Sheppard honored at local Habitat for Humanity event Published Oct. 8, 2010 By Heather Newsom 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Sheppard Air Force Base was honored Oct. 7 with the "Angels in the Rafters" award from the local chapter of the Habitat for Humanity. Brig. Gen. Darryl Burke, 82nd Training Wing commander, accepted the award on behalf of Sheppard and told the crowd that the volunteers that have helped over the last year was just another way for Sheppard to pay back the community for embracing its Airmen. More than 500 Sheppard Air Force Base Airmen volunteered their time over the past year by working on construction sites to help with those living in poverty in Wichita Falls. Bill McMullen, Habitat for Humanity of Wichita Falls construction manager, said they have built seven homes to date and that Sheppard volunteers were involved in all seven. "Week after week, month after month, year after year, Sheppard always shows up to help others," he said. New home owners of Habitat for Humanity go through an application process. After they are selected, they have to put in "sweat equity" by working on their home, fundraising and speaking on behalf of the program. During the presentation, a new home owner and a single mother of four who fled from domestic abuse said that "habitat" is where you live; "humanity" is about people. "All of you have helped build a home and given hope and a second chance to those that needed it," she said. Since 1992, low-income families moved into 84 homes built in Wichita Falls by Habitat for Humanity.