Bankers building home for C.R. family

CEDAR RAPIDS -- During a normal week, Dick Swanson, Dan Laird and their colleagues would be working in their air-conditioned Des Moines offices.

This week, Swanson, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, and Laird, vice president of member services, are sweating with other bank employees in the heat to build a new home for Minea Nanez and her three sons at 1207 Winchell Dr. NE.

"We build a home with Habitat for Humanity each year," Laird said. "It really fits our mission, which is to assist our bank customers in their affordable housing and economic development efforts."

Jeff Capps, executive director of Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity in Cedar Rapids, said the Federal Home Loan Bank is a $100,000 home sponsor in addition to providing manpower for the corporate team-building project.

"Over the past three years, the bank has offered us $230,000 in sponsorship," Capps said. "It is a wonderful partnership and an ideal example of our Hope Builders corporate team-building program that we're working to get off the ground in Cedar Rapids."

When the team headed by Laird arrived by van Monday morning, the three-bedroom "house" was a foundation with a deck of plywood. Swanson admits he was concerned about the weather.

"It really wasn't looking that good when we arrived, but it has turned out to be a perfect week for this project," Swanson said as he worked with a Habitat for Humanity staffer to install sliding glass doors at the back of the home.

Laird said the exterior walls of the home were constructed by Kirkwood Community College students.

"We tilted them up and tacked them in place," he said. "We also had rafters installed for the roof. It's really starting to look like a home."

Nanez, who works for a local nursing home, was able to take this week as vacation to perform "sweat equity" work on her new home.

"I have to provide 300 hours," she said. "So far, I've worked about 215 hours."

Nanez and her three sons hope to move into their new home at the end of August. Laird said the bank crew will have the house ready for electricians and plumbers to do their work when they wrap up their portion of the home this weekend.

The house will have a living room, dining room, kitchen, baths and three bedrooms. Nanez expects to finish the basement at a later date, adding that she's learned a lot about home construction while performing her required sweat equity.

"I plan to bring my sons out tonight to see the house now that it looks more like a home," she said. "We're really looking forward to moving into our own home."