Habitat for humanity any volunteers here?

[hallerb]

I was thinking of volunteering, get my home building fix, at no cost and do some good for others:)

Any volunteers here? whats it like?

[David Martel]

haller,

I did this some years ago. Since these things are locally run my experience may not help you much. This was an enjoyable thing to do. I installed vinyl siding mostly. Not a bad way to meet women surprisingly enough. Do not bring your own tools they will walk off.

Dave M.

[hallerb]

I am married:) WISH I would of thought of this years ago:(

I figure learn some skills, and help people while getting some exercise is all a good thing!

[PipeDown]

I had a friend who wanted to volunteer. When she called, the first thing they asked is what church or organization she belonged to. Seemed they did not know quite what to do with an individual. They recommended any number of groups to join but joining one group to participate in another wasn't going to work for her.

I don't know if that is a common experience or if things have changed in the last few years. It probably depends a lot on where you live and how well organized the local group is.

[tbasc]

East Cooper Habitat for Humanity of Mt. Pleasant SC, Sea Island Habitat for Humanity of Johns Island SC, Charleston Habitat for Humanity of Charleston SC would welcome you. Work is not hard and folks are friendly. East Cooper and Sea Island have marvelous construction coordinators. There's a lot of grunt work and no seminars. One learns by doing. Very satisfying way to spend a day. TB

[Doug Kanter]

Maybe they're stuck with the kinds of people who also get their kicks from other types of committee thinking, like churches and boy scout troops.

[Frank Boettcher]

Have built five houses for HHH, all were fun. Framing day is the best but it is all satisfying.

Just got back (Sunday)from Biloxi where I spent a week rebuilding a Katrina damaged house for a 82 year old widow. Enjoyed that too.

Frank

[hallerb]

I am in pittsburgh, and will see habitat at the home show starting this week, their e mail says they have a project in etna, that close by,

[Paul Franklin]

I helped on several houses a few years back. In my case, the houses were sponsored by the company where I worked at the time, and most of the workers were employees and friends, s/o's, thereof. There were all levels of experience, from folks who had literally never pounded a nail, to others with lots of expertise. The Habitat organization also brought in very experienced people from time to time to advise on tricky areas. As a long time DIYer I've done most everything, and so often found myself in charge of a group of enthusiastic newbies. There's plenty of work for folks of all skill levels, and you can't help but learn a lot. The people were great, and I had a ball. I'd do it again in a second, given the opportunity.

I filled my truck with tools and the like, because stuff was always in short supply, but I never had a problem with it walking, although I didn't leave any of it at the site. But all you really need are good work boots, gloves, and energy. Be prepared to be more tired at the end of the day than you have ever been!

A lot of the projects are sponsored by church groups, but they don't bite much... :-)

Paul

[HeatMan]

I did a volunteer gig for HFH recently. Since I'm in the trades, I got tasked with hanging interior doors. This gent came walking in in dressy (as opposed to work) clothes. He proceeded to tell me how to hang the doors. I stood there and looked at him. I even offered him the pneumatic trim gun I was using. He wouldn't take the gun, but kept telling me how to hang the door I was working on. I finally asked who he was. He was just an idiot off the street that thought he'd come in and help by telling us what to do. He wanted to supervise, not work like we were. I found the jobsite manager and instructed him that I was leaving.

The 'gent' was escorted off the jobsite.

He had never even heard of shims. I guess he learned off the television.

[hallerb]

I dont want to supervise, I want to learn by doing:)

The world is full of idiots:(

[Doug Kanter]

Next time you run into a shmexpert like that: "Please - you're gonna make me violate my parole. I'm not supposed to speak to ANYONE unless there are police officers present to keep an eye on things".

:-)

[Not]

[HeatMan]

television.

That's a thought, but HFH might not like that. I was tempted to bypass the safety on the trim gun and pepper him with trim nails, ala Dick Cheney....

[spudnuty]

My brother in law did this. He found it really great and quite rewarding. He served for two years and wound up being hired by HFH for another two. He learned an lot and now he has his own renovation business. He's doing quite well. In fact at the moment he's skiing in Aspen. Richard

[kevin]

I put in a few years with HFH in Raleigh NC. Great experience, good people to work with -- got to do everything from foundations upwards. My wife and I both did it, and it was a lot of fun, learned a lot, and nice to meet all kinds of people and make friends with them. In Raleigh, they do whole subdivisions at a time. Other places they might do one or two houses, or renovations, etc.

Your milage may vary in other areas, of course. The poster that commented about "which church do you belong to" is in an area (like some areas) where the habitat group works exclusively or primarily with organized groups, rather than individuals. Instead of trying to pull together people one by one (and never knowing if anyone is going to show up or not), they schedule groups to come and work. Just depends on the area. I think they do that here in Ithaca -- they'd never get enough random individuals on any given day, so they schedule groups (churches, college groups, hs school kids, etc) to come out, but only on particular weekends.

If you are in such an area, you can probably just explain you are an individual that wants to join in, and they can just tell you where the next group will be going, and you can join in.

-Kevin

[Tom]

I've been volunteering for about a year now. I'm a licensed electrician, so my skills are in demand, but they/we are always willing to teach those who want to learn.

Volunteering with them has opened my eyes to the number of people out there who can afford a certain amount of cost, but really can't afford rip off prices for services.

I highly recommend volunteering.

tom

[Tom]

Well based on time of year, and funding, I'm sure they can keep you busy. ;)

Well put!

tom @

[mm]

LOL

I don't belong to any church or organization either, but I was there at the invitation of a friend. He doesn't belong to any church or organization either, but he does furniture making for a living.

I was there I think 1 1/2 days. .

I brought tools, but only took 1 from my car at any given time.

At one point they showed someone through the house and someone said she was the prospective owner. I didnt do the job for thanks, but since she was right there, I think she could have managed to say something to us. (like "Thanks"). But I told myself she had her reasons and in fact, that was not the reason I later stopped.

It was very hot but my friend wanted me to wear at least a t-shirt. At home from May to October, I never wear a shirt when I'm working., He said it's not professional to not wear a shirt. I said, I'm not a professional. I left an hour or two early. I hadn't decided about the next day until t-shirts became an issue. I decided I was embarrassing him, and if I weren't there at all, I wouldn't.

But the time I was there was worthwhile. I did a bit and I learned a bit.

They keep writing me for money. Once I wrote back that I will give my work, my money, or my stuff, but generally no more than one of these to any one organization. That they only got my attention because they didn't want money, only my work. But I think they are still writing me.

If I had it to do again, I don't think I would give them my real address. Maybe not even my real name, although that might be a problem if I met any girls. (although a reasonable girl ought to accept the truth as a decent reason.).. I wasn't doing it for thanks, so why do they need to know who I am or where I live.

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[mm]

Remember: Guns don't shoot people. Dick Cheney does.

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