Ladies, grab your t-squares and power drills, because the sheetrocking has begun! Last week, with the radio tuned to their station, the crew from FM107’s Team Leader day were certainly rockin’ (sorry -- you know how I like bad puns). The station’s afternoon host, Colleen Kruse, was in an upstairs bedroom with some of her co-workers, helping to cover the ceiling with the big, unwieldy boards. I know from personal experience that hanging sheetrock (or drywall, whichever term you use) will make you look at the walls in your house in a whole new light!
As I silently watched the volunteers, snapping pictures here and there, I realized that this phase of construction is the one that really transforms the structure. One day, you’re walking through the house, slipping right through the uncovered stud walls, and the whole thing is kind of an abstract mass of wood, wiring, and metal vents. But once the sheetrock is up, voila! There are rooms, and hallways, and the place feels completely different. You can imagine the family putting their couch against that wall, or eating at the dining table right over there. Suddenly, you’re more aware that this building you’ve been working on is actually going to be someone’s home, and that’s a powerful thing.
Of course, we know how much the house transforms during the course of Women Build. But what about the volunteers? How are they transformed by their experiences at Women Build? I’m curious to know, so I’ll make sure to ask that question during future visits out to the site.
Three cheers for last week’s Team Leaders: FM107, Valspar, First Presbyterian Church of Stillwater, and Pam Svihel. And props to the Lunch Providers: Victor’s 1959 Café, Rhonda Speers White, and Susan Kirchstein. Keeping the build financially sponsored and the hard-working volunteers fed are invaluable roles that deserve many thanks!
Attention all you Facebook users: TCHFH’s Women Build now has its own Facebook page! Become a fan, post something on our wall, and look through photos. It’s one more way we’re building community.
Keep on (sheet)rockin’,
Andrea
Andrea Cole
Women Build 2009 Committee Member
Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity
matt haugen : 10:29 AM on July 10, 2009
matt haugen