GREENSBORO, N.C. – Last summer, the building was called “Key to Wyn” and designed to resemble a Southern hospitality vacation destination one might find through Wyndham Worldwide, the title sponsor of the Wyndham Championship PGA TOUR event. Today, that same building, on which reconstruction began last fall, was dedicated as a new Habitat for Humanity of Greater Greensboro home, the organizations announced today.
“Key to Wyn” is a fan amenity created by Wyndham Worldwide several years ago to illustrate the Wyndham hospitality experience at the PGA TOUR event. Fans are given a hotel key card upon entering “Key to Wyn,” and they insert the key into hotel-style doors. If the door opens, the fan wins a prize from Wyndham Worldwide or one of its partners.
The tournament’s “Wyndham Championship Fore! Good” charitable platform focuses on inspiring the next generation through education, supporting community development and reducing environmental impact. “Recycling” last year’s Key to Wyn structure and turning it into a new home contributes to two of the three platform categories. After last year’s Wyndham Championship, the “Key to Wyn” structure was carefully disassembled, loaded onto trucks and delivered to the Habitat for Humanity build site in Northeast Greensboro where it is now a new home for Abdel, Abir** and their four children.
“It’s a very exciting day to see my house is real,” new homeowner Abdel said. “It was a dream, but now it’s real. It’s a very nice day – I thank everyone that shared this day with us. (Building this house) was a long journey. It started with putting the concrete down, putting the walls up, putting the roof on and then the siding on the house, one by one. Before, I wondered how a house was built, but now that I was part of it, I understand. It is important in the Sudanese culture to own a house so I am very thankful.”
“Working with Habitat Greensboro to provide affordable housing for deserving families has been really special for the Wyndham Championship,” tournament director Mark Brazil said. “We’re honored to be a part of what this day represents, and we sincerely hope Abdel, Abir and their children enjoy a long, prosperous life in their new home. On behalf of the entire Wyndham Championship family, congratulations to our new homeowners, and thank you to Habitat Greensboro for allowing us to be part of this wonderful celebration.”
Habitat for Humanity partners with families that have had steady employment for one year, participate in a thorough credit analysis, attend educational classes on budgeting and home repair and contribute 250 hours of sweat equity. Homeowners purchase their homes from Habitat at no profit and with affordable financing. Habitat then serves as the mortgage lender providing life-of-the-loan extremely low-percentage financing and loan servicing to Habitat homeowners. The house was also funded by the State Employees Credit Union Foundation; it was part of the SECU challenge to build a Habitat home in all 100 counties of North Carolina.
“This partnership with Wyndham Worldwide and the Wyndham Championship has been wonderful for us,” Habitat Greensboro CEO Maria Hanlin said. “We are thrilled to dedicate the “Key to Wyn” building which is now a new home for Abdel, Abir and their four children. Working with the Wyndham staff has been such a great experience as we worked together to plan the design, construction, de-construction and rebuild this beautiful house. We thank everyone at the Wyndham Championship and Wyndham Worldwide for this incredible donation, and we sincerely thank the State Employees Credit Union Foundation for their investment of funding, resources and leadership with this project.”
“Key to Wyn” was created to showcase the vast variety of properties offered by Wyndham Worldwide and its related business units. It has taken on multiple forms since the fan amenity’s debut in 2010. The original version featured an open-air hotel lobby that one might find at a Wyndham resort on a tropical island. In 2014, “Key to Wyn” transitioned to a mountain ski lodge featuring frigid indoor conditions with a fireplace, cozy couches and skiing simulators. Outside, pine trees and August snow greeted guests who walked over a creek to enter the building. In 2016, “Key to Wyn” featured warm climates with a beachside-cottage theme, and last year, it featured southern hospitality. Regardless of the type of Wyndham property “Key to Wyn” features two constants that have remained: signature Wyndham hospitality and a chance to win a prize.
** For security reasons, Habitat Greensboro does not provide the last names of its homeowners.
About Habitat for Humanity of Greater Greensboro:
Founded in 1987 by four Christians in response to their Habitat experience in Peru, Habitat Greensboro, with the help of some 5,900 volunteers and 30 staff, renovates and repairs some 20 homes each year. Since its inception, Habitat of Greater Greensboro has completed more than 478 homes in Greensboro as well as 436 in the countries of Honduras and Jordan. Habitat for Humanity partners with families that have steady employment for one year, participate in a thorough credit analysis, attend educational classes on budgeting and home repair and contribute 250 hours of sweat equity. Homeowners purchase their homes from Habitat at no-profit and with affordable financing. Habitat then serves as the mortgage lender providing life-of-the-loan zero percent financing and loan servicing. For more information, please visit www.habitatgreensboro.org. Connect with Habitat of Greater Greensboro through social media: follow on Twitter: @HabitatGSO and Instagram: @Habitat_GSO and like on Facebook: www.facebook.com/habitatgreensboro.
About the Wyndham Championship:
Contested annually on the Donald Ross-designed course at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., the Wyndham Championship was founded in 1938 and is the sixth-oldest event on the PGA TOUR excluding the Majors. Tickets are available at http://www.wyndhamchampionship.com or through the tournament office at (336) 379-1570. The tournament thanks title sponsor Wyndham Worldwide, presenting sponsor BB&T and Premier Partners, Cadillac, Harris Teeter, Lincoln Financial, McConnell Golf, Sunbrella®, and VF Corporation for their continued support. Additional tournament information and sponsorship information are available at www.wyndhamchampionship.com. For more information about Wyndham Worldwide, please visit www.wyndhamworldwide.com. Stay connected with the Wyndham Championship through its social media channels, including the Wyndham Championship Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram.
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