SPRINGFIELD, Maine — “I don’t even know the date,” Alexa Dare said, pen shaking as she prepared to sign the documents to take ownership of her new home.
“It’s the 20th,” said Bruce Swan, pastor of Springfield Community Chapel.
“I’ll never forget this day,” Dare said, her voice breaking as she moved the pen.
Dare plans to move into the three-bedroom, one-bath home at 299 Park St. in Springfield with her husband, Michael Hill, and two sons, Michael Hill Jr., 8, and Madden Hill, 3, to start the new year.
Over the past six months, members of the Springfield Community Chapel, along with community volunteers have worked tirelessly to get the home ready, volunteering hundreds of hours, Swan said.
The nondenominational church acquired the property from Wells Fargo, which got the home in a foreclosure. Wells Fargo offered the house to the church, saying it could use, rent or sell it as it pleased, but the exchange took several months. The church, which finally took over the house last summer, also got $10,000 to cover the costs of the extensive renovations needed to make the home liveable.
For the church, its board and parishioners, the decision was easy — they wanted to give the home away to a family that needed it, just in time for Christmas.
The home had fallen into disrepair. Ceilings needed to be redone, floors torn up, the roof reshingled, the boiler replaced, and more.
As the work was going on, the church began accepting applications. It received six responses from people who wanted the home, each explaining their situation and why it was needed. The church board picked Dare’s application, and notified her last week, just days before parishioners found out who the family was on Sunday.
About 30 church and community members crammed into the home’s kitchen on Sunday afternoon to watch and celebrate as the family signed the paperwork and got their first tour of their new home. An emotional Dare handed the pastor a $1 bill, needed to make the transaction legal. They won’t have to pay a mortgage or rent.
After the deal was done, the group held hands and prayed together, asking for God’s blessing on the home and its new family.
Dare said she’s thrilled to have a washer and dryer — no more collecting quarters for trips to a coin-operated laundromat. The boys were happy to have their own rooms, and explored the house after the signing ceremony wrapped up.
“I thank God every day,” Dare told church members gathered at her new home. “I’ll be seeing you all in church.”
The family moved to Maine about a year and a half ago from San Diego, renting a place in Howland to be closer to her father, who lives in Maine.
Dare works at Colonial Health Care in Lincoln, and she’ll continue to work there after the family’s move, she said. The family also will volunteer in the community as a way of returning the favor, Michael Hill said.
Asked where this ranked in terms of Christmas gifts she’s received, Dare said this was “the best I’ve had in my entire life.”
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter at @nmccrea213.