I am so excited to be able to add ‘roofer’ to my resume! Yep, it’s the second year in a row of what I hope will be an annual event, a Habitat for Humanity build.
The power of teamwork and the value of giving back.
Why take a precious day or days out of your already short summer? Why get dirty and sweaty and possibly work harder than you do at your real job?
Here are a few reasons that I hope will get you jazzed about signing up:
- Seeing the faces and hearing the stories of the people you will be building the houses for – Working side by side with them, watching them watch their house being built after years of anticipation and wait. It’s very different than writing a cheque to a cause. It’s very humanizing and humbling indeed.
- Learn new skills – not only do you help with the build, but the patient leaders explain why things are to be done a certain way, the names of the tools and gadgets and how to work them and other little trade secrets.
- Experiential learning – to step into the shoes of people who do outdoor manual labour. I have a new respect for those folks.
- To be inspired – by the hundreds of volunteers and their reasons behind volunteering. Everyone from the kitchen personnel to the cleaner uppers! With most everyone having their days full to the brim – seeing so many people take a full day out of their busy life, is pretty wow.
- To show gratiidte – when we give back it is a way of saying thank you for all the gifts and blessings we have received. Thank you that I don’t need to access a Habitat House, thank you that my life has not been a financial struggle. When we give back, we say thanks to our own lives.
As an added bonus this year, I meet Walter. His family hosted a unique family reunion by coordinating a day to do a family build. Inspired by their Oma, they called their group Oma’s Tribe and they all gathered, from the professionals to the 80-year-old uncle, to work together for a cause.
Walter talked about how different it was from a typical reunion. How people had conversations and learned things about others that they normally wouldn’t have spent time with. How working side by side created a great bond.
It gave me the idea that a ‘Birthday Build’ would be a cool idea. Instead of gathering for a potluck party, what about gathering with the intention of doing good for someone else. What a great way to express gratitude for getting to take another spin around the sun.
Joining a Habitat for Humanity build is just one more way you can live, your life unlimited!
