Photo credit: Whitney Morales

Stacey, a resident of Sheboygan County, had been doing fine in the home she had lived in for 25 years. One day, though, she realized that getting in and out of the bathtub was becoming more difficult. Stacey called Sheboygan County’s Aging and Disabilities Resource Centers, who put her in touch with Habitat for Humanity Lakeside. Habitat, in turn, arranged for a trained professional to install grab bars in her bathroom.

The turnaround was quick and the cost, budget friendly. “When I lost my husband three years ago, half my income went with him,” Stacey says. “I could not have gotten this done without Habitat.” Bath time is now safer, and Stacey will be able to stay in her home. “I’m just so relieved, I can’t begin to tell you.”

There’s no place like home, so it’s no wonder that 77 percent of American adults age 50 and older want to stay in their homes as they age, according to an AARP survey. Sometimes, though, a home needs a few extras to enable adults to stay in their homes. Grab bars in bathrooms, ramps, and doorways wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs are just a few of these necessary modifications.

Habitat Lakeside’s new Aging in Place program is here to help. The program, for adults aged 62 or older who own a home in Sheboygan County, offers affordable home modifications, including but not limited to railings and ramps, raised toilet seats, grab bars, lighting improvements, secure locks, and lever-style door handles and faucets. These might sound like small fixes, but they can make a world of difference, as well as make the difference between getting to stay in a home loved and lived in for decades, or moving to another, unfamiliar place.

Sheboygan County residents who are 62 or older, own and occupy their own home in the county, have valid homeowner insurance, are current on property taxes, and meet the income guidelines shown below are encouraged to apply for the program. The cost of the home repair will depend on the scope of the project. Affordable financing will be available, and, as mentioned, trained professionals will do the repair work.
 
To learn more about the Aging in Place Program, contact Penny Rayfield, Habitat Lakeside’s family services manager, at 920.458.3399, ext. 307, or by emailing [email protected].
 
​Habitat for Humanity Lakeside is part of a global nonprofit housing organization working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S. and in approximately 70 countries to build homes, communities, and hope. The main goal is to eliminate substandard housing through constructing, rehabilitating, and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their housing conditions. Habitat reserves the right to determine which building projects can be done by our staff or volunteers. Habitat will evaluate the house to assess the scope of work and cost of repairs.
 

By Le’Shay Guy, Habitat Lakeside executive director

For nonprofits, the end of a fiscal year is a lot like New Year’s Eve. It’s fun and instructive to reflect on the year that’s ending and enjoyable to imagine what’s in store for the new year.

As Habitat Lakeside closes fiscal 2024 and welcomes fiscal 2025, here are my reflections on what’s happened and what is about to happen.

This spring, we finished our 52nd house, which became a home in June when Teanna Zillmer and her family moved in. The house is a financial foundation for Zillmer; it is also a physical memorial to the son of a compassionate and generous Sheboygan family. The dedication took place on a Wednesday in the home’s living room due to drenching rain. About three dozen people of all generations mingled in that house, suffusing it with love and kindness. The event embodied our mission: Bringing people together to build homes, community, and hope.

We developed and published our new strategic plan, which calls for five houses to be built each year beginning in 2027. This goal, when accomplished, will increase our capacity to provide affordable housing in Sheboygan County by 150 percent. Note that I say “when” and not “if.”  That’s because I trust that individuals, corporations, and organizations in Sheboygan will support us in our mission, as they have in years past. Thank you for your support — past, present, and future.

Our office team is complete. Formerly development director, I stepped into the executive director role this past January. Penny Rayfield, family services manager, joined us in August of 2024. Lisa Bertagnoli filled the role of marketing and communications manager in March of 2025, and Rachel Hartlaub, former interim ReStore manager, accepted the full-time position in April. Jon Hoffman, a long-time Habitat Lakeside employee (and former executive director!) is our construction manager.

A fully staffed Habitat Lakeside comes in handy as we welcome our 2025 fiscal year on July 1. We have acquired the land needed to build three homes this year, an encouraging start to our goal of five a year. With the help of several prominent and compassionate Sheboygan County families, we are widening the search for private funding.

We have exciting new programs planned, including Repurposed for a Reason, an art exhibition and collaboration with The Sheboygan Collective, a Sheboygan-based art school and creative collaborative space. The exhibition, scheduled for Aug. 6, 2025, will launch an arts-and-crafts kiosk in the ReStore. ReStore, for its part, is growing by leaps and bounds, thanks to its dedicated staff and volunteers, plus high-quality donations from area residents and businesses. Keep them coming, please and thank you.

Rock the Block, our three-day-long neighborhood spruce-up event, will take place in Plymouth this year for the first time ever, and we can hardly wait. We’ll need volunteers, so sign up early and sign up often and watch this space and our social media for details.
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Aging in place, a home-repair service for older adults, will begin this fiscal year, too. Details will be revealed on our website and social media pages. We’re excited to help Sheboygan adults stay in their homes for as long as they can, because as we all know, there’s no place like home.

