FCH Greater Atlanta hopes 7-home repair blitz Sept. 10 will fuel effort to “Go Big”
MOUNTAIN PARK, Georgia — Mark Murphy has pedaled thousands of miles with the Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure, raising funds and awareness for The Fuller Center for Housing’s efforts to provide a hand-up to families in need of simple, decent places to live — in dozens of communities across the United States and more than 20 international locations. His most recent Adventure was the 1,200-mile, four-week Wild West Ride from Moab, Utah, to Columbia Falls, Mont.
But next month, on September 10, the Adventure is coming to him.
About three dozen cyclists who are participating in the Bicycle Adventure’s 300-mile Silver Comet Ride (Sept. 6-14) will hop off their bikes to practice what they preach during a build day in Mountain Park with The Fuller Center for Housing of Greater Atlanta — whose president just happens to be Mountain Park resident and city councilor Mark Murphy.
They will be working on seven home repair projects The Fuller Center calls “Greater Blessing projects,” in which homeowners are encouraged to repay the costs of repairs but do not have a legal or signed obligation to do so.
“We want to show them that there is love in this world despite all the polarization that might be evident on social media,” Murphy said. “There’s still a lot of people in this world who love each other and want to help people who need a little extra help.”
When Murphy and FCH Greater Atlanta construction manager Bill Kolbrener — also Mountain Park’s mayor — did site visits to discuss the Greater Blessing program, they were met with plenty of understandable skepticism.
“When we did these site visits, we almost cried because these people are just so hurt and cautious because they’ve been done wrong so many times,” said Murphy. “When they finally realized that this wasn’t a trick but something we give from the heart,they were just gobsmacked. It’s nice to lift up people a little bit and let them know there is good in this world.”
Murphy sees the seven-home repair blitz as an opportunity to fuel much bigger plans — notably FCH Greater Atlanta’s “Go Big” plan to put 100 families in 100 simple, decent homes.
“This is not just 40-something people getting together to do a nice little project,” he said. “This is all about Go Big and our desire to build 100 homes in the Atlanta area. It really turbocharged us and got us focused.”
While they do not need extra volunteers on September 10, FCH Greater Atlanta will need volunteers and donations as they move into quarterly builds and ultimately into the Go Big plan. Murphy believes church involvement will be key to Go Big, especially if churches can help the nonprofit group acquire property for building. They also will need government agencies and zoning boards to help pave the way for simple, decent housing that is affordable.
If you, your church or other group would like to help The Fuller Center of Greater Atlanta move forward with their Go Big plan, contact Mark Murphy by email at markm@fullercenteratlanta.org.
One Comment
I will be there and cant wait to help.