Partner Family Chosen

Kathy Rath and Ray Prescher along with their two children have been selected as a partner family for a home to be built by Green County Habitat for Humanity (GCHFH) in Blanchardville.  A groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of the project was held on Sunday, September 11 at the build site, 116 E. Wilson St. in Blanchardville.

Overcrowding is a primary reason that the Rath-Prescher family has been selected to be the partner family.  Their daughter, Cameron is 8 years old and their son, Ray Ray is now 4.  “I really would love for the children to have their own bedroom.  As they get older, this is becoming more important” said Kathy. “A year and a half ago when we moved into this small two bedroom,  2^nd story apartment it was really all we could afford.  It was actually our landlord that told us about this potential opportunity with Habitat as she knew how crowded we are, and about our failed attempts to purchase a home.”

Kathy and Ray were both raised in Kansas.  Kathy spent 6 years with the Army National Guard working as a paralegal prior to going back to college to complete her degree.   They met while Kathy was completing a degree in Public Relations at Kansas State University and Ray was working in the RV sales field as an Inspection Auditor.  It was shortly after Kathy’s graduation in 2009 that they decided to move to Wisconsin to be closer to Kathy’s parents.  The original plan was for Ray to stay behind in Kansas until they both were able to find employment in Wisconsin.  When the move was about to happen, they decided that separating their family was too high of a price to pay, and Ray made the move along with Kathy and the kids to look for employment here.

“We didn’t realize how bad the recession was at that point and we spent months looking for jobs.  We applied for hundreds of random jobs without any takers.”  said Kathy.  “We were able to pick up some part time work over the first summer, but even with my degree and Rays experience, we couldn’t find any promising career jobs.” 

With no job prospects, they decided Ray would return to Kansas and resume work with his previous employer.   That was short lived as he was laid off soon after returning.  He spent nearly a year bouncing around different jobs through a temp agency.  Desperate to get back to his family he finally accepted a seasonal position at Land’s End in Dodgeville, hoping that the job market would be better in Wisconsin at the end of the season.

Ray finally landed a job he loves with Keyman Lawn Care in Verona.  He hopes to make lawn care a life long career and plans to take classes at Herzing College this fall that will help improve his business skills.  In the meantime Kathy also landed a job she loves at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Madison and hopes to eventually work in Patient Advocacy.

Needless to say, with this struggle to find employment, their lives have been a series of ups and downs, both financially and emotionally, but they never gave up.  Kathy and Ray feel their relationship is stronger as a result of this experience and they continue to try and find ways to better their chances to provide a secure future and safe environment for their kids. 

Cameron, their daughter, is an engaging 8 year old who will be starting 3^rd grade.  She especially loves music class and enjoys being on stage for the concerts.  She also loves drawing and painting and is planning a purple room with pink polka dots!   Ray Ray  (Ray Jr.) is 4 years old and is excited to be starting 4K classes soon.  He loves John Deere tractors and playing golf with his dad. 

Once their application was accepted by GCHFH, Kathy and Ray continued to be cautiously optimistic of their chances to be chosen.  “Things haven’t exactly gone our way lately,” said Ray, “so I tried not to get my hopes up.”

Now that they have been picked as a partner family their excitement is hard to conceal.  They are extremely excited to get started.  The family will be required to put in 500 hours helping Habitat volunteers to build their home, which will start soon after the groundbreaking  They are both thrilled and ready to roll up their sleeves and learn all they can through this experience.  Kathy has also volunteered to help with PR for GCHFH to use her education. She has already posted a Facebook page “Green County Habitat for Humanity – Blanchardville, WI build” to keep the community and volunteers informed of the progress…be sure to “Like” us on Facebook!

Ray loves the idea of having a yard of his own and a place for the kids to play.   Kathy indicated she’s really excited to not have to carry laundry up and down two flights of stairs; to which Ray commented that he thought that he did most of that chore.

To volunteer to help Kathy and Ray build their home, please call 608-325-4024 and leave your name, phone number and email address to be added to the volunteer list.  Monetary contributions are also most welcome at Green County Habitat for Humanity, P.O. Box 398, Monroe, WI 53566.   For more information on way to get involved, go to www.GreenCountyHabitat.org.