As a sponsor of the Habitat for Humanity’s Strawberry Festival, the Sentry Ocala staff had the opportunity to be a part of the building process of a new home for a local Ocala family.

The Habitat for Humanity of Marion County Strawberry Festival is a yearly event that features live music, local vendors, a Strawberry Jam 5K, and of course, strawberries. All proceeds benefit the construction of a new home for a local qualifying family who was living in substandard or overcrowded conditions or who cannot qualify for traditional lending. This home provides stability, security, and a safe place for their children to play and live. The Strawberry Festival is one of the biggest events in Marion County and continues to grow each and every year.

“Sentry Management really does embrace the honor to serve our local community, we’re here to positively impact as many lives as we can! The better Ocala Marion County and it’s families do, the better we ALL do – events like this allow us to have a hand in changing lives and building futures, and we couldn’t be more excited to truly be involved in the town that we serve every day,” Wendy Thrower, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Ocala Division Manager said.

Habitat partners with community leaders, businesses, organizations, and citizen who volunteer their time and skills to make a difference in their community and provide a decent place for a family to live and raise their children.

Sponsors and volunteers were encouraged to write a small, positive message on the frame of the house as they were raising it. Sentry Community Association Manager, Sabrina Fissell wrote “May this home be forever filled with love and light” on one of the support beams.

This non-profit organization and many others are supported by the Sentry SMILES program, which is funded by the company and its employees who opt to donate portions of their paychecks to give back to community members in need. The SMILES program encourages employees to contribute to local charities within their communities. Over 100 local charities and causes are supported by the employees of Sentry offices in 16 different states.

Sentry Management is a full-service community management company. Sentry’s business is the day-to-day operation of communities, homeowner associations, and condominiums. Sentry is accredited as an AMO® (Accredited Management Organization) by the Institute of Real Estate Management, providing an independent evaluation that Sentry has one of the highest operating and financial standards in the industry. View our full list of services here: http://www.sentrymgt.com/for-association-boards/services/.