Lockport family getting a home thanks to Habitat and CITGO

Lockport — Volunteers from the CITGO Lemont Refinery took some time off work this week to help make one family’s dream of home ownership a reality.

CITGO Lemont partnered with Will County Habitat for Humanity to meet the ambitious goal of raising the entire outer structure of a Lockport house in just three days.

More than 90 volunteers from the refinery of varying skill levels, including retired former employees and the entire refinery leadership team, signed up to work in shifts from Tuesday to Thursday to transform an empty lot on Fairmont Avenue into a 1,200-square-foot house for a local family.

“This was the brainchild of our Routine Maintenance Manager Adam Cheney,” Refinery Vice President Jim Christman said. “He came to me and said the last house he worked on with Habitat took almost a year. He said, ‘If we could get support during work hours, we could get it built in three days.’ We approached Habitat and worked out a plan to get volunteers to come out in half-day shifts.”

Cheney first got involved with Habitat for Humanity in honor of his father, who taught him carpentry while he built their family’s home when Adam was a child and has been disabled by multiple sclerosis for several years. Cheney has continued the activity he bonded with his father over as a way to give hope to others in the community.

“I’ve built three homes with Habitat for Humanity in the past. I have a passion for it,” said Cheney, who arranged to be on sight helping lead volunteers for all three days of the build. “My father was a carpenter, so I did a lot of woodwork with him growing up. It’s fun, and this is for a good cause. Jim is really the one who took this from an idea to pushing it across the finish line. Word spread quickly through the company. A lot of people said we were crazy to think we could get it done in three days, but clearly, we’re getting close.”

Habitat for Humanity broke ground on the house and poured the foundation in July, but no further work was done until Tuesday. The CITGO team, joined by the future homeowner Adreania Jones, laid the support joists in the foundation and the floor of the house on day one, and were working on building all four of the home’s walls on day two.

By the end of the third day, the team planned to have the roof installed, which will enable interior work on the house to be completed throughout the winter, out of the elements.

“It’s particularly important to get the shell up quickly this time of year with the weather turning,” Christman said.

Even starting ahead of colder conditions, the weather complicated the project this week, with work starting Wednesday in heavy rain, turning much of the construction site into mud.

“The weather has been a bit of a challenge, but we have a great group of committed folks out here who haven’t let it stop them,” Christman said. “[The rain] stopped now, and we’re hoping it holds off for a while. Sometimes when you work for the Lord, you get a break.”

Cheryl Toohey, community outreach coordinator for Will County Habitat for Humanity, said the work the CITGO team has done will give the project “a great head start” heading into winter, when interior work including plumbing, electric and HVAC systems will be run.

“It’s nice to meet with the homeowners because it gives the team motivation. Not because of their gratitude, but to see the hope they have to get out of where they’re at and finally become homeowners.”

—   Jim Christman, vice president CITGO Lemont Riinery

That work will be completed over the course of several months by a combination of volunteer workers and hired contractors, many of whom donate a portion of their time or materials to the projects.

The Fairview Street house is part of Will County Habitat for Humanity’s “targeted neighborhood revitalization.”

According to Will County Habitat for Humanity Associate Director Dave Neary, the organization plans to spend between $6 million and $8 million in the Fairmont neighborhood over the next three to five years, including on the lot next door to the home being constructed.

“There are a number of vacant lots in this area, and we work with the county to acquire them through the Treasurer’s office,” Neary said. “Then we find local families to partner with and build the homes.”

In order to qualify, families must apply online and meet certain requirements. They must make 60 percent of the local median income or less, show need for housing, be willing to assist in the construction of their home, and share their story through Habitat for Humanity.

The CITGO volunteers first met with the future homeowner Jones and her three children in July at the groundbreaking event.

“It’s nice to meet with the homeowners because it gives the team motivation,” Christman said. “Not because of their gratitude, but to see the hope they have to get out of where they’re at and finally become homeowners.”

While CITGO Lemont has had employees work with Habitat for Humanity before on a home renovation in 2022, this is the first on-the-clock event they’ve done, and the first partnership of this scale. Christman said it will not be the last.

Christman and Cheney noted that several departments of the refinery staff had all or most of their employees volunteering over the course of the week, with the Turn around Department even using the event as an official team building activity.

“The plant responded really well to the idea,” Christman said. “This is part of a growing relationship we hope to build with Habitat for Humanity.”