With 11 finished homes under their tool belts, the Champaign County volunteers of Habitat for Humanity have begun a new tradition: an award that recognizes the Habitat homeowners who are helping to keep their adopted neighborhoods attractive.

The Home Sweet Home Beautification Award will be presented twice a year and the first recipients live in a Habitat build at 218 Harmon Ave. in Urbana.

Barb Brooks and her son Daniel recently accepted the inaugural award from board members of Habitat for Humanity/Champaign County Ohio. Marge and Dan Baker, Greg Ward, Julie Urquhart and Brian Newman presented the Brooks family with the recognition banner for their yard as well as other gifts, including a $100 gift certificate to the ReStore, a $50 gift from Brock C. Comer Memorial Scholarship, and a gift certificate from Cafe Paradiso.

The Brooks home is fully handicap-accessible and was built with donated labor.

Habitat for Humanity’s goal is to build its 12th local home in 2021 and the group is planning to develop a donated lot in Mechanicsburg.

The Brooks family won the first Habitat for Humanity/Champaign County Ohio Home Sweet Home Beautification Award. Pictured on the home’s porch are homeowner Barb Brooks and her son Daniel. Standing in front from left are local Habitat board members Marge and Dan Baker, Greg Ward, Julie Urquhart and Brian Newman.

https://www.urbanacitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2020/09/web1_group.jpgThe Brooks family won the first Habitat for Humanity/Champaign County Ohio Home Sweet Home Beautification Award. Pictured on the home’s porch are homeowner Barb Brooks and her son Daniel. Standing in front from left are local Habitat board members Marge and Dan Baker, Greg Ward, Julie Urquhart and Brian Newman. Submitted photos

The Brooks home is decked out in summer blooms, earning it the inaugural Home Sweet Home Habitat Beautification Award.

https://www.urbanacitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2020/09/web1_home_exterior.jpgThe Brooks home is decked out in summer blooms, earning it the inaugural Home Sweet Home Habitat Beautification Award. Submitted photos

A banner adorns the Brooks home in recognition of its status as a Habitat for Humanity Home Sweet Home Beautification Award winner.

https://www.urbanacitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2020/09/web1_home_award.jpgA banner adorns the Brooks home in recognition of its status as a Habitat for Humanity Home Sweet Home Beautification Award winner. Submitted photos