One small, silver key can change a person’s life.

Joshua Arthur, office manager and family engagement staff member at Habitat for Humanity of Madison & Clark Counties, held up a silver house key to show the crowd at the 2019 Building Hope Community Breakfast Saturday at Central Baptist Church.

He told the guests they each could take home a key to remind them about Habitat’s impact.

A key, a permanent address, a place to call home — one free of eviction threats, slummy landlords and strict leases — gives someone a “renewed sense of purpose,” Arthur said.

During the breakfast, attendees got a sense of Habitat’s impact after listening to testimonies from a Habitat house recipient, board members and the incoming executive director.

The breakfast, which is part of the nationwide Home is the Key campaign, brought together sponsors, community leaders and supporters to “unlock futures and change lives so even more families have access to decent housing.”

The breakfast also included a silent auction and all proceeds and donations made go directly to the community organization.

Incoming Executive Director Darcie Cunningham talked about what she hopes to bring to Habitat.

Cunningham said she first started volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in 1998. Over the years, she has helped fundraise more than $10,000 and traveled to Malawi, Thailand, Paraguay and Vietnam to build homes for families in need. She expended 52 days of vacation time and funded travel expenses to participate.

She has also served on the Veteran’s Committee at the Greater Los Angeles HforH affiliate recruiting military volunteers, coordinating volunteer and community outreach activities and seeking veterans in need of hoe.

“Habitat was just incredible in terms of supporting our military and veterans,” Cunningham, a retired veteran officer of the U.S. Coast Guard, told the crowd.

While living in Kentucky, she volunteers six hours a week at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Lexington. Cunningham said her varied experience within the organization would help her to serve the Madison and Clark counties chapter better.

Habitat for Humanity of Madison & Clark Counties, which began in 1992, has partnered with 125 Habitat families to build homes and has built more than 100 affordable housing solutions in the two counties since its inception.

Arthur encouraged the crowd to be a part of growing that impact by donating, volunteering or both.

“In order to do this, we need your help,” Arthur said.