Last Friday afternoon my friend Kyle, treasurer of the UMass chapter of Habitat for Humanity, called me. A bunch of people had bailed for Saturday and he was wondering if I could work from 9 to 4 on a site in Northampton. Initially I couldn’t imagine waking up by 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning. I had expressed interest in working at a Habitat site but I can’t even make it to my 9:05 a.m. classes. I didn’t have plans or excuses for why I couldn’t help out though, so I obliged.
I stumbled out of bed Saturday morning at an unmentionable hour and headed over to the Northampton site with Kyle and his friend Jen. The task for the day was dry walling, but Kyle and I ended up helping insulate with John Nathan, a habitat recipient who would be living in the duplex we were working on.
Seven hours worth of fiber glass on my skin definitely wasn’t pleasant but it was completely worth it. It gave me a sense of usefulness. I haven’t been that productive in ages and it didn’t take much. I’m 18; I have full use of my limbs, so seven hours of insulation work could hardly qualify as strenuous for me. Granted I was exhausted by the time four rolled around, but that’s to be expected.
Habitat for Humanity is probably one of the easiest organizations to get involved with. There are plenty of local sites to volunteer at. At the Turner Falls site on L Street they just broke ground March 28; there is still plenty of work to be done in Northampton on Westhampton Road and there is a site in Amherst on Southeast Street on land donated by Amherst College. Building on the Amherst site is tentatively starting at the beginning of September. Construction shifts are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and 12 to 4 p.m. on Sundays at all the mentioned sites.
Habitat is a nonprofit organization. Habitat houses are interest free and the monthly mortgage payments made by recipients go toward purchasing land and other materials for more Habitat houses. “One of the things they do is build communities instead of just houses,” John noted. This is especially true for the duplexes being finished up on Westhampton Road. There are six families who will be living and working together in these duplexes.
Every family member receiving a Habitat house age 18 and older has to put in 250 hours of sweat equity on their own house and on other sites. John attests, “When I go in there I always have fun and the crews are really great.” Volunteers range from college kids to professionals.
Some people go in there with the knowledge of carpentry on their belts, others, like me, know nothing. “Everyone makes their contribution and everyone values that,” John commented. All that’s required for Habitat volunteers is punctuality on your shift. If you’re coming individually, any day is good as long as you’re on time for your shift, or if you’re with a group you can claim an open day.
The UMass Habitat for Humanity group is going to the Westhampton Road site again on May 13. It’s a perfect way to get involved. I would recommend Habitat for anyone interested in volunteer work. I hate to sound preachy but I feel that as a college student I spend a lot of my time doing worthless things.
When I’m not writing papers or doing the crossword I’m typically sitting around my dorm doing something damaging to my body. I bet a lot of students can relate to that. My Saturday mornings typically consist of nursing hangovers and dragging my burnt out half starved self to the DC, after I finally manage to roll out of bed. This usually occurs around mid afternoon. I’m only fully functional by around 4 p.m., which is about the time I can start the process all over again.
But when I finished Habitat by 4 p.m. I had already worked for seven hours on a site that would be the future home of the guy I was working with. There’s something really cool about that. At Habitat you actually get to work with the people the organization is helping. “I used to think in the beginning it was going to be uncomfortable, but it’s the opposite,” John said, “It’s hard to describe but I feel good every time I go there, I feel humble.”
Everyone works together on building a home. People who will be living in the homes, people who know what they’re doing, people who volunteer with groups, people like me who are clueless; everyone comes together and creates this really amazing thing. You’re not just sitting around on a perfectly good Saturday, you’re accomplishing something that really affects people – you’re building a home. I can’t imagine most college kids do anything that significant on the weekends.
The day after my first Habitat experience Kyle and I met up with John and his son at the Community Fair held here at UMass. We just talked about Habitat and the impact it has had. One of the best parts of doing this was just getting to hear John’s story. It was nice to get a different perspective on the world. Everyone has a story to tell.
I guess my point is that Habitat for Humanity is a really good experience. There really aren’t that many excuses for why people can’t get out there and work on a Saturday besides sleep deprivation and nasty hangovers. I wouldn’t really consider either a valid justification. It’s a really good opportunity and I’m happy I didn’t pass it up.
Melissa Garber is a Collegian columnist.
