Community Corner
Habitat Children’s Book Hits Home with Young Readers
Longtime Habitat for Humanity volunteers uses proceeds from book sales to help the non-profit organization.
Recently, author Gene Stelten paid a visit to the 2nd graders at Manning Oaks Elementary in Alpharetta, to ready his book, “A House for Wally and Me.”
The story is about a young girl whose family receives a Habitat home. The book emphasizes the importance of volunteerism and also teaches children about home construction.
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“My dream has come true. This is my first book.” – Manning Oaks second grae student.
The children were engrossed in the story about Allie and her family and after the reading were allowed to ask questions from the author. The children were very interested in how Mr. Stelten came up for the idea to write the book and also asked questions about the actual construction of the home. After the reading, each second grader received a free copy of “A House for Wally and Me.”
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One of the children said upon receiving the book, “My dream has come true. This is my first book.” This brought tears to many of the teachers and volunteers who attended the event.
About the author:
Gene Stelten, a long-time resident of Roswell, has previously authored three books entitled A Christmas Housewarming, 1992; Home for the Holidays, 1995; and Thanks, MOM, 1999. He has devoted the last 28 years to volunteerism and to the Habitat organization. He has been instrumental in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Habitat and helped to found the Habitat for Humanity North Fulton affiliate in 1992. In 2006, Habitat North Fulton merged with the affiliates in Forsyth and Cherokee County to form Habitat for Humanity- North Central Georgia. To date, Habitat for Humanity - North Central Georgia has completed 231 homes and served more than 850 family members. Mr. Stelten was recently recognized by Bank of America as one of its “Local Heroes” for his tremendous dedication and volunteerism to Habitat for Humanity.
Information about the book: A House for Wally and Me was published in 2009 and was recognized by the Catholic Services Press as a top ten book to read and was also selected by the Mom’s Choice Awards.
