By Le’Shay Guy, executive director, Habitat for Humanity Lakeside

April is a time of renewal. As spring returns, we are reminded of what matters most: home. This month, Habitat for Humanity affiliates launch the Home Is the Key initiative to raise awareness and funds for affordable housing. In Sheboygan County, this campaign is not just fundraising. It’s a call to action: stable housing changes lives, especially for our children.

When we talk about housing, we often mention structures: walls, roofs, and foundations. But for children, home is much more. Home is where they sleep, learn, grow, and feel safe. It shapes their ability to succeed in school, build relationships, and imagine a future full of possibilities.

Unfortunately, not every child has that stability, and for many families, the challenge isn’t just affordability; it’s access.

Fair housing is the idea that everyone deserves equal opportunity to secure safe, decent housing, regardless of race, income, family status, or background. Laws have been in place for decades to protect these rights, but barriers still exist. Families can face discrimination, limited lending, or systemic challenges. These obstacles make it harder to achieve homeownership.

These barriers don’t just affect adults; they affect children in lasting ways.

When families are denied fair access to housing, children are more likely to move frequently, live in overcrowded homes, or face unsafe environments. Instability can disrupt education, harm mental health, and limit opportunities. Research shows that children who grow up in stable housing perform better academically, face fewer behavioral challenges, and are more likely to graduate high school.

Stability creates consistency, and consistency allows children to thrive.

At Habitat for Humanity Lakeside, we see both challenges and possibilities every day. We partner with families who are working hard, raising children, and contributing to our community. Many still face barriers to affordable, equitable homeownership. Through our programs, families invest their time in partnering, building alongside volunteers, and committing to long-term stability.

And the transformation is powerful.

Children who once lived in uncertainty now have a place to call their own. They have a quiet space to do homework and a neighborhood to build friendships. They know they won’t have to leave. Parents often tell us they see changes almost immediately. Improved behavior, better school performance, and renewed confidence are common.

A home provides more than shelter. It provides a foundation for opportunity. When that opportunity is fair and accessible, entire communities benefit.

The Home Is the Key campaign reminds us that we all have a crucial role in creating a solid foundation for our community. Act today: Donate, sign up to volunteer, or use your voice to champion fair housing practices. Each action directly impacts families and builds stronger, more equitable communities.

Here in Sheboygan County, every dollar raised stays local. It goes directly toward helping families achieve affordable homeownership, completing critical home repairs, and revitalizing neighborhoods. It supports children who deserve a stable place to grow up and a fair chance to succeed.

As a community, we pride ourselves on looking out for one another. Supporting both affordable and fair housing is one of the most impactful ways we can live out that value.
Because when we invest in housing, we’re not just building homes. We’re investing in the future of our community.
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Home is the key. Together, we can make sure every child has one. Every family should have a fair chance to build it.

Kewanna and her children in their as-yet-unfinished home.

By Habitat Lakeside staff

When Shawn and Carla were young, they dreamed of owning a dining table big enough to host future family gatherings, one complete with grown children, grandchildren, and other family members. In July of 2025, that dream started to come true when the two found a round cherrywood table at the Sheboygan ReStore.

The table, priced at $85, was made by Tom Seely, a furniture maker specializing in authentic reproductions of classic designs. As purchased, it was 50 inches round, had no leaves with which to expand it, and its chairs had stained cushions. Shawn and Carla, though, looked past its imperfections and saw possibilities.

​They took it home and embarked on an eight-month-long journey of turning a Sheboygan ReStore bargain into a family heirloom. “We have always loved creating and building,” Carla says. Over the years the couple, who live in Town of Herman, have laid a 180-foot-long brick driveway, added a bedroom, finished a basement, tiled a bathroom, and landscaped a yard, among other projects. “We prefer to do the work ourselves and feel great satisfaction in creating something beautiful,” Carla says. “It allows us to do more projects without debt.”

The two started by searching for planks to expand the table, which at the time of purchase sat only four people. “It was tricky to source 5/4-inch rough-sawn cherry,” Carla says. When they found it, Carla’s parents gave them the planks as a Christmas gift.

The couple then used Carla’s father’s basement to joint, plane, glue, and clamp the planks to turn them into leaves, drill holes for the pegs used to place the leaves in the table, then finish the whole tabletop with stain and polyurethane. They had planned to reupholster the chairs but found that that spot remover got the stains out of the cushions.

The finished result is a 10-foot-long oval table with six removable leaves and a detachable center leg. Wooden chairs from previously owned tables, or chairs found at the ReStore, accompany the four original chairs. The table can seat 12 comfortable, “14 if we’re cozy,” Carla says.

The table accommodated the couple, their grown children, and other family members for a recent Easter celebration. “It was a blessing to have,” Carla says. “This is the table we dreamed of having when our children were young.” When family members aren’t around, the couple can reduce the table to its original 50-inch round shape.

In addition to the $85 purchase price, the couple invested time and money to turn the Sheboygan ReStore purchase into a family treasure. Economizing, though, was never really the point. “This was an investment in our future, not really a money-saving venture,” Carla says. “It was the fulfillment of a dream of having as many people around our table as would fit in our space. We never expected to find this treasure at the ReStore,” she says.

The couple visits the store to find supplies that can work with whatever project they’ve embarked on. “It’s always fun to see what new items come in or what I can repurpose as my children are moving out of our home and attempting to furnish a place of their own,” Carla says.
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Interested in finding your own dream come true? “Try to look past the scratches and imperfections and see what it could become with some time and effort,” Carla says. “You never know what you will find.”

View the slide show below to see how the table progressed from ReStore find to family treasure.