Greenville Family Achieves Dream of Homeownership with ‘Home for the Holidays’

Greenville, SC – December 12, 2019 – The Greenville United Ministries’ Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) and Clayton® hosted a ribbon cutting event today, officially donating a new 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, off-site built home to Charles and Julie Merritt and their two sons. The Greenville family has worked tirelessly to improve living conditions for their children over the years.

The Merritts and their two sons entered the IHN Program in 2018 after leaving an uninhabitable rental unit. Despite physical disabilities, the parents worked closely with IHN to overcome housing obstacles, improve their financial stability and ensure that their children continue to access necessary educational resources.

“We are honored to join IHN in donating this new Clayton home to Charles, Julie and their two children, Jordan and Trevor,” said Susan Brown, director of philanthropy for Clayton. “They have shown continuous resilience over the years and we are excited to see them achieve the dream of homeownership just in time for the holidays.”

The home donation is part of a larger partnership between Family Promise (known locally as the United Ministries’ Interfaith Hospitality Network) and Clayton called A Future Begins at Home, which works toward helping end and prevent family homelessness. Family Promise and Clayton believe that helping this family – and others like them – brings us one step closer to becoming a nation in which every family has a home, a livelihood and the chance to build a better future.

“How wonderful to see this deserving family receive a new home,” said Tony McDade, Executive Director of IHN. “With partners like Clayton, we are able to do much more for our community and families who are so deserving of our help and support.”