September 18, 2009 – 9:52 am
Today I participated in a Habitat for Humanity project in Newark, NJ. Before I get into the details of what we did I wanted to give a little background on how they operate. Habitat for Humanity (HFH) selects qualified applicants for housing and provides them with an at cost (materials) home with a 0% interest mortgage. But part of the qualification process is what they call ’sweat equity’. Each person who initially qualifies must then complete a minimum of 200 hours of work on other HFH projects. Once they reach that 200 hour goal and finish any other requirements, they are given a home. The nice part about it is that a lot of the times they ended up working on the home that they live in. I blindly went into the day not knowing what to expect, so in case anyone is interested I’ll share the story.
We arrived a little late and had a quick orientation at the HFH office. We then took a quick drive to house number 69. This was the 69th house they built in the area (70 and 71 are currently pending building permits). We were a group of about 10 guided by two HFH contractors. Since the whether was looking grim, we all rushed to rake the dirt in the front and back yard, clean up the rocks and weeds, throw down some seed, and then top it off with some hay. The hay helps the keep the ground moist and, more importantly, confuse the birds. Next we moved inside. This particular house was pretty much complete but HFH projects start from the ground up, so we could have been putting up sheet-rock and such (some of the volunteers we were with had worked on this same house a few weeks ago doing just that). I spent the morning painting the ceiling (since I was the tall guy), some others painted the walls, and the rest were left tiling the two bathrooms.
Then there was lunch…
Then we got back to work. I did a little more painting in the afternoon until I finally got my big break. I had to thread a pipe for the gas line. I didn’t have a clue how to do it, but they showed me what I needed to do and I got the hang of it. We sealed the threads and replaced the small section of pipe that had been leaky (It was discovered that the original plumber who came in didn’t do perfect work, no biggie). I helped find dead-spots in the floor so we knew where we needed more nails. After that we measured out the linoleum for the kitchen and laid it out…. then it was time to clean-up and leave. A new group of volunteers will be in the next day to finish up where we left off.
…so you don’t need any home building experience to join in a HFH project. I spoke with the executive director of the Newark HFH and he said he could put me in touch with the NYC HFH if I wanted to go there, or I was always welcome to come back and work in Newark. I will definitely do it again. Everyone is welcome to come along, just let me know. Call me, email me… I’ll even coordinate the whole thing.
I could tell you that volunteering your time to others who are less fortunate changes your perspective and gives you a reality check… but you should already know that. Don’t have time to help out? How about packaging eight hours you normally spend on Facebook and put it to good use. There’s plenty of opportunities (especially around the holiday season) for you to give either time or money, even if HFH doesn’t sound like it’s for you. Could you imagine what the world would be like if everyone gave selflessly to others???
Here’s some pictures of the site… none of me, but if I get them I’ll post them…
Front Lawn
Backyard
Front of House 69
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