Photos courtesy of Tapestry of a Town
Every year, the Westerville community is welcomed into iconic sites around town during the annual Tapestry of a Town walking tour. Tapestry of a Town began in 2013 as a fundraising effort by Westerville Habitat Partnership.
The Partnership is a group of five local churches and Columbus Academy, all working together to raise money and provide construction volunteers for the home builds of Habitat for Humanity of Delaware & Union Counties, an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity.
Each year, 10 to 12 sites are chosen for the tour, ranging from public buildings, churches, businesses and private homes. The idea was to share the heritage of Westerville, since its history is tied to a number of major movements in the U.S., including the underground railroad and the anti-saloon league.
“We were showing the community some of the wonderful, iconic buildings right in their midst, that they might really not have known about,” says co-chair of Tapestry of a Town, Kay Hedges. “We thought it was kind of an opportunity for local people and others to learn about Westerville’s history and heritage and to highlight some of the wonderful places that now operate in those buildings. Also, to raise funds for the programs of Habitat for Humanity.”
Regretfully, Tapestry of a Town was canceled this year so the businesses, homeowners and the tour-goers were not put at risk for COVID-19. Instead, the tour has decided to go virtual with a “greatest hits” tour of sites from previous years. Hedges hopes the online tour will enable residents and visitors to learn about Westerville’s history while they are out walking.
The tour can be accessed via phone at any time and a print-out version is also available. The tour is offered free on Westerville Habitat Partnership’s site as a thank you to the residents who have supported it over the years. However, with the loss of income the tour would have provided, the partnership is in need of donations. COVID-19 has cast a light on so many issues, especially the need for affordable and safe housing.
The goal of Habitat for Humanity is to eliminate substandard housing by building safe, affordable houses in partnership with deserving families who qualify. For many, sheltering in place has been inconvenient, but only relatively comfortable. For those who have relied on the habitat program from housing, sheltering in place has gone from uncomfortable to almost unbearable. Hedges recalls a family of six that is living in a two-bedroom apartment, families of four who are sharing one bedroom and a woman in a wheelchair who is living in an apartment that is not accessible.
“More affordable and safe and simple housing is needed desperately, even in times when we have to cancel a fundraising event, the need for funds goes on,” says Hedges.
For the past three years, the partnership has also been hosting Walls Build, where teams of eight volunteers take a template of wall section for a house that is being built and put that wall section together. At the end of the morning, all the wall sections for a house have been built. This year, Walls Build will take place on Aug. 22 from 8 to 11:30 a.m., hosted at The Point at Otterbein University.
For those who haven’t been involved with the partnership or Habitat for Humanity, Hedges says the event provides a real visual of why and what they do. The need for affordable housing continues regardless of the pandemic. To learn more about Walls Build or to donate, visit www.westervillehabitat.org. David Rees is a contributing writer.
David Rees is a contributing writer. .Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
