March 2014 – Building Homes with Habitat for Humanity

Yesterday we did our March event with Habitat for Humanity, an organization that may people are familiar with and have always wanted to help. It is easy to see why so many people have always wanted to help them. They have a mission that is easy to get behind and their staff is knowledgable and helpful. Many people do not realize this, but the homes are not built then given to a family. The homes are bought by a family who qualifies for the purchase after a rigorous due diligence process that includes character references and calls to employers in addition to the standard financial audits.

Most of us were a little out of our element and did not have very much carpentry experience, but they taught us what to do and how to do it and before you knew it, we were contributing and doing our part in building homes. Our build site was in West Baltimore. There were about ten homes that were being built and we worked on five of them. We drilled, hammered, painted, nail gunned, circle sawed, built and had a great time.

We met one of the families who was going to be getting one of the homes and they even pitched in a little bit and helped us nail the base molding to the wall. It was a lot of fun getting to meet them because they were so excited about their new home and were very grateful for the work we were doing.

To learn more about Habitat for Humanity go here: www.habitat.org and if you would like to volunteer with them, contact Habitat for Humanity’s local Volunteer Engagement Manager, Shanita Martin: smoldin@habitatchesapeake.org.