Organizing Hope: A(nother) ClassB service project

I have always wanted to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. The idea of making such a large difference in another person’s life has always been appealing. I can remember being a little girl and seeing the commercials thinking, I want to do that someday. Well, that day just happened to be on Saturday, February 6. I accompanied 28 ClassB employees and their family and friends to volunteer in the East Pasco Habitat for Humanity ReStore. I must say, it was an experience.



Divided into three groups, the volunteers were spread out across two warehouses East Pasco was using as storage for prospective houses and sellable items for the ReStore. It was more than a little brisk at 9 AM, but I felt little of the cold as I helped move pallets and organize artificial Christmas trees donated by Z-DEC (as a side note, I would like to say that this is our second time volunteering in a warehouse).

There was a hole in the wall near the ceiling of the warehouse. This allowed to water get in and dampen some of the boxes and encourage the growth of mold. Our task was simple enough: organize the warehouse into general categories (holidays, office furniture, etc), bring anything that can be sold to the ReStore warehouse, and throw away everything that’s broken.

Everything that we organized, we moved 20 feet away from the walls to prevent them from falling victim to the mold. Thank the heavens there was 30+ people, a pallet jack, and a forklift. There was so much stuff in these warehouses! We found old school lockers, dressers, and even a giant pumpkin. And I’m quite sure I saw a proscenium arch being carried outside…










What moved me was the writing on the wood designated for the houses. Donated by a church, there was writing along the sides with various “can-do” phrases and uplifting verses from the Bible.




Anyways, it got hot really quick. Between all the sweeping and hauling wood assembly line-style, I think I burned off a lot of calories (which I later replaced with Pizza Hut and chips during lunch). We worked together so well, that we finished two hours ahead of schedule. We stayed after for a while and listened to the CEO/President of East Pasco Habitat for Humanity, John Finnerty, talk about the difference we and other volunteers were making in people’s lives.



Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit Christian organization that has gone international. Finnerty said he sees poverty housing in other countries and also here in America. Although we weren’t putting together a house, we made it easier for the construction team to reach all everything and kept their building material from being molded. We completed in four hours what would have taken them an entire day to accomplish.



After we finished, the entire group took some time to explore the ReStore. With about as much stuff inside as the warehouse, it was no wonder we couldn’t fit everything into ReStore storage. I didn’t buy anything then, but I did go back later the next week and purchased a wallet.

Besides shopping in the ReStore, another added perk to volunteering with East Pasco was that they participated in the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day sweepstakes. Everyone who participated on Saturday will receive a free 1-day ticket to Walt Disney World in Orlando. The ticket can either be used, or donated to a charitable organization.

Regardless of the ticket, I (and a few others) want to volunteer with East Pasco Habitat for Humanity soon. Although this experience wasn’t quite what I expected, I sure am looking forward to the next time I volunteer with East Pasco.