Women Build 2011 Columbia Heights home week 8

The Women Build home on Van Buren is a bright sunny house. It’s on a hilly lot with steps up to the front porch and steps going down to the garage near the alley. One can visualize the house surrounded with flowers in the summer and sitting in the snow and sun in the winter.

This week the interior walls have been covered with dry wall and taped. The attic has been insulated and the ceilings have been textured. Finishing touches have been made to the porch and deck and exterior painting will be finished this week. Landscaping is underway with mulch being placed around the front porch.

I once attended a presentation by a University of Minnesota Psychology professor about volunteers and volunteering. One of his findings was that volunteers are motivated by what volunteering gives to them as well as what they give to the projects they undertake so I asked some volunteers about why they volunteer and specifically why they volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. All of the women I talked to were veteran volunteers who do multiple types of volunteer work.

Cindy is an Air Force retiree who volunteers once a week. On this build she has helped put on the roof and siding. When I spoke to her she was painting deck railings. She finds this work less intense than the work she does with special needs children. She has had the opportunity to work with the homeowner, Mohamud Aweis, who she describes as a hard worker who works much faster than she does. According to Cindy he is very appreciative of the work of the volunteers and always has a smile on his face.

Sheila is a UPS retiree who is spending the week on this project although her home is in Montana. She also volunteered here for a week in July. When I asked how she happened to be here she said that she heard about it in an e-mail from Habitat for Humanity. She was attracted to the idea of a Women’s Build. Since she has friends in the area she decided to come to Minnesota to help.

Barb and Jill volunteer together once a month and have worked on several Habitat builds. They see it as a chance to get together and to meet interesting women. This week they were putting down mulch and doing exterior painting. They like the physicality of the work. One of them said, “It’s almost like going to the gym”.

Indeed these volunteers are an interesting group of women who are articulate about what volunteering does for them while they are contributing to others.

When I visited I was surprised to see a couple of men walking through the house. I talked to Arnie who told me that he is a safety consultant for Habitat for Humanity and that the house is “looking pretty good”. I agreed.

Thanks to Wendy, Kari and Anna for organizing their teams to volunteer during the last week of outside work. And, a special thanks to Bonita Labat and her sister for bringing out lunch on Tuesday.

Lenore Harmon Habitat for Humanity Volunteer