By Charlie Allis and Sam Parnitzke, Habitat for Humanity Lakeside interns
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One of the best things about Habitat for Humanity Lakeside is our ReStore, which features a wide selection of new and lightly used building supplies, home furnishings, decorative items, and outdoor essentials and affordable prices. The Restore is also an integral part of our mission. Its sales support our home-building and home-repair projects, all of which make Sheboygan County a better place to live.

Restore depends on the kindness of the community for so many reasons, including fulfilling our needs for volunteers and donations. We think it’s a two-way street: You can help ReStore and ReStore can help you. Here’s how.

Save money.
Shopping at ReStore helps you find great deals on items you might not have even realized you needed. No matter what you are looking, try ReStore first. We offer hundreds of different products, ranging from furniture and plumbing fixtures to HVAC necessities, tools (screwdrivers are $1 each) and kitchen cabinets. We get new donations every week, making ReStore a fun and unique place to shop. If you see something unique, grab it before someone else does. Chances are good you won’t see it anywhere else.

Declutter your home.
Whether you're up to your head in clutter or simply just need to offload some unwanted items, donate to ReStore, then enjoy the freshly open space of your home. We accept everything (scrap metal and aluminum cans included) and, beginning July 1, you can schedule a pickup with our online application. It has never been easier to clean your house and get rid of all your annoying clutter.
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Help the planet.
You’ve bought online before. Most new items are overly packaged, and most of the time that packaging ends up in a landfill. Buying a donated, lightly used item from ReStore gives a used item new life and keeps it from ending up in the dump. Your purchase also reduces the amount of packaging destined for the dump. And donating scrap metal and aluminum cans keeps them out of landfills and increases their chances of being recycled. It's a win-win-win.

Use your time wisely.
Another way to help us is by volunteering. We constantly need volunteers for all sorts of tasks. We promise you that your time with us will be fun, rewarding, and much appreciated. Volunteering at ReStore is a great way to get involved with the Sheboygan community and feel like you’re part of something.

Help us help Sheboygan County.
ReStore proceeds support our home builds, and we’re on track to build three this coming year. They support our Home Repair program and our new Aging in Place program. For families, a solid foundation starts with a home. For older adults, a secure future starts with a safe home. Together, we build this foundation and security for our fellow citizens.
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Habitat for Humanity Lakeside’s work can make a difference to everyone in Sheboygan County. Choose to shop at ReStore, and you become part of that change.
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ReStore is located at 1911 N. 8th St. in Sheboygan. We are open Wednesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call us to see what not only we can do for you, but what you can do for our community. 

Teanna Zillmer, Habitat for Humanity Lakeside's newest homeowner, delivered these remarks at the dedication of her home on May 28, 2025. 

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you so much for being here. It truly means a lot to look around and see so many familiar faces, along with some new ones here to share in this special moment. I’ll be the first to admit that public speaking isn’t exactly in my comfort zone, but this is one of those rare times I’ve genuinely looked forward to standing up and saying a few words.

I’m lucky to be joined today by my two favorite little humans: my son Byron, who’s 7 and full of big heart and endless energy, and my daughter Mazikeen, who’s 1 and currently living her best life excited to have new cabinets to slam shut. They keep me grounded, make me laugh, and remind me every day why I applied for this home in the first place.

Standing here today is incredibly emotional — not just because of what this house means, but because of what this journey has taught me, and trust me when I say it’s about more than just drywall and paint samples.

When I first applied for this home, I was pregnant with my daughter, raising my son alone and moving back into my parents’ house. There was a lot of love in that home…and also a lot of bumping into each other, stepping over toys, and trying to find quiet corners that just didn’t exist. Let’s just say privacy was a luxury — and babyproofing someone else’s kitchen is as tricky as it sounds.

I was overwhelmed. I didn’t know how I was going to give my kids the life they deserved. But I had hope — and I took a leap of faith, applying to Habitat not knowing exactly what would come of it, but praying something good would.

What I didn’t expect was that along the way, I’d find something even greater than a home. I found my faith.

I wasn’t raised in a religious household. But through Habitat, through the people I met, the kindness I received, and the strength I saw in others, I found something I didn’t know I was missing. I found God. And I truly believe He brought us here, not just to this home, but to this community, to this purpose.

Now, my 7-year-old son finally has a room to call his own — he’s already plotting where to put secret passageways — and my daughter, now one, will be taking her first steps in our very own hallway. I get to baby-proof a space that’s actually mine. I mean, that’s living the dream, right?

To the volunteers, donors, and the entire Habitat team: You didn’t just build a house. You built a foundation for our future. Every nail you hammered, every hour you gave, was a step toward stability, joy, and yes, grace. You helped me give my children a safe place to grow and a mother who’s grown, too.

