Our single family division of the company, MidCity Homes, recently completed five homes in 15 days at Community First! Village. This brings the total number of dwellings that we’ve built and donated at Mobile Loaves & Fishes’ housing community for men and women coming out of chronic homelessness to 15 — the most of any single company or organization in Austin.
Our firm donated materials and had three-to-five of its team members onsite full-time to build the houses in record time, adding up to an estimated contribution of $250,000. New residents are expected to move in later this year. A long-time supporter of Community First! Village, we typically build one to two microhomes a year, with each home taking about three months to complete. This year we set a far more ambitious production and scheduling goal to reflect our growing company’s ability to contribute more and to encourage other companies to do the same.
“Community First! Village plans to expand substantially in the next few years, and they need the community’s help to build more homes faster than ever before in order to meet Austin’s growing need for permanent supportive housing,” Cumby said. “We decided to build five houses in 15 days to show the world that even a relatively small company can do this and to challenge other organizations to step up their efforts to help.”
Opened in 2015, Community First! Village provides permanent housing, on-site services and a supportive community for men and women who are coming out of chronic homelessness. Developed by the non-profit social outreach ministry Mobile Loaves & Fishes, the 51-acre community currently houses more than 250 residents at its 9301 Hog Eye Rd. property. The nationally recognized organization has also secured 127 additional acres where it plans to add more than 1,400 more homes divided between its current site and two additional phases.
“It’s because of incredible partnerships in our community that we are able to continue lifting our homeless brothers and sisters up off the streets and into a place of permanence and belonging every day,” said Alan Graham, Founder and CEO of Mobile Loaves & Fishes. “We are extremely grateful by the dedication of our friends at Cumby and many other builders around Austin who have devoted their time and talent to serve our community in a way that will transform the lives of our homeless neighbors.”
Our involvement with Community First! Village extends beyond home building to company volunteer work days, boxed meal deliveries and, prior to the pandemic, hosting on-site holiday dinners for residents in lieu of a company Christmas party. Servant leadership is a core value at Cumby, which encourages our 70 team members to give back to the community by providing 40 hours of paid volunteer time off per year.
Check out Austin Business Journal’s article about Community First! Village featuring Cumby.
