BROOMFIELD — Tamales, tapenade and meatballs made the menu at the Holy Smokes Clergy Cook-Off on Saturday, but donations to families needing a home of their own was the best dish served.
Flatirons Habitat for Humanity teamed up with five area churches for the fifth annual event, held at Broomfield United Methodist Church. Organizers expected to raise $6,000 for the charity.
Flatirons Habitat for Humanity serves Boulder and Broomfield counties. The organization and its volunteers have built 53 homes since 1993 and are working on several more, said executive director John Lovell.
The Aquileras, a family of four with a 9-year-old autistic son, had never dreamed of owning their own home.
“It gives a family like us so much hope,” said 47-year-old Leticia Aquilera. She hopes her family can move in by June. She and her husband must first contribute 225 hours of “sweat equity” — helping to build the home — as well as complete home-maintenance and financial-planning classes required for all Habitat families.
The home will give the Aquileras a chance to focus on their son and their daughter’s education, rather than worry about rising rent and another move. The Aquileras both work providing in-home care for elderly or ill people. They stagger shifts so one of them can always be with their son.
The Habitat mentoring and financial-planning philosophy, aimed at keeping Habitat families moving toward new goals as well as paying their new mortgages, is partly what drew the First Congregational Church in Boulder to participate in Habitat for Humanity programs, said Jason Hays, associate pastor.
“Habitat is a responsible organization with a high level of integrity,” Hays said. “We have a high level of confidence contributing to them.”
For more information on Flatirons Habitat, visit .
