KEESEVILLE -- As it prepares to move out of the North Country, Wyeth remains committed to helping others move in.

Bill Merrill, assistant managing director of the pharmaceutical company's Rouses Point facility, presented Champlain Valley Habitat for Humanity with a $75,000 donation Monday afternoon. The funds will be used to build the local chapter's seventh home, which will be located in the Northern Tier.

"We're really excited about the decision to have the next house built up in the Rouses Point area," Merrill said.

"That will allow us to get our employees out and involved. I think they'll really enjoy being involved in building a Habitat house."

Champlain Valley Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors President Harriet Burrell said it was exciting to receive Wyeth's donation, the largest the local chapter has received to date.

"On behalf of the Board of Directors, it is my great pleasure to accept this tremendous gift from the caring people at Wyeth with our profound gratitude. We look forward to a partnership that will benefit the people of Clinton County."

The need for affordable housing in Clinton County is great, Burrell said, with estimates that 1 in 7 county residents lives below the poverty level, more than 11,000 people. She said that with rising fuel prices and economic uncertainty, it is feared that number will only increase.

"It is my hope that this celebration will make more Clinton County residents aware of what we do and who we are," Burrell said.

Under its agreement with Habitat for Humanity International, the local chapter tithes 10 percent of the donation to that organization. Burrell said the average international Habitat home costs about $7,000.

That means the donation will also fund a home for another needy family somewhere else in the world.

Champlain Valley Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1999. An independent affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, it relies on tax-free donations and volunteer labor to provide affordable housing in Clinton County, with the exception of the Town of Black Brook.

The homes are sold to families chosen by the local chapter based on need, at no profit and no interest charges. Recipient families invest 250 hours of sweat equity as the house is built. Their mortgage payments are placed in a revolving fund to build more houses.

The local chapter has built five houses and expects its sixth home, the Keeseville site of Monday's donation, to be completed this summer.

dheath@pressrepublican.com