March 2 – May 10, 2018

Partner Family: Anika  /  Location: 712 Carver Ave.

Dedication: Saturday, May 19 – Armed Services Day (a special event for this build and participants!)

To sponsor part of this build, please contact Melissa Cross, Development Director, 615-890-5877 x110 / Best number: 615-603-5395 (cell)

Thank you to the support of Veterans groups throughout Rutherford County!

We expect to have over 20 veterans groups involved in this build!

Thank you to our Sponsors of the Veterans Build!

Presenting Sponsorship Available!
Additional Sponsorships Available
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church – Panel Build for the Veterans Build	Knights of Columbus – Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church
First Community Mortgage Cares
Thank you to our participating Veterans Groups!
The Rutherford County Veterans Office can assist veterans and their families with services and benefits.	U.S. Military Vets Motorcycle Club TN Chapter 7
	Post 8422 – Smyrna, TN
B.R.A.V.O. – Blue Raider American Veterans Organization, part of Student Veterans of America.
Thank you to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church for hosting and sponsoring the Panel Build for this house! They built all of the walls for Nika’s house in just 5 hours!
Total Raised = $43,000	Thank you to NIU Students with the Newman Catholic Student Center who will volunteer on this build the week of March 12th (this is their 13th year of volunteering with RCHFH!)
	Additional Sponsors Welcome! FIND OUT ABOUT SPONSORSHIPS

Believe In Yourself. After graduating from high school in 1989, Nika joined the Navy. It was the best decision she ever made. After serving our country for six years and moving around a lot, Nika was looking forward to settling down and began working at FFV doing aviation maintenance.  

Unfortunately, it was not long until Nika found herself in a difficult place. She and her husband divorced, she was out of work, and she did not have a place to live. It was her church family at New Hope that encouraged her not to give up. In time, she enrolled at MTSU, moved into Family Housing and was selected for work study. She was studying Social Work when she was given the assignment to write a paper on a local organization. Nika had volunteered with Habitat for Humanity before with her church and thought it would be the perfect place. Through her research and own volunteer experiences, she began to think perhaps she could become a Habitat Homeowner.

In 2014, Nika graduated from MTSU with a degree in Social Work. She spent the next two years working on her credit and establishing a steady income, which was not enough to qualify for a conventional mortgage. In 2016, Nika decided to apply for the Habitat program and was accepted. She greatly values the budgeting classes, making new friends, and learning how to be a stable homeowner. However, it was the journey of getting to where she is today that she values the most. This is something that she did all by herself through focus and hard work. She relied on her own two feet to move forward and is looking forward to what the future will bring.

Full Bio