Habitat for Humanity provides housing, one of the necessities of life, in a way that goes well beyond the classic win-win situation — it looks more like win-win-win-win. Obviously, Habitat for Humanity is a win for the homeowner, but it also is a win for the many volunteers and for the companies providing discounted or low-cost materials.

Rather than charity, the Habitat experience is assistance. The organization rightly characterizes its work as a "hand up, not a hand out." The home is built at reduced cost, thanks to volunteers and some donated materials and services. Then Habitat works out an agreement with the selected owners for a 20- to 25-year mortgage, with no interest charges.

In East Butler last weekend, the local branch of Habitat began construction of its first new-construction house in almost a decade. In recent years, most of Habitat's Butler chapter's projects have involved extensive rehabilitation of existing homes.

More than a renovation project, the new-construction experience reveals the remarkable transformation from an empty lot to new home that will provide shelter to a deserving family. And Habitat's tradition of having the recipient family work on the project along with the many volunteers is a wonderful way to create a connection between the volunteer builders and the soon-to-be-homeowners. And the client participation part of the program is a powerful way to create pride of ownership on the part of the family that will soon make the new house their home.

The experience of being part of the team that built their new house surely instills in the Habitat-selected family a connection and commitment that very few homeowners experience.

For the volunteers, working on the construction project is probably just as rewarding an experience. For the handful of retired carpenters, contractors, plumbers and electricians, there must be a deep sense of satisfaction in using their talents to help a deserving family have a home to call their own. For many, using their skills to build a home for a Habitat family might in some ways be more rewarding than a normal, paying job. Work on most other construction projects is often just a job, but building a Habitat house is done not for money, but for satisfaction and with compassion, love and faith.

An 11-hour house-raising effort put the East Butler home under roof on Saturday. The exterior work is expected to be completed in two weeks. The bulk of interior work will begin next week, and electrical work will be done by Bill Croup at no cost. Roofing is scheduled to be done on Saturday.

Plenty of labor helped the project move quickly last weekend, but one key to the accelerated schedule was using preassembled wall units made by Universal Forest Products.

Other contributors included donated work from Bauer Excavating.

Most of the 50 volunteers came from six area churches, including the new homeowners' church, North Street Christian Church in Butler. Some volunteers knew the Aaron Petsinger family who will eventually move into the house, but the majority did not. They just wanted to help.

Those with construction experience had obvious jobs at the East Butler site utilizing their relevant skills. But even people without construction experience were made part of the team, and some maybe even picked up new skills in the process.

From every angle, the Habitat for Humanity experience is a winner. The family, which participates in the process from the beginning, the skilled trades people and other volunteers, as well as the vendors providing materials, are all better for the experience.

Habitat's mission is marvelous, and the organization deserves all the support it gets — and more.