Habitat for Humanity of Fond du Lac County invites the community to join them at a Dedication Ceremony to welcome the Schmitz Family into their new home on 35 West Bank Street, FDL

The program begins at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 29. Please join the State, City and County representatives, along with the Habitat board of directors, staff and key volunteers as they present the keys to the Schmitz Family first home. Community members are invited to enjoy refreshments as they take a tour of the home created by volunteers who put hundreds of hours of work into the home, along with the Schmitz family’s 300 plus hours of sweat equity.

Tara Schmitz states, “I thought I would never have had a chance of having a stable home for my daughter without the hand-up from Habitat For Humanity. It has been a dream of mine all my life to own a home of my own for myself and my daughter Catherine and now with the assistance of Habitat for Humanity of Fond du Lac and this great community of volunteers, this dream has become a reality. We are so very happy for this opportunity of receiving a stable and permanent home for our family. There are so many people to thank that contributed to make our dream come true. Words can not express how the Habitat For Humanity organization has changed our lives – Thank You!”

The ceremony will also recognize the generosity of the many community businesses, local restaurants, area churches, service groups and individuals who donated their time, talents and expertise on this house build. This is the 17th house that the local affiliate has completed since their start in 1996. Habitat is a hand out, not a hand up to the qualified partner family. Habitat builds houses for those in need and in turn, sells the house to the family at a no-profit, no-interest loan.

“This dedication ceremony serves as an opportunity to thank the hundreds of volunteers, businesses, churches and individuals for their continued support. It is also an opportunity for Habitat For Humanity to show case the homes we build with much love, sweat and talents of so many in our community and we surely can not have accomplished this without everyone’s hard work and dedicated assistance,” says Kathy Strong-Twohig, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Fond du Lac County.

Don Whitty, the volunteer General Contractor and a member of the Habitat Building Committee states, “This is the fifth Habitat house that I participated on and I would like to especially thank the many volunteers who committed their time this summer to assist with this house build. We had a great group of “Tuesday Builders” who were a pleasure to get to know and build with and also the many others that gave up their Saturdays to assist with the Schmitz house. It is so gratifying to teach others a skill that they will always be able to use and also to be part of the partner family’s lives in the building of their dream home. Many thanks as well to the Building Committee Co-Chairs Jim Wamser and Ben Menaker and the rest of the Habitat board members for their time spent coordinating building efforts year round.”

To volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, or for more information on the Dedication Ceremony or newly opened ReStore, please call Kathy at (920) 921-6623.