Helped Build Homes For Habitat For Humanity
July 23, 2011 Filed in: Life
"What we call real estate - the solid ground to build a house on - is the broad foundation on which nearly all the guilt of this world rests."
--Nathaniel Hawthorne
I had always been interested in volunteering for Habitat for Humanity before but hadn't researched it at all or taken the time to find out where I can go to help. If I had known how easy it was, I would've done it a long time ago. Anyone can sign up to volunteer for a day at the link here.
Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization "founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a decent, safe and affordable place to live." They build affordable housing for low income families around the world. There are Habitat affiliates all over the place, and I was lucky enough to work with the one representing Greater San Francisco.
The property I volunteered at today is a 36 condominium complex on Mission Street in Daly City. To qualify to buy one of these properties, which are offered at a fairly reduced price, a family has to make around 40-60% of the median salary in the area (here, it's about $25,000-$33,000 for a family of four). After the organization looks at their need based on current living conditions and credit, the family is then offered an interest free loan to buy a condo, provided they also complete 500 work hours on the site.
There were a ton if visitors today. Some came as groups and some came as individuals.
There were several different tasks we could volunteer for, but I ended up choosing to help with some of the roofing. After we met our project manager for the day, James, we went up to the top floor of the complex.
When we got up to the top, we were assigned different projects. The first one I was assigned to was installing these blocks into the side of the roof.
I also had to hammer the brackets to these pieces down.
We basically worked on this until lunch time. In the afternoon, I helped install the trestles of the roof.
I was on the top of the building balancing on two-by-fours.
I was working hard, but I was still able to take the time to appreciate the view.
The trestles looked pretty good after we had to call it a day at around 4 pm.
I have to say that this was a pretty fun day. I worked hard and was pretty exhausted afterward, but I met some really nice people, learned how a roof was built, practiced a little balancing, got to use my strength, and felt great because I helped build shelter for at least a few low income families.
I definitely want to do this again, and if you're interested in doing it too, check out your local Habitat for Humanity affiliate.
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