For my service hours I was offered the opportunity to go and
serve with Habitat for Humanity in Lucedale, Mississippi and I jumped on the
opportunity because I knew I would have the opportunity to learn so many new
things besides just going and getting my five hours done. I thought that I
needed to take the perspective of actually doing something worth while and that
I would actually learn from. Working with Habitat for Humanity showed me one of
the organizations that is available to help families and individuals who are
disadvantaged in some way. For the particular individuals that we worked with
this would be individuals who had a home before Katrina but lost it due to the
hurricane and then financially could not afford to get a new home on their own.
We have discussed the different organizations and resources that are available
to help those in need of assistance with housing but seeing first hand how
important it is for these organizations to have volunteers was a huge part of
what I learned. Without the help of volunteers Habitat would not be able to
build as many homes as efficiently in a timely manner. Just seeing how much
work we got done in a week was amazing. A lot of the things I learned in my
housing class I was able to first hand in the construction of the house that I
was able to work on. Our leader talked about the style of the house and also
discussed about meeting the needs of the family and how each family or
individual has different needs for their home. Depending on that families needs
for their living will vary in what floor plan/layout will be used in their
home. While volunteering with Habitat I worked on several different projects
for the construction of the house since I was there for a week. We put the roof
on the house all but the shingles, which would be done by a professional
roofing company. We also sided the house, which was an amazing thing to see the
house go from having absolutely no siding to being completely sided by the end
of the week. I was able to learn how to
use several different kinds of power tools while there and also was able just
learn a lot about the process of building a home.
I was able to talk to the
future homeowner while there and she was so grateful for our service and I
really got to hear her story. The whole time I was listening the quote that Dr.
Taylor uses all the time “expect diversity” was going through my head because
honestly before I came to college and started taking FCS classes I would have
just made assumptions of why she was getting a house built for her. The classes
we take really do have a purpose and we really can learn a lot through serving
in our community and just having the benefit of really doing something good for
someone else who is in need. While working with the leaders and professionals I
was able to really talk with them about different opportunities that I could
use with my future classroom. I really wanted to be able to try and use ideas
like these for when I graduate and begin to teach. I now have the connection
with Habitat and with the leaders that I met there who will be able to connect
me with other Habitats that would be in my area.
This organization really has
an impact on the community of Lucedale and I saw this while working there.
People would stop by the site and volunteer there time whenever they had a free
chance. The community is very supportive of this organization because while we
were there they provided meals for us and we never had to make our own meals.
They were just so happy that we were there to help and wanted to give back to
us which actually was very humbling considering we were there to serve them
rather them serving us. The community in general just really seems to have
grown closer and this organization has really had an impact on that. I really
enjoyed serving with Habitat for Humanity and plan to continue to work with
them when I get the chance. Helping others is just such a great experience and
I would definitely recommend people giving things like this a chance. Just
seeing the family and how much they appreciated what wee were doing and hearing
their story made you realize how much this will impact them and how we really
need organizations like this. I will definitely continue to support and help
with this organization in the future because I can see what they are doing and
I definitely want to be able to make an impact in individuals’ lives.
The lovely group of individuals I got to work with in front of the house.
Learning how to use some new power tools.
Nailing on siding to the house.
A view of the house after we had completed putting the siding on and got the roof ready for it to be shingled.
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