Giving back… with Habitat for Humanity

As an addendum to our business meetings on Thursday and Friday, one of my colleagues also organized an opportunity to contribute to Habitat for Humanity. They’re a Christian based organization, but are non-denominational and are chartered to help erradicate low cost housing. You can read more on their website to learn what they’re all about.

As you can see here, this part of New Orleans could use some serious “fixing up”

Basically, they get volunteers and prospective recipients to contribute time, energy, and know-how to build brand new houses for qualifing individuals and families. There are some requirements to receive: must be below a certain income level, must have a steady income to be able to pay off a zero-interest loan, and must contribute time and energy to the construction of the homes.

It was really a lot of fun for me. I worked on putting together the floor joists of a couple homes, while others in our group did everything from painting to pouring concrete for the foundation. I loved the chance to get my hands dirty on such a project, and for such a great cause.

In New Orleans, the project we worked on was called Musician’s Village and is intended to provide a community centered around music — included many homes and a community center.

My company, Novell, not only mustered up about 75 volunteers for a day’s worth of labor, but also a hefty $25,000 contribution to the cause. Plus, we held our mid-year event in New Orleans, LA partially to help out the local economy as best we could. And from what we could tell by being there, they could use all the help they can get. I can’t tell you how proud I am to be associated with this group!

I’m really thankful that I got a chance to contribute here. It was definitely a humbling experience, and my heart goes out to those who we’re helping. I wish I had time to contribute more regularly!