A Labour of Love

One year ago yesterday, I joined a group of people at a Church in a small town to form a chapter of Habitat for Humanity. I was volunteered for and accepted a position as the Chair of the Family Selection Committee, not knowing how long the project would take or how massive the tasks ahead of us were. I often get razzed by a certain family member for not doing enough local volunteering. Today, I'm really proud to be part of a such a warm group of strong-willed Canadian individuals.

Over the year I fell in love with the organization, the families, and the rest of my committee. Habitat for Humanity is not giving out free houses by the way. They work extremely hard to build quality homes through volunteer labour and fundraising. They carefully choose families who are hardworking, participate in the local community, have glowing references, and with younger children. They work alongside these families to help them complete the 350 - 500 hours of "Sweat Equity" that a family must put in before they can move into their home. They act as a financier to the families, providing an interest-free mortgage and organizing a ton of legal and financial information. And they recruit tons of volunteers to build well thought out and skillfully built homes. There's a million aspects to the organization and building a home just isn't. so. easy (as I found out this summer while I was up on the roof shingling). 

It's no walk in the park for anyone involved. The special part about HFH is that they not only recognize the need for safe, affordable housing for deserving families, but they also see the way this can benefit communities and neighbourhoods surrounding their projects. They bring people and communities together in a labour of love and legitimately make dreams come true. 

I was lucky to be able to work with the families. I so enjoyed getting to know them over the past year. There were (many) ups and downs, but they inspired me every step with the extraordinary hard work they are willing to put in to achieve their dreams. And I found two girls to hand down all of my old toys too. Barbie dolls, my dollhouse, badminton rackets...that reminds me, my sister witnessed the older one beat me badly in badminton this summer. I used to be a champ!

Most of all, I fell in love with the rest of my Steering Committee. I've always known that I feel oddly comfortable with a demographic that is much above my years, but this committee was extra special. They are the youngest group of seniors I know. They were on the roof, in the kitchen, painting baseboards, hauling ladders, hammering nails and raising money. Yet all the while they laughed and smiled and made it feel like all of us involved were a big family. Some of the brightest memories of last winter come from those meetings - even if I was decades younger than anyone involved. A few unconventional friendships sprang from this and I'll treasure them for years to come. 

Due to the enthusiasm, hard efforts and dedication of a few; the volunteer efforts of many; and the work of a ton of people who didn't know each other before this year; today we handed over the keys to two more-than-deserving families. I think I cried about eight times during the Dedication Ceremony...and then the father of one of the families thanked us all for making his family's dreams come true. *sob! *gasp! *remind myself to look cool

Two houses, built in less than one year = a true labour of love. Congrats to both families.   

Families receive their keys!

Little Fiona cuts the ribbon.

The badminton champ. 

Incredible.