Local Biotech Ultimate Labs builds together with Habitat for Humanity

By Gloria Limas An

More than 15 members of locally-based Ultimate Labs spent a weekend in the South Bay restoring a home with Habitat for Humanity. The project on the single family home is set for completion by the end of July.

This is one of several team-building community projects the company has participated in this year. Ultimate Labs CEO Kim Lim of Carmel Valley says, “One of our core values is helping people save lives and this is our way of reaching out into the community to help people. It will be very rewarding to know that we helped a family in need have a new home.”

Ultimate Labs was founded in 2008 and is a full-service microbiology laboratory dedicated to helping save lives by providing environmental monitoring, microbial water and food testing to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and food industries.

San Diego Habitat for Humanity is the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. It’s a nonprofit organization that builds simple, decent and affordable homes for ownership by local families in need. Habitat partner families are selected on the basis of housing need, willingness to partner with Habitat and ability to repay a zero percent interest mortgage loan.

Mike Shear, a Habitat for Humanity project superintendent, says he truly enjoys seeing projects like this one from beginning to end. He states, “I think it’s wonderful to have volunteers who don’t have any construction skills learn on the job training and contribute to a large project. We get professional and smart people who pick up on things right away and finish up in record time. Our organization truly appreciates people like this group who give up a weekend day to make a difference in a family’s life.” He says a low-income qualifying family will be selected from a list to occupy the home this summer.

Several residents in the South Bay area are grateful to see the abandoned home renovated for occupation, saying it will rid the neighborhood of an eyesore and help increase values in the area. Some families also are hopeful crime will decrease which has been on the rise since the home was foreclosed on during the real estate housing downturn.

The Habitat for Humanity organization is celebrating 25 years in San Diego County this year. It has built almost 200 homes in the San Diego region, helping to change the lives of hundreds of people with the help of over 150,000 volunteers through the years. It is one of the largest chapters in the country.

Ultimate Labs will be participating in a San Diego Food Bank community outreach event later this summer along with a beach clean up. More information on the company can be found at www.ultimatelab.com Habitat for Humanity exists through volunteer labor and contributions of money, land and materials. Volunteer information is available at www.sdhfh.org