One sunny breezy Saturday afternoon ten Florida IFDA members and friends had the opportunity to participate in a Habitat for Humanity “build” in Boynton Beach, Florida.
We noticed that a company that one of our members, Steven Young, works for, Capitol Lighting, was actually sponsoring the house we were working on!
Seen above, Jeff Rogow, Caroline Rogow, Vicki Kirsner, Marsha Koch, friend of Susan Heller’s, Susan Heller, Lynn Sciarrone, and Beverly Stewart.
We arrived ready to give our best effort. Caroline even wore her overalls! Seen here is a friend of Susan Heller’s who wanted to participate, Beverly Stewart, Susan Heller, VP of Education and Community Relations and organizer of this event, Susan’s daughter, Michelle Heller, Jeff Rogow, husband of our esteemed President, Caroline Rogow and Lynn Sciarrone along with a friend who joined in.
As part of our Community Outreach program we were delighted to be able to lend a hand to help build a new home for a very deserving family. We learned so much about just what a wonderful organization Habitat for Humanity is but also got real life construction experience too.
Thank goodness we did not have to work on the roof! They do have professionals who do roofing when it is a two story house, also for electrical and plumbing, but most everything else is volunteers. It’s pretty amazing.
This was one of many houses being constructed in a local community. Habitat even fixes up the exterior of the surrounding homes so that everyone feels like they live in a new neighborhood.
Caroline and Bev with Lynn looking on get ready to tackle the job!
We are introduced to the Habitat organization and some of the future homeowners.
All future recipients of Habitat homes go through extensive interviewing and must qualify before they can be approved. They must put in 400 hours working on not just their home but any Habitat project.
It was interesting to find out that the homeowner must make a down payment but their mortgage is directly from Habitat for Humanity and is interest free.
We file downstairs ready to meet the construction supervisors and find out what tasks we will be tackling.
Our supervisor, Helen, shows us her work gloves! She is a retired DEA agent and volunteers full time.
Susan and Caroline take on the miter saw challenge.
Marsha and Vicki were not daunted by the nail gun….except that it kept jamming. But Vicki quickly learned how to fix that!
Bev and Lynn applied their talents, and paint, to the shutters. Luckily they dressed to match the paint color so if they wore some paint home no one would notice.
Susan became an expert at dropping a plum line.
It was a rewarding day.
At the end of our shift we were all tired but filled with a sense that we served our community in a small way….one nail, brushstroke or slice of the saw at a time.
We are hoping to be able to work directly with a Habitat family to decorate their new home after they move in.
Looking to be part of a worthwhile organization, learn skills and have fun at the same time? Habitat for Humanity has opportunities all over the world! To learn more please go to their website. As always we invite you to share your experiences, thoughts, and suggestions by clicking on “Make a Comment” at the top of the page.
