This year my company sponsored the building of a Habitat for Humanity home. There were two parts of the sponsorship. One was to pay for the initial materials. The other was sweat equity, namely 15 days of work crews to build the place. Each group in our office selected a day. Today was ours.
The day started by an orientation from one of the two full time workers on the site. One is an americare volunteer. the other is the site supervisor.
We learned about Habitat and how the overhead of the program is all paid through the money made by the outlet stores they have around the country. Therefore every dollar paid goes directly into the building of the home. Even the site supervisor is paid through those dollars. Much of the labor is donated to. From unskilled labor like our group to skilled labor like a local plumber volunteering his shop to handle that part of the project.
The family that is getting the house was chosen from a pool of applicants. They are required to put in 250 hours of sweat equity. They are also obligated to a 30 year zero interest loan equal to 25% of their salary. They are also required to go to classes on home ownership to learn about their responsiblities and how to maintain it.
After the orientation, we were split into work teams. One finished prepping the roof for shingles for next week. My team put up the siding on the outer walls all day. The site supervisor shows you what needs to be done and how to do it. No skills were required for the day. It was a learning experience from that standpoint as well as a volunteer.
It is a great program. I am impressed on how much they do. If more of my time is needed this summer, I'll be sure to put it in.
