MACON, Ga. — Mercer Village will be a beacon of light thanks to Habitat for Humanity.
Executive Director Ivey Hall said the non-profit is using holiday lights to help keep the lights on for low-income families
"It really is just a community effort to bring it to life every year," Hall said.
Habitat for Humanity has started its biggest fundraiser to help support the Macon community and the effort to keep people in their homes.
"We work with families that might not be able to go to a traditional lender and we build houses with those families. They contribute 300 hours of sweat equity. We are not necessarily building it more them. We're building it with them," Hall said.
The goal of Habitat's 'Light More Homes' initiative is true to its name.
"We always say that 'Light More Homes' truly helps us light more homes, so our goal every year is that the money raised through light more homes will cover the electrical cost for our houses for the next year, so we're right on target with that," Hall said.
Penny Elkins is the Executive Vice President at Mercer University and she's confident Habitat will reach its goal now with the support and success of their partnership with Mercer.
"I looked at her and said 'Ivey, We've got this. I promise you bring it here and our community at Mercer and all of our amazing mercer students, faculty, and staff will rally around this and increase that number.' And in fact, we did," Elkins said. "We surpassed their goal last year and we intend to do the same thing this year."
Hall says Habitat has made tremendous progress this year. They've built seven homes and have six more under construction.
The lights will be up at Mercer Village until Jan. 5. They'll be on every night starting at 6 p.m. The light turn off around 10 p.m.
To make a donation and help families have a home for the holidays, you can scan the QR code posted in Mercer Village or visit Habitat for Humanity's website.