To those who said they are waiting until Demopolis’ Habitat for Humanity home is in the painting stage to volunteer — pick up a paintbrush, because the time will be here this Saturday.

Future Habitat homeowner Lavon Blount and her family have been patiently waiting to move in since the 2005 holiday season. They expected to be in their first house by Christmas, but a lack of funds and volunteers pushed the completion dates further and further away.

But this past weekend volunteers worked hard to complete siding on the outside of the home and finish sanding the walls in preparation of the final touches.

“We have power inside and we have to finish the siding on the outside – but we basically have the back side of the home completed,” Habitat organizer Freddie Charleston said. “We have the trimming up, the cabinets have been ordered and we are about ready to finish the bathrooms. But now we need to get the painting done and get ready to do the flooring.”

So Charleston is inviting all available area residents to contribute a spare moment to a great cause.

“We’ve had some faithful volunteers, but the more people we have, the faster we can finish,” he said, “And I want to thank everyone who’s been involved in any way. I also want to let everyone know that we are still accepting donations because what we don’t use on this house, can be used on the next.”

After working on the home for more than five months, Charleston said volunteers can “finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

“If the weather allows, we should be able to finish the siding and the painting, but it depends on how many volunteers show up,” he said. “And even if we can’t work on the outside, we can still do things inside.”