Dayton School Bus Driver Lakeisha Wilson Put In More Than 350 Volunteer Hours and Got the Keys to Her First Home
“The finish line” is how Lakeisha Wilson described the moment she was handed the keys to her first home in Dayton, Ohio, according to WHIO. Wilson, a school bus driver and the mother of two daughters, earned the house through Habitat for Humanity of Greater Dayton by logging more than 350 volunteer hours. The ceremony took place on a Friday afternoon, just ahead of the holiday season.
A Key Ceremony With Her Daughters Beside Her
WHIO reported that Wilson celebrated with community members, partners and her two daughters. Ellen Miller, vice president of community relations at the CareSource Foundation, handed over the keys.
Her 3-year-old daughter wasted no time making the place her own. The little girl started decorating her new bedroom with a teddy bear that CareSource gave the family, WHIO said.
Wilson told the station she put in the work for more than herself. She said she worked hard for her daughters, and that the house is “theirs as much as it is mine.” She and the girls will spend the holiday season in the new home.
What 350 Hours of Volunteering Gets a Family
Habitat does not hand out houses. Habitat for Humanity International says selected homebuyers help build their own home or other homes in the program, and the work can also include homeownership classes or time at a Habitat ReStore. Buyers then pay an affordable mortgage, which is capped at 30 percent of their gross monthly income at closing.
The classes mix hands-on and classroom learning. They cover home repair, managing a mortgage, saving and personal finance, according to the same Habitat page.
Habitat of Greater Dayton says its family selection committee weighs three things: the level of a family’s need, their willingness to partner with Habitat and their ability to repay a mortgage on an affordable payment plan. The affiliate points applicants to its office at 937-586-0860.
Norm Miozzi, the affiliate’s executive director, told WHIO that “Every Habitat Home Buyer is a first-time home buyer.” He also described what the handoff looks like from his side. “There’s nothing like a child in a wide-open house and seeing how excited she is,” he said.
Habitat’s page lists the kinds of housing trouble that can qualify a family: substandard or overcrowded housing, rent or a mortgage above 30 percent of gross monthly income, unhealthy conditions such as mold, or a home that is inaccessible because of a disability. Selection is handled by the local affiliate, and Habitat says it follows the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act when choosing homeowners.
Students From Liberty High School Helped Build It
WHIO named two community partners behind the build: the CareSource Foundation and students in the construction trades program at Liberty High School.
In September 2024, CareSource announced a $170,000 grant to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Dayton. The money was set aside for a mobile critical home repair unit, workforce training and the construction of a Habitat home in the Edgemont neighborhood during the 2025-26 school year. Liberty High School students were to start by building wall panels on campus to gain construction skills before moving onto job sites.
The CareSource release adds that Habitat Dayton was founded in March 1983 as the first Habitat affiliate in Ohio, and that its homeownership program uses 0 percent interest mortgages for first-time buyers with incomes under 60 percent of the area median income. CareSource estimates that saves buyers roughly $200,000 per home. The release does not say which house the 2025-26 grant covered, and WHIO does not say where Wilson’s home sits.
How Many Families Dayton Habitat Reaches Each Year
WHIO reported that Habitat for Humanity of Greater Dayton builds about 10 homes per year in Montgomery County and has helped 289 families over the past three years. That count covers more than new houses, because the affiliate also does critical repairs.
On its own site, Habitat Dayton says it sold 6 homes in 2025 and has reached more than 1,100 families since 1983, a figure that includes repair work and other programs. The page describes homeownership as something that takes “commitment, responsibility and deep involvement.”
CareSource’s Miller connected the milestone to what comes after the ceremony. She told WHIO that a person can have “a much better life” with a stable place to lay their head each night. She said stable housing also helps with education, workforce and health care, and she noted that Wilson keeps working as a school bus driver to support her family.
Where Wilson and Her Daughters Go From Here
For Wilson, the next stretch looks ordinary in the best way: a first holiday season in a house that belongs to her family, with a 3-year-old already arranging her room. Wilson continues to work as a school bus driver, the job Miller pointed to when she spoke about the family’s stability.
Wilson’s own summary was shorter than anyone else’s. She had reached the finish line of more than 350 volunteer hours, and the daughters she did it for were beside her when the keys changed hands.
Parents who want to follow the same path can start by contacting their local Habitat affiliate. Habitat says U.S. applicants generally need household income at or below 60 percent of area median income, a housing need such as an overcrowded or unhealthy home, and a willingness to partner with the organization. Rules and hour requirements are set locally, so each affiliate decides who is selected.
Readers can also see how another driver made the news in this Wichita school bus driver story.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Shixart1985 – CC BY 2.0/Wikimedia Commons
