On February 16th, Houston Habitat for Humanity announced a youth-led grant from State Farm to help better prepare the students in the James E Taylor High School learn about financial literacy and understand homeownership. As part of the grant, local State Farm agents and students spent the day building a playhouse for a Houston Habitat homeowner along with some classroom time learning about basic budgeting, saving and completing a “Housing simulator” program that walks students through a real-life scenario, on Saturday, February 17th.

The school is located at 20700 Kingsland Blvd. in Katy.

"The 2nd annual Houston Habitat Youth Day was very successful,” said Nathaniel Flores, community engagement coordinator for Houston Habitat for Humanity. “The students of the James E. Taylor H.S. Habitat Campus Chapter were eager to participate in the building of a playhouse for a Houston Habitat Homeowner. They also appreciated discussing their financial goals with the local State Farm associates, learning more about the issues families face while seeking housing, and having a friendly competition in the Lego House Building Challenge. At the end of the day, the students were proud to be a part of the chapter and were seeking ways they could continue to make a difference in the community."

“Helping the youth today learn about the importance of understanding basic financial literacy will help enable these students to achieve their goals.” Said Felicia Hutchins, State Farm Corporate Responsibility Analyst, “Giving up one day of their weekend demonstrates they are already serious about a better future and community.”

Brandon Thompson, the State Farm agent who attended and helped with the playhouse build and conducted the financial literacy class, said, “This weekend, I had fun teaming up with Houston Habitat for Humanity and James E .Taylor High School students to build a super playhouse for a local Habitat for Humanity homeowners’ children. The event was absolutely mind-blowing! Everyone came ready to go to work, assembling the playhouse and painting along with providing a home-buying seminar, a LEGO house-building competition and a financial foundation seminar from State Farm. Providing students with the tools to plan their short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals early in their lives will give them a better probability to achieve their goals.”

The goal of the event was to engage new and existing youth to get involved through volunteerism as well as offer education and advocacy activities that teach and promote homeownership, Habitat for Humanity’s core mission, said a press release from Habitat for Humanity.

Over the past 17 years, State Farm has invested over $13 million in Habitat for Humanity’s youth engagement programs.

About Houston Habitat for Humanity

Committed to a world where everyone has a decent place to live, Houston Habitat for Humanity’s work includes new home construction, home rehabilitation and disaster repair, infrastructure development for new communities, neighborhood revitalization and guiding Houston families to become homeowners. Houston Habitat has built more than 1,200 homes in 12 Houston neighborhoods, including the Fifth Ward, Clinton Park, Settegast, Sunnyside, and Carverdale. In addition to building, the organization has also repaired homes throughout Houston due to natural disasters; since Hurricane Harvey Houston Habitat has repaired more than 700 homes for families who are without resources to make repairs.

About State Farm: State Farm and its affiliates are the largest providers of auto and home insurance in the United States. Its more than 19,400 agents and approximately 53,400 employees serve over 87 million policies and accounts – which includes auto, fire, life, health, commercial policies and financial services accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is available. For more information, please visit www.statefarm.com.

Photo courtesy of State Farm

Students from Taylor High School came together on February 17th to build a playhouse and to learn about financial literacy, through a Habitat for Humanity program funded by State Farm.