On October 20, 2006, lives were forever changed by the loss of three Bossier Parish teenagers. Now, 18 years later, lives are continuing to be changed but this time for the better. 

Thanks to the Fuller Center and three Bossier churches, The Simple Church, Asbury United Methodist, and Cypress Baptist, three local families will be on the path to homeownership through the Angel Build project. 

The Angel Build is a newer initiative, expanded from the Katy Build project, to recognize the lives of Molly Reed, Katy Watkins, and Emily Perdue, three Airline students who were tragically killed in an automobile accident on their way to support their Vikings football team. 

The first Katy Build project was dreamt up in 2011 by Asbury United Methodist Church, Katy Watkin’s home church. Katy Build originally started with the hope to build one home but due to the size of the lot, they were able to make two homes creating what is called, “Katy’s Corner.”

“Katy Build really began here as far as the idea of building one home,” Angela Pfanner, Asbury’s Director of Growth and Outreach, said. “Obviously, the goal, and prayer, all along was to include Molly’s church and family and Emily’s church and family.” 

The Angel Build project is set to break ground in late September 2024 and will be located in Bossier Parish near the same area as the previous homes with the help of the Fuller Center for Housing of Northwest Louisiana and the three home churches.

The Fuller Center opened in the spring of 2005 by Habitat for Humanity co-founders, Millard and Linda Fuller. This nonprofit aims to partner with local organizations to build one to two houses a year for low-income individuals. These houses are sold to the families with terms that are affordable to them making their chance at homeownership more feasible through no-interest mortgages. 

“We didn’t have the means or really know where to start when it came to building a legacy home,” Pfanner said. “From years of mission experience here at Asbury, I was familiar with Habitat for Humanity and Millard Fuller created the Fuller Center here and so that was really the only local non-profit that I was aware of that could build homes. We were interested in providing volunteers and sponsors and hopefully funding to make that happen.”

Not only do the churches help provide volunteers for the building of the houses, but the homeowners work with the volunteers themselves to build their new home, and they are also given the tools to be set up for success in homeownership through required credit counseling, home management classes, and homeowners’ insurance classes. 

“We’re trying to make sure that we are giving individuals a hand up, not a hand out but that we are also setting them up for success and not failure,” said Lee Jeter, Executive Director of the Fuller Center.

This relationship with the new homeowners and the Fuller Center will last for years to come because the Fuller Center carries the mortgage of the home. During the process of the homeowners paying the Fuller Center, they will continue to invite them to educational classes to make sure they are continuing to be set up for success. 

Fuller Center also works with the homeowners to help with any needed repairs that may come up during their time of owning the home. They aren’t a typical bank lending a mortgage to a family; they are a non-profit with the goal of helping low-income families that would otherwise be unable to take on homeownership. 

“We’re trying to be good stewards of the resources we’ve been given,” Jeter said. 

With the help of the Fuller Center and Katy Build, over five houses have been built since 2011. Now, the Angel Build will make houses 6, 7 and 8. That will make 8 families that are now sheltered and impacted by this opportunity to own their own home.

The three families benefiting from the Angel Build project this year are not only going to benefit from a roof over their heads and the independence of homeownership but the chance for a new beginning. From a husband bound to a wheelchair having the first Angel Build ADA accessible housing built, to a single mother who was previously homeless, raising her children in public housing, or a grandmother providing a new home and better education for her grandson, they are all having their lives changed for generations to come. 

“We’re trying to continue to instill in them that homeownership can help you break that cycle of poverty,” Jeter stated. 

With the help of the generous community, non-profit organizations, and churches, this truly is a project of hope and love.

“It means a lot. It’s very rewarding and fulfilling to see the legacy and memory of these girls live on for so many years,” Pfanner said. “It is a big deal to see that so many good things can continue to happen and that we’re able to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves and I feel like it’s our job and responsibility to make that happen.”

Legacies that have continued to live on through the selfless actions of families and strangers alike from participating in the annual Katy Build Tennis Tournament that raises the majority of funds for these Angel houses or even by those willing to come out and help build to make this possible. 

“I think it’s a legacy to the honor and mission work of those three young ladies that perished in the accident years ago…it’s a continuation of their legacy because we are constantly giving something back, and the community is giving something back to honor them and it’s paying it forward for generations to come.” 

Though the lives of Molly, Katy and Emily were cut short, their impact has been everlasting on the people of Bossier and beyond. Anyone and everyone can help with this project.

“You don’t have to be an experienced construction manager or builder, if you know how to paint or can hammer a nail,” Pfanner explained. “Or even if you can bake cookies or make sandwiches for volunteers, we have a job for everyone. There is strength in numbers.” 

If you’d like to help with the Angel Build houses, donations are accepted through each church or if you want to put your hands to use, you can sign up through the Fuller Center’s website to see about volunteer opportunities. 

Photos provided by Angela Pfanner, Asbury UMC and The Simple Church