Julie Spreads Joy with 10th Habitat Birthday Build

What do you do for your birthday? Do you have a big party? Do you have a special dinner with friends or family? Do you use it as an excuse to do something new and exciting? For Julie Loomis, longtime Habitat volunteer and supporter, the answer is simple: all of the above!

For ten years now, Julie has hosted a “Birthday Build” with Twin Cities Habitat. She loses none of the fun of a traditional birthday party, and – by helping build a home for a local family – she gives her guests the added satisfaction of knowing they made a real difference. After all, birthdays are the perfect opportunity to gather our friends and family from different corners of our world to share some joy together. Why not spread that joy to a future Habitat homeowner?

Inspired to Help

When asked what motivates Julie to give back, one memory in particular sticks out. It was years ago, and Julie was taking training to become a life coach (she’s now a Certified High Performance Coach, professional organizer, and retreat leader—check out julieloomis.com for more info). One of her first training modules was on the power of language.

“At that time I saw a person on the side of the road with a sign that just said ‘HELP’,” Julie remembers. “It just crushed me—that simple statement: help. We all have a point in our lives when we need help. We’re better together…and I just want to support people, because everyone deserves a chance to thrive. What better way to start than with a home?”

Julie was first introduced to Habitat’s mission over 20 years ago on a Global Village Build to Costa Rica. There, her eyes were opened to the transformational power of Habitat's work in helping people into affordable homes. She signed up to become a Global Village Build leader, led two more builds to Costa Rica, and joined many others, including a recent build in Vietnam and an upcoming build in Cambodia. Julie estimates she’s participated in more than 20 builds in total, both locally and around the world.

A group photo from Julie's Global Village Build in Vietnam

“I want to show up and I want to support people,” Julie says. “And there's no better way than having safe and affordable housing. That hits on the economic side, but it also is that place where you can go rest so you can go out to work and make money, you can cook your meals, you can live your life, you can invite people over. Your kids can have a safe space to grow up in. So, for me, it just hits on multiple points.”

A Birthday Build Tradition

When Julie turned 40, she said “no one is going to bring black and ‘over the hill’ stuff to my birthday.” Instead, she planned some new and exciting things to mark the milestone. She’s a Latin dancer, so she did a lot of dancing. She went up on a trapeze. And, inspired by her Habitat Global Village experiences, she decided to host a Habitat birthday build. It was so fun that she decided to do it again the next year…and the year after that…and in March 2025, Julie held her 10th Annual Birthday Build at The Heights development in St. Paul.

Over ten years, a few traditions have emerged:

1. The wearing of silly headbands, tiaras, and the like is highly encouraged—contributing to the abundance of laughter and good cheer on site. (This year, since hard hats are required at The Heights, the group got creative and taped their headbands to the top of their hard hats.)

2. Red velvet cake – this year in cupcake form – is a must. As Julie says: “You can still eat cake on the job site!”

3. After a good day of volunteering, Julie’s crew all gathers at Sociable Cider Werks for a well-earned drink and a toast to doing good while having a ton of fun.

Which leads to the ultimate tradition: joy.

“We need more joy in the world right now,” Julie shared with her crew as they gathered that morning. “Joy embodies love but it also embodies hope and laughter and connection, and all these really important things that we, as humans, all want. So I had asked them to really embody joy and show up with joy and infuse the homes with joy—so the owners feel it when they walk in.”

As volunteers put up installation, built the framing around windows, and installed house wrap, there was lots of joy. Music was bumping, people were laughing, and even the cold and light drizzle couldn’t keep people down. Julie kept hearing comments from her friends about how good it felt to make tangible progress.

“Working together gives us the opportunity to make an impact. That is the big difference—joy with the impact.”

Spreading the Joy

When it’s time to recruit for her birthday build each year, Julie has no trouble filling her slots. People are clamoring for the opportunity to do some good together in community.

“Birthday Build is much bigger than a birthday or a build,” says Tim, Julie’s friend who has been to almost every birthday build. “The best part about Birthday Build is seeing our diverse community come together for a common cause helping those in need regardless of who they are.”

Julie’s son Nate, who’s also been to almost all his mom’s birthday builds, agrees.

“Her selflessness is something I like to live by,” Nate says. “I think being there for your community is just as important as being there for your friends or family. Taking one day a year should be the minimum for what we do for each other and the fact that she does it for her birthday is just perfect.”

Julie and her son Nate

This year, Julie was able to spread her message of joy even further. Three local news stations came out to interview Julie for her milestone birthday build. She hopes more people will be inspired to bring their communities together for birthday builds of their own.

Julie Loomis was interviewed by three local TV stations during her 10th Annual Birthday Build! See her KSTP interview here.

Feeling inspired to join Julie and start your own Birthday Build tradition? Our volunteer team is happy to assist you every step of the way! Learn more about group volunteering here.