There’s no place like home.

And for one Oak Harbor family, that home comes thanks to the Island County Habitat for Humanity.

Yasline Garcia, 27, her soon-to-be husband Shannon Simpkins, 33, and Garcia’s 11-year-old daughter Shaeline Colter found out in April that they would be the recipients of one of Habitat for Humanity’s homes in Redwing Court, off Heller Road.

After their wedding this Saturday, Garcia and Simpkins will hold a dedication ceremony to celebrate and bless their new home. The noon event will include scripture readings, hymns, a candle lighting ceremony and a blessing for the home and the family.

Their home is the second of six Habitat homes planned for the development. Island Construction owner Bill Massey donated six plots of land in Redwing Court to be used for Habitat homes.

“Before we found out we’d been approved for the Habitat house, we owned a little single wide mobile here in Oak Harbor,” Garcia said. “So when we heard about Habitat for Humanity, we went in and applied at the meeting.”

The meetings explain what Habitat for Humanity is, and what is required for people interested in applying. After the meeting, interested people can get applications Habitat volunteers make themselves available to answer any questions. Once applicants complete and turn in the paperwork, someone comes to the applicant’s home and does a walk-through to determine need. A selection committee then chooses the family who will receive the house.

According to the Island County Habitat for Humanity Web site, in order to be eligible for a Habitat house, a family must have an income that is between 25 to 55 percent of the $47,600 median income for Island County. That sents the eligble income between $11,900 and $26,200.

The organization has built 10 new homes since it came to Island County in 1998. It averages two new houses per year.

“Our application was put in last February, and by April we were told we had been the family selected,” Garcia said. “And then from April on, it’s just been the process of getting our hours in. When you get a home from Habitat for Humanity one of things you have to be willing to do is partner with Habitat for Humanity and donate ‘sweat hours’.”

Recipients of a Habitat house must donate 500 “sweat hours” to the organization. Of those hours, 250 must be completed by the family, and the other 250 can be done by friends and volunteers. Garcia and Simpkins were able to complete nearly all of their hours by working at the Habitat furniture store, Our Habitat To Yours on S.E. Pioneer Way.

“It’s such an awesome organization to work with,” Garcia said. “They really do go above and beyond what they have to do to make sure that these families get what they’re looking for. My wedding is a perfect example of that. Habitat for Humanity has provided so much for this wedding that we couldn’t have done it without them.”

Between the Habitat volunteers, and volunteers sought out by Habitat for Humanity, Garcia said, they have found companies and individuals willing to donate time and effort to making her wedding a success. She said they have found a company, Nibbles, that will provide her wedding cake for no more than the cost of the materials, a lady who has donated flowers, a lady who has volunteered to put together bouquets, a lady who has volunteered to do makeup for the entire wedding party, and a lady who has volunteered to make Garcia’s veil. The First United Methodist Church where the couple is getting married has also waived the fee for renting the church, and the piano player waived his fee as well.

“There’s no way that we would have been able to put this wedding together without them,” Garcia said. “With their help it is really coming together.”

The couple hasn’t decided on a specific move-in date yet, since workers are still laying flooring and installing appliances, but they hope to be in the house within the next few weeks.

For more information about Island County Habitat for Humanity, visit www.islandcountyhabitat.org. or call 679-9444.