Photo: Whitney Morales Photography

Habitat for Humanity Lakeside’s 52nd home is complete and ready for its new family. We’re proud of this accomplishment and proud of our new strategic plan, which will ramp up home building to five a year.
 
How, you might wonder, is it possible for Habitat for Humanity Lakeside to build one simple, decent, and affordable new home a year, let alone five?

Two major ingredients: One is our financing model. The other is the overwhelming support we get from businesses, organizations, and individuals.
 
Let’s start with the financing model. Habitat homes aren’t free. The three criteria for prospective home buyers are need, their ability to pay, and their willingness to partner. Approved homebuyers must contribute 250 hours of sweat equity toward building the home and receive financial education. Once the home is built, they receive an interest-free mortgage based on 23 percent of their adjusted gross income.
 
The second ingredient: Overwhelming support of our mission from Sheboygan-area residents, organizations, and businesses. Donated lumber, flooring, appliances, plumbing supplies, paint, drywall, and other house-building necessities. Thousands of labor hours donated by skilled electricians and plumbers as well as people who love to build things.
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Nothing we do is possible without this generosity. Everyone's commitment to our work enables us to give people a hand up, not a handout, as we like to say.
 
Next week, we’ll turn this space over to the family scheduled to be the newest Habitat for Humanity Lakeside partner family. Right now, we thank the kind and compassionate people and companies for their contributions to our newest home.
 
Richard and Kristin Bemis and their family for their generous financial and in-kind sponsorship of the home, given in loving memory of Austen Bemis.
 
Kohler Company, Poly Vinyl, Color Guard Railing Systems, Whirlpool, Levolor, Pella, Sherwin-Willams, Steven Tenpas Drywall, Schneider Electric, Heim Plumbing, Drexel Building Supply, JF Lopez Roofing, Baumann Excavating, Amerhart, IBEW Local 2150, Wisconsin State Sheet Metal Workers Local 18, and IBEW Local 494, for in-kind donations of building equipment and skilled volunteer time.
 
Altrusa International for the home’s bookcase and books.
 
Meijer for the dedication celebration’s refreshments.
 
The individuals, church groups, and corporate teams who volunteered their time and talents to build this home.
 
Thank you. We’re breaking ground on our 53rd home later this year and we can’t wait to see you again.

Habitat for Humanity Lakeside has a new and limited-time-only program designed to help Sheboygan County veterans keep their homes safe and in good repair.

We'll help make a variety of critical repairs, including replacing/repairing steps, decks, railings, ramps, exterior doors, windows, siding/sheathing, trim, fascia, gutter boards, downspouts; paint; weatherization and insulation; replacing or repairing interior doors, ceilings, walls, and floors/flooring; and making accessibility modifications such as installing ramps and grab bars. The repairs are completed by trained Habitat staff and volunteers.
 
You may qualify the program if you can answer yes to the following questions:

1. Are you a veteran with a general or honorable discharge, any year, from any branch of service?
2. Do you own and occupy a single-family home in Sheboygan County?
3. Are your house payments and property taxes up to date?
4. Do you have a homeowners insurance policy in effect?
5. Is your home in need of critical repairs?
6. Does your income fall within these guidelines?

​To learn more about this program, please contact Penny Rayfield, Habitat Lakeside family services manager, at 920.458.3399 ext. 307 or by email: [email protected]. Applications must be filed by August 15, 2025. 
 
Habitat reserves the right to determine which building projects can be done by our staff or volunteers. Habitat will evaluate the house to assess the scope of work and cost of repairs.
 
Habitat for Humanity Lakeside is part of a global nonprofit housing organization working in local communities across all 50 United States and in approximately 70 countries to build homes, communities, and hope. The main goal is to eliminate substandard housing through constructing, rehabilitating, and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their housing conditions.

At any given time, Habitat for Humanity Lakeside has about 50 volunteers helping with most facets of our mission, from building houses to office work to pricing items at the ReStore.

Join us, won’t you? Enthusiastic, generous people are key to our mission.

