When I arrived at the site mid-morning last Tuesday, the Anytime Fitness women were hard at work. The heat did not stop this group! Anna, the site supervisor, was leading four groups working on various jobs throughout the house. All the work took place outside but a “relatively” cool breeze was blowing to keep the women comfortable and lots of cold water was on hand for the frequent water breaks.
The group’s team leader, Heather, explained that interest in Women Build was stirred up when a Habitat employee gave a presentation at one of the monthly Ingredients Classes. The classes are company sponsored events that Anytime Fitness employees can attend. They cover many aspects of life and all of them encourage one to live a balanced life while also expanding their own personal development. These classes are open to all employees and are not gender specific. Even though all are welcome, only women happened to be in attendance at this particular class. When Women Build was mentioned during the presentation, the group thought that it would be a great match.
During the course of the week, the volunteers continued to show up in spite of the temperatures. Sharon Pfeiffer, Crew Leader, said that Wednesday was quite pleasant with the same temperatures but less humidity. She says, “I guess it’s true, it’s not so much the heat as the humidity!” The outside crews finished the trim work around the windows and doors, began installing the siding and wrapped up the soffit work. Inside, the mudding and taping was finished. It’s exciting to see the house coming together so quickly!
Maureen’s Team returns to Women Build every year and is surprised to perform a different task every time. Last year they pulled insulation from the ceiling rafters on a rehab; this year they were cutting and installing siding around vents and pipes. It’s tricky work and they performed it like professionals. Every week we are grateful to our devoted volunteers for giving of their time and energy and an extra big thank you goes out to those that braved the extreme temperatures last week! THANK YOU!
Big thanks to last week’s Team Leaders who also provided lunches: Heather Rudolph with Anytime Fitness, Maureen Bazinet Beck and Brenda Foster. On Monday Boca Chica brought out a yummy lunch for the crew.
We are always looking for photographs that you may have taken during your day spent at the build. If you have photos that you would like to share with your friends and family you can e-mail them to womenbuildphotos@gmail.com, use Streamfile to easily send multiple photos at once, or become our friend on Facebook (Twin Cities Women Build) and post and tag a few photos of you and your Women Build buddies!
There are a few volunteer slots still available for the remaining weeks of the summer Women Build home. We are still looking for Crew Leaders and individual volunteers to complete this beautiful home!
Stay cool everyone!
Robin
2011 Women Build Committee Member and Crew Leader
matt haugen
matt haugen : 10:40 AM on July 23, 2009
