More volunteers making a regional impact

• Adult volunteerism in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties was up 33 percent during the first four months of this year compared with the same period in 2008, said Doris Higgins, executive director of the Volunteer Center of Southwest Michigan (Herald Palladium).
  
  
• With unemployment rates as high as 12%, which doesn't factor into the underemployed - aka people who work part-time but need full-time, volunteerism has become a popular way to spend one's time and make new connections in the community. For those with little money, its also a free activity!
  

• Thirty-year-old Ebony Flie is becoming another Habitat For Humanity success story. She will move into a new house this fall with her daughter Arieonia, 11; and sons Aquariez, 9, and Aries, 13. (Kalamazoo Weekly)
  
  
• Homebuyers must put in 300 to 500 hours of sweat equity labor, depending on his or her circumstances. Ebony's requirements include 300 hours of labor, participating in financial literacy, budgeting, and home maintenance classes. “I’ve always had the dream of owning my own house by the time I’m 30,” said Ebony, who will turn 31 in October.