It is a red letter summer for Habitat for Humanity-Minnesota, and for nearly two days, the Otter Tail County community of Perham was the center of activity.
Perham served as a two-night host for the "Habitat 500" fundraising bicycle ride. The community has the distinction of being the location for the state's 1,500th Habitat home.
One of the highlights of the Perham stop included a full work day July 17 at the Habitat construction site, with dozens of cyclists donning tool belts and wielding hammers.
Five, 15, 500, 1,500, 15,000 and 500,000 were the magic numbers this year for the state's best-known affordable housing organization.
----1,500 is now the total number of homes built in the state since Habitat came to Minnesota. The 1,500th home is being built in Perham--where dozens of cyclists assisted with the construction during the two-night stopover.
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----2007 marked the 15th year of the "Habitat 500" bicycle ride.
----Nearly 200 cyclists and support volunteers departed from St. Cloud July 15 for the 500-mile pledge ride.
----Fundraising goal for the Habitat 500 ride is $500,000, and based on preliminary estimates, the goal will probably be reached by the time the ride ends July 23 in St. Joseph.
----In recognition of the 1,500th home milestone, Wal-Mart presented a $15,000 donation to Habitat. The ceremony took place right on the construction site of the special house, with about 50 volunteer carpenters, cyclists, Wal-Mart officials and Habitat staff on site.
This home will also be the second official "Bike Home." The Habitat home is all about bicycling. It will be located on this year's route, near a bike path. The Habitat family selected for the home will receive donated bikes and bike supplies.
Habitat is an internationally respected non-profit organization dedicated to building homes and creating homeowner opportunities for low income families.
Only three cents of each dollar pledged is used for ride-related expenses, said Habitat-Minnesota spokesperson Jan Plimpton, meaning 97 cents go entirely to building projects.
Habitat has constructed an average of 130 houses per year throughout Minnesota.
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The Habitat 500 cyclists spent two nights in Perham, before rolling on to Park Rapids, Baxter, Long Prairie and St. Cloud.
