Volunteers Build

While the tap of the hammer and the buzz of the drill may have been stopped for two months in the spring of 2020, COVID has done little to dampen the spirits and amazing contributions of a crew of dedicated volunteers on our two build sites.

With strict COVID protocols in place, work on our Richmond and Mission build sites resumed in May 2020 and has been full speed ahead, to the point where we will be welcoming families into their homes this summer. We simply could not have accomplished this without the unwavering commitment from our volunteers.

April 18-24 is National Volunteer Week, and we are pleased to honour the many volunteers who have contributed to our success over the years and continue to do so. Several businesses brought their teams and we’ve had scores of individuals offering their time and energy. They all truly embody this year’s theme, The Value of One, the Power of Many: The power of one person to give their time and energy to build homes. The power of many working together to fulfill dreams for multiple families.

When Rick Janssen retired over five years ago, he wanted to put his construction experience to use. Habitat Greater Vancouver wasn’t building at the time, so he started volunteering in the ReStore, “biding time until the build”. He has now been at the Habitat build site in Richmond one or two days per week since the project began in 2015. Rick loves the outdoors, the camaraderie, and the exercise that volunteering with Habitat provides him. Since he began, he has logged almost 1500 hours.

An avid cyclist who has cycled across Canada, from the Lower Mainland to Alaska, and the length of Route 66, Rick has been known to cycle from his home in New Westminster to the build site in Richmond. He puts in a full day of labour and then gets back on his bike to get home again. He recently celebrated 70 years around the sun, is a cancer survivor and a tireless volunteer. For the last four years he has been driving cancer patients to their appointments with the Volunteer Cancer Drivers Society, and he also began delivering food hampers to families during the COVID crisis.

For Rick, the rewards come from working alongside partner families and knowing “it’s the right thing to do; I like seeing people getting homes that are decent and affordable. My parents instilled it (volunteering) in us, and I am trying to do the same with my kids.”

He has had the pleasure of working alongside his sons on build days, so it seems like his plan to pass on those values is working.

According to Habitat GV’s Volunteer Coordinator, Joanne Perreault, we have many active volunteers of varying ages and all walks of life. Some are retired, some working full or part time along with students who can offer a few hours whenever it works with their schedule.

“We depend a great deal upon our volunteers,” says Joanne, noting that many have been with us for years. “They are the core of Habitat for Humanity and, without them, our work would not be possible.”

“It’s all about the people,” she added. “The connections they make along the way and the opportunity to help our community at the same time. Many say it’s gratifying for them.”

Another of our dedicated volunteers is Audrey Sabiston, who was looking for a meaningful way to spend her time after retiring. She loved the idea of Habitat “where I could help other families and learn new skills at the same time.” She had already done lots of home renovations and woodworking projects so knew her way around the tools, but she also knew there was lots more she could learn onsite.

COVID has not deterred her from showing up and volunteering twice per week on the Richmond site. She said with volunteer numbers limited and working a lot outdoors, she hasn’t had any concerns. In addition to new skills, Audrey says she has made some good friends along the way. She loves seeing the families who have already moved into the first five homes and hearing how their lives have changed so dramatically. “That, to me, is the most rewarding,” she says.

As a believer in hard work, Audrey explains, “I love Habitat for Humanity’s philosophy of a hand up, not a hand out. You’ve got to work hard for the things you want.”

Habitat’s model requires that those who are receiving a home must put in 500 hours of sweat equity. It could be in the ReStores or on the build site and they may even participate in building their own home.

Why does she volunteer? “It depends on your outlook on life,” according to Audrey. “For me, it’s all about staying young and staying active.”

With approximately 500 hours under her tool belt, Audrey is leading by example. Once building wraps up in Richmond, she is keen to help in Mission.

Jason DeVries, Site Supervisor for both Richmond and Mission is thrilled with the support we receive from volunteers and enjoys teaching them new tasks and then seeing them go and do it on their own. He is impressed that despite COVID, volunteers have continued to help and their dedication and hard work has helped ensure we can get 14 families into their new homes this July!

“Having volunteers helps me out each day getting some of the little tasks done,” says Jason. With 11 more units in Mission just beginning, he said there is room for more volunteers. COVID protocols dictate that they are more spread out throughout the units, but “there is sill the same amount of work to be done.”

We were already well into the pandemic when Tom Jereb started volunteering at our Mission build site. He literally showed up one day during one of our corporate build days and has been a fixture on the site ever since, already putting in over 500 hours. With numerous home renovations and new constructions for himself, family and friends and 35 years as an electrical technologist, Tom arrived with plenty of experience and specific skills.

Tom has enjoyed meeting other volunteers, especially some of the partner families who have been working on their own homes. He has worked alongside Rachel, one of our partner families and says, ”It makes me glad to donate some of my time to help her fulfill her obligation of 500 hours. It’s been really great to get to know her…and I have been able to teach her son quite a bit.”

While he has been coming to the site every day, Tom says he will “slow down” over the summer to twice per week, but he intends to be back to five days in the fall.

“Because of my interest in home renovations, I figured I would be of some use to Habitat,” he says modestly.

The value of our volunteers is immeasurable and current events have underscored the importance of the need for safe, decent, and affordable housing. We extend endless gratitude to Rick, Audrey, Tom, and all our other volunteers for bringing positive change to the community and to the lives of our partner families. You ALL deserve much thanks and recognition.

HAPPY NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK!