On the 17th of May a group of Pierce college students went to volunteer at a local Habitat For Humanity site in Tacoma. The group volunteered for six hours fixing up two homes with Habitat for Humanity Candidates and other volunteer workers.
Pierce college volunteer, Sierra Granberg explains the details of her work at the homes,“ First we worked on painting a house the colors that the owner chose, then we helped clean up debris, then we helped take down scaffolding, and then we helped lay gravel for the foundation of a house.”
The volunteers were split into two groups the other group mainly comprised of males, hammered nails into the frame of a new house, and added wiring to a fence around the basketball court.
Amanda Stout, a Candidate for a new home through Habitat for Humanity was at the event working towards her family’s 500 build hours. Stout said “I’m super excited, I would just like to get as much done as soon as possible,”
Stout had to first apply and become approved by Habitat, fitting somewhere in between the minimum and maximum income guidelines. The income guidelines are decided on a ratio of how much is made monthly or yearly to how many family members that income provides for.
Stout said “ I never dreamed that we would own our own house one day and the people of Habitat bend over backwards to help you get to where you need to be.”
Currently Stout and her husband live in a 3-bedroom rental house with their five children. According to Stout, her son is most excited that he won’t have to share a room with his sister. Her family hopes to move into their home before the start of school in the fall
Most volunteers from Pierce were recommended to do this service event, because its closely related to the career field they plan to go into.
TCC volunteer Jordon Dye said, “When you serve your community it proves to your community that people are good, because they are willing to dedicate their time to help others.”
For people considering volunteering for Habitat the work appears to be hard physical labor but, Granberg assured that, “ When you serve your community, not only are you helping other people but you’re learning a lot, meeting new people, having fun and making a difference.”
Anyone can volunteer at Habitat Even a little work goes a long way in impacting other people for the better.
