An Open Letter From A Twin Cities Habitat Volunteer

A note from Debbie Campbell, 
Twin Cities Habitat Volunteer 

 Dear Habitat for Humanity - Twin Cities specifically and International by association, 

Thank you. 
Thank you.
Thank you. 

You have spent a lot of time, energy, effort and heart extending thanks to your many volunteers, of which I am and have been for more than a decade, but it is me who should be extending the thanks to you.

You welcomed my no-experience-with-a-hammer-and-limited-knowledge-of-a-paint-brush self to work side by side with experienced construction people on an actual building with real tools. The houses I’ve helped to build helped to build me. Thank you.

I first worked the ‘Women Builds”, on my own and then with my daughter. I can still feel the rush of hoisting a load bearing beam in to place with a team of women! I was strong, my daughter was proud and it was a bonding moment like few others. Thank you.

I discovered how many different types of hammers there are and that hardhats and safety glasses protect me from me and not just me from others. AND you let me use power tools! OH MY GOSH! I climbed scaffolding, walked beams and sat on a roof. You welcomed me in to build a home, but the real building was happening inside me. When you create something, it flows in both directions. Thank you.

When I could not carry wood, climb a ladder or swing a hammer, you had other opportunities for me to be part of the Habitat team. I’ve served lunch, carried water and worked in your offices moving nothing heavier than paper. I was valued for what I could do, not missed for what I could not. Thank you for seeing value in me as I was.

You let me close to the families that would become homeowners and entrusted me to teach them something about homeownership. Thank you for letting me teach and in the process learn.

You have given me the opportunity to travel to places in the world where I would meet families and their communities. You let me travel without a second language to communicate, with my own pillow and my over-packing of personal comforts. I was honored to write and deliver the dedication of a home. Thank you for giving me the stamp on my heart that will always hold the feeling of what home means.

Habitat for Humanity has enriched and expanded my life because because their door is always open. A volunteer is an unwrapped gift to Habitat for Humanity, no expectations, just deep gratitude and joyful discovery of what is to come.

So THANK YOU Habitat for Humanity; all I did was show up. My volunteer time and my donor dollars are small compared to the gifts you sent me home with each and every time I was a part of Habitat for Humanity.

Our communities here and around the world need only to step up and welcome you in and you will find a way to do the rest and the best to make affordable housing available to families in need.Habitat for Humanity, You are welcome in my neighborhood anytime and always.