Volunteer Spotlight: February 2022
Habitat Chesapeake is honored to partner with dedicated and hard-working volunteers who do everything from build houses, run the ReStores, and work alongside homeowners. As part of our thanks to these incredible groups and individuals who make our mission a reality, we are highlighting a different volunteer each month in a Volunteer Spotlight. Join us to hear the stories of our volunteers and their incredible work.
In this month’s volunteer spotlight, meet Adrienne: a hardworking mother of two, Adrienne came to volunteer with Habitat in 2007 in search of new hands-on skills and a hobby of her own. Adrienne is also a member of one of our partner faith congregations, Glen Mar Church.
“Over the years I have gotten way more out of volunteering with Habitat than I ever put in,” says Adrienne. “I have learned many handy skills that help me do work around my own home. I have met some really inspiring partner families who work hard to achieve homeownership through Habitat. I have met some really amazing people who work for or volunteer with Habitat,” she says.
Volunteers like Adrienne see first-hand the change that homeownership can have on an individual, a family, and an entire community. Adrienne recounts stories of meeting homeowners while volunteering, and how working alongside them is all the more rewarding when homeowners thrive.
“I still vividly remember going into my first Habitat house, which had been gutted down to the bare, brick walls,” she remembers. “There was a lady digging near me. She was obviously not comfortable with a shovel, but trying hard. At one point she leaned on her shovel and said, ‘Well, the harder this is, the more I’m going to appreciate it when it’s done.’ That’s when I realized I was shoveling beside the future homeowner. I was sold on Habitat, and leaned into my shovel a little harder.”
“We did finish her house, after months of working together. She moved in with her grandchildren, and raised them in that home. It still looks terrific, all these years later. A few years ago she came and spoke to our church, telling us how becoming a Habitat home owner changed her life,” says Adrienne. “Habitat works. It just does.”
Stories like these, from our volunteers and homeowners, is why we do the work we do. Thank you, Adrienne, and all the volunteers from Glen Mar, for your years of service to Habitat!
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About Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake
Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake (www.habitatchesapeake.org) brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope. Since 1982, Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake has built more than 780 homes in 19 communities, providing a brighter future for 2,700 children and family members. Homeownership is proven to transform lives – improving health, increasing children’s chances of academic success and offering an opportunity to build wealth across generations. Likewise, homeownership enhances neighborhoods by bringing tangible investment, engaged, long-term residents, rising property values and a sense of community.
Above: Adrienne, February’s volunteer of the month, smiling at a build event. Below: Volunteers from Glen Mar Church, where Adrienne attends, work in a Habitat home.
