By Michael Willard, Austin Habitat Executive Director
Miracles happen every day! Things at Austin Habitat for Humanity are very busy this fall. So busy that I asked Sarah Joiner, our Director of Volunteer Services, how many volunteers we had working this past weekend. She responded, “Over 200 volunteers on Saturday!!” I was shocked. With the ACL Music Festival and a 90% chance of rain in the forecast, I was sure that few people would show up to build. This many people stepping forward to work with our family partners and homeowners was another miracle for Habitat.
These volunteers got a tremendous amount of work done, as well. Cisco Systems started the Berenji family house. The walls were raised on this five bedroom home by Cisco Systems volunteers and members of Pi Sigma Pi, Minority Engineers Service Fraternity. Around the corner from this home, HYP (Habitat Young Professionals) and American Society of Civil Engineer volunteers were laying down decking and putting up siding on another house. Across the street, a group composed of volunteers from First English Lutheran Church, Faith Lutheran Church, Bethany Lutheran Church, and the UT Lutheran Campus Ministry was working on the Ecumenical House. Over on Towbridge Circle, Wells Fargo volunteers raised the trusses on the Reyes home, while UT Phi Beta Chi volunteers installed drywall on the Sorrell family home.
In addition to all of this new construction, we had teams from Gateway Community Church and the UT Habitat Campus Chapter working on repair projects in East Austin. Our DeConstruction team worked with the Asian Business Students Association from UT on a house take-down project in West Austin. And finally, there were volunteers at our Construction Warehouse forming metal panels for a new roof to be installed on the Hodge’s home this week.
Whew! Are you tired yet? I am. But the truth of the matter is that we still have more work to do. This weekend we raise the walls on the Fabian’s home, sponsored by Austin’s LGBTG Community. In addition to this house, there are to be five more homes started between now and the end of the year.
Miracles do happen everyday! And we will need more of them, because we still need volunteers, donations and support for Austin Habitat to be able to address the needs of the families that come to us and ask for help.
I hope to see you on site this weekend, or sometime this fall, so that you can be a part of the miracle. CHANGE LIVES!
In partnership,
Michael
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Keep up with the good work. !!!