Please head to our website and fill out the volunteer form. When you’re finished, hang tight: We’ll get to you very quickly. Most volunteers can be working the very next day. In the meantime, here’s what you need to know about volunteering with Habitat for Humanity Lakeside:
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1. All skill sets and levels are welcome. We’ll train you.
2. We’ll provide tools and safety equipment.
3. We’re flexible with scheduling, mostly. We do ask that home-building volunteers spend at least four hours on sites because it usually takes that much time to complete a building-site project.
4. We do a background check on volunteers. Don’t take it personally, please. Habitat for Humanity Lakeside volunteers work with the public.
5. Looking for community-service volunteer hours? Apply, please. Thank you.
6. Age matters! If you’re 14 to 17 years old, you’ll need a parent with you to volunteer at ReStore. You’ll need a parent on a building site with you if you’re 16 or 17. Eighteen or older? You can volunteer on your own.
7. Expect a distinct experience every time you volunteer. ReStore volunteers, for instance, price items, clean them, repair them, and set them on the sales floor. It’s never boring.
8. Expect to feel productive. At Habitat for Humanity Lakeside, you enjoy the fruits of your labor at the end of your volunteer shift, whether it’s fresh shingles on a roof or a fetching display at the ReStore.
9. Expect to have fun. Few experiences match the camaraderie of a Habitat for Humanity home-building site, which brings people together to build homes, community, and hope.
10.  Expect to feel welcomed and appreciated.
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You’re in good hands when you volunteer at Habitat Lakeside. We want you to have fun and feel useful. And our volunteer coordinators know just how to do that. 

By Jon Hoffman, Habitat for Humanity Lakeside construction manager

Habitat for Humanity homes aren’t free. Our partner families pay a mortgage that’s tailored to their finances. Just as importantly, each adult who will live in the home invests 250 hours of sweat equity into the building of the house that will become their home.

Sweat equity, in case you are not familiar with the term, is the labor hours people invest in any project. During my 11 years at Habitat for Humanity Lakeside, I’ve seen sweat equity take many forms. One soon-to-be homeowner kept volunteers fed as they worked on his house. That same person also became good at pouring concrete. He helped finish his driveway and has since volunteered on concrete projects on other Habitat building sites. Other homeowners have hammered shingles on roofs, painted interiors and exteriors, and assisted trained volunteers with electric and plumbing projects. Yet another continues her sweat equity commitment by serving on a Habitat for Humanity Lakeside committee.

Sweat equity helps build houses. It also builds the homeowner’s relationship with the house and sets the stage for homeownership.

How so?

First, sweat equity bonds homeowners with their new homes. When they’re part of the process of building a house, they stake a claim to it and develop a relationship with it, as well as an understanding of how they will function and thrive in their new environment. Think about how you bond with something that you nurture from infancy to its full realization. A child. Or a vegetable garden.

Second, Habitat for Humanity’s homeowners are first-time homeowners. Sweat equity helps them think of themselves as homeowners, not renters. When you’re renting, you accept what’s there and make the most of it. When you and a community of people are building your home, details matter. That nick in the closet door? Good enough for a rental, not good enough for a house. As the house evolves from a hole in the ground to a comfortable and safe space for a family, a family that’s investing sweat equity into the house develops pride of ownership.
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A home, for most people, is the biggest investment they will make. Habitat for Humanity Lakeside partner families have traveled a long road to be able to make this investment. Sweat equity helps make sure that the investment is a sound one.

By Heather Russell, Habitat for Humanity Lakeside Partner Family member
 
Back in 2016, my young sons, Michael and Noah, and I were renting an apartment in the lower half of a house. Our upstairs neighbors were smokers, and the smoke smell would fill the hallways and our house, which would give me a headache. I’m not sure what their situation was, but whatever it was, they got quite a few visits from the police.

At the time, I was working as a special education aide for the Plymouth School District. One of the Habitat for Humanity Lakeside board members was head of the department. She knew about our situation from the occupational therapist who helped Michael, who has a degenerative vision impairment. The therapist asked if I wanted to be considered for a Habitat home. I didn’t even know what that meant.

I found out soon enough as the application process started. I filled out the first application. The next step was credit counseling. Then there was an in-home visit. Then there was a review by the Habitat board. I did it all without my sons’ knowing because I didn’t want to get their hopes up.

I found out we got the house on May 26, 2016, the same day Michael’s school surprised him with a field trip to New York to visit the Statue of Liberty, which was something he wanted to see while his vision was still good enough. I get choked up just thinking about it and this amazing community.

Groundbreaking was in the fall of 2016. My church was really involved and made meals for the workers. I did my sweat equity working at the Habitat booth at Plymouth’s Mill Street Festival. I also did drywall and siding and helped set up the trusses for the garage roof.

We moved into the house in 2017. Michael said the layout of the house was easy to maneuver. He and Noah had their own rooms, so they had more privacy and more space. I felt safer in the neighborhood, safe enough to leave them alone for a few nights so I could go back to school and earn a degree in cosmetology. I was able to make a career change and have been at my current salon for three years.

My family is more stable now. I don’t have to worry about finding a new affordable rental every three or four years as Michael and Noah grow up. We’ve been able to become part of this neighborhood and get to know our amazing neighbors. I feel more secure financially because my housing money is building equity in the house, not going to some landlord.  
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Has the experience been life-changing? Yes. As Noah says: “This house has affected my life greatly! I have my own spot to go to and it’s a very stable place to go to without having to move so often. We have been here for eight years now in July, and I am very lucky and happy to call it my home.”