Habitat for Humanity, 4200 Kingston Rd.
I have had this post in the works since early February, but since it is not materializing as I hoped it would, for lack of time on my part, I will just post this whole thing at once, and go back and elaborate on each day’s tasks as time goes by (again, if I actually GET the time)!
Habitat for Humanity, to provide a definition, is a not-for-profit organization whose goal is to build decent homes for those living in poverty housing, with an emphasis on the fact that they are not a charity; they do not just give to the poor, but they teach them how to create their own communities, and work hand-in-hand with the recipients of these homes to give them the skills they need to take care of their homes, and truly feel a sense of pride, independence, and ownership for the places where they will live.
Habitat is an international organization which has been in operation since 1976, not only building houses throughout Canada and the U.S., but also creating communities abroad, providing people with the opportunity to learn about building houses anywhere from Africa to Alaska.
If you follow my blog, you would know that I volunteer for Habitat, and have done so since May 2006. As a volunteer with them, I have now worked at three buildsites in Toronto, (McLevin Woods, Lakeshore, and 4200 Kingston Rd) and find this experience truly rewarding, not only for the tasks I accomplish each time I go, but also for the specific group of crew leaders I worked for (and now, in effect, with) at these sites. I have happened to inadvertently follow them through the completion of McLevin Woods over to 4200 Kingston Road, and I am glad I have, as they continue to dedicate themselves whole-heartedly to their work, the homes, project management, the recipients and the volunteers.
Since January 26th, I have been working once a week (almost every week) at 4200 Kingston Rd, and I TRY to get there on time every day, which has gotten progressively earlier as the year has unfolded, from 10am the first day there this year, to the shocking time of 8:10am this week, in light of my recent ‘promotion’ to crew leader. It seems as though I was already able to become a crew leader, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the only thing holding me back was that the specific person (*ahem!) who doles out the orange shirts was waiting for me to get there at the time the crew leaders SHOULD be there in the morning. (grrr!) Although I do appreciate the recognition, and will do all I can to live up to, and learn up to my position in the orange-shirted ranks.
If you look back through my blog, you will find each day’s events posted as an entry, so that the text is broken up. To be taken directly to the posts, you can click on the months at the side, and find the post corresponding to the date. The posts will not be too hard to find, as I don’t write in this blog a lot.
Without further ado, here are the dates where you will find my Habitat postings:
January 26th
February 2nd
February 9th
February 16th
March 2nd
March 9th
March 16th
March 23rd
March 29th
April 13th
April 20th
May 4th
May 11th
May 18th
May25th
June 1st
June 8th
June 22nd
June 23rd
June 30th
July 7th
