Mireya Valdovinos, 33, found herself and three children living in her father’s leaking trailer.

The Federal Way resident of 10 years knew that the two bedrooms weren’t enough for her and her children, ages 3, 4, and 17.

“I was working hard, putting everything aside, getting ready to own my own home but I couldn’t save a lot,” Valdovinos said. “Having three kids and being a single parent, I mean you know, you can’t really save making a little bit of money.”

For two years, Valdovinos, a nurse’s assistant in south King County, tried to save money but the leaking trailer caused her family to move again to an apartment.

Now, that’s all about to change.

Valdovinos was selected by Habitat for Humanity and Delta Air Lines to receive a renovated single-family home in the Westway neighborhood of Federal Way.

“It’s a life change because I was always trying to buy a home, trying to save money and get up there and be a homeowner but now with Habitat, now that I got in and have been selected … it’s a blessing,” she said.

Valdovinos, Habitat for Humanity and Delta Air Lines volunteers started the house renovation project on Monday and will spend the next six weeks transforming it.

As part of the program, Valdovinos will put in about 250 hours of “sweat equity” and learn new homeowner skills through various classes the organization provides. She said she’s already put in 120 hours.

In somewhat of a coincidence, the house also represents the 400th project for Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County and the 200th project for Delta Airlines. It’s also the 50th home under the partnership with the city of Federal Way’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

“This is home 400 since 1986 when we started but what it really represents is a whole bunch of hope,” said Kevin Hunter, the vice president of development and community engagement with Habitat for Humanity. “It’s hope for the family who’s going to call this home. Hope for a community that’s important to preserve … It can be a stable and vital place in Federal Way.”

Habitat for Humanity and the city of Federal Way have worked together with federal grants to renovate about 10 homes in the greater Westway area for the past three years.

Hunter said throughout the years, he’s seen more city and community investment in the neighborhood, which was known for high crime and poverty some time ago.

“There’s a new soccer field, there’s a coalition called Build the Bridge, there’s been way more investment in terms of capital coming in,” he said. “Improvements being made both by the public dollars but by private dollars — people making investments into their own property — and more cleanups.”

Councilwoman Susan Honda and Deputy Mayor Jeanne Burbidge also attended the project’s kickoff.

Honda thanked the organizations for their work and reflected on how it’s made a difference in Federal Way.

“Today is my 35th wedding anniversary and I wanted to share that because we started our married life just down the hill in a house and we lived there for a few years,” Honda said. “… I remember as a young married woman, moving into the neighborhood, we didn’t have children then but we were just steps away from the school. And I thought, what a great neighborhood except if you went farther down those streets, it was a little bit scary at times.”

But now, she said, the Westway neighborhood has been transformed and people want to live there.

Valdovinos’s house-to-be will be gutted and receive a new roof, heating system, windows and a more open kitchen.

“There was a large section of the floor that was rotting from a leaking hot water tank,” said Matt Haight, the director of construction for Habitat for Humanity. “We’ve already replaced a quarter of the subfloor and framing that supports it.”

The three bedroom, one bathroom house was built in 1962.

Tammy Aguilar, the volunteer project coordinator and flight attendant for Delta Air Lines, said people are used to caring about need in third world countries and sometimes don’t see there’s a need “here at home.”

“Everybody in life wants something that means something and I love being a flight attendant but my real value is working on projects like this and getting other people involved,” Aguilar said. “The reward is just incredible.”

The project was able to come to fruition in part from the $100,000 raised by Delta Air Lines’ in-flight recycling program.

Delta Air Lines’ Seattle Vice President Mike Medeiros said the Federal Way house is the sixth home they will build with funds from the recycling program and plan to build more in Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and New York with about 2,300 Delta employee volunteers.

“This was a grassroots effort that started with our frontline flight attendants, the very best in the air,” Medeiros said. “Since 2007, they have collected 8.5 million pounds of passenger recyclables.”

And while Medeiros is proud of what they’ve been able to accomplish, he’s most proud of the relationships he’s built with the homeowners they’re helping.

Last year, the partners helped a woman named April in Federal Way who lives just blocks from the current project.

“I’m most proud of the ongoing relationship with April and the family and what we hope to have with Mireya and the family here that we’ll work with over the course of the next six weeks,” he said. “… We hope that it’ll blossom into the future beyond the build itself.”

For more information on other local projects, visit www.habitatskc.org.

Photos were taken by Federal Way Mirror reporter Raechel Dawson and Rebecca Ellison Photography, www.rebeccaellison.com