Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity

As an employer that encourages and cultivates long-term employment, Andersen Corporation understands that this translates into long-term volunteerism.

  The result is added skill, expertise and leadership in Andersen's Habitat for Humanity build projects.  Since 2003, Andersen has built 100 homes in partnership with Habitat for Humanity across the United States and Canada, many of them in conjunction with Twin Cities Habitat.

"There's more than a dozen years under the tool belts of many of these Andersen employees," said Susan Roeder, Community Affairs Manager for Andersen Corporation.  "And this level of volunteerism brings camaraderie to the workplace."

Any visitor to an Andersen-led build site would be struck by the bustling efficiency of the group.  Roeder attributes much of this to working with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity field staff and site supervisor, as well as working alongside other long-term volunteer crews like 3M Cares, Bud's Bunch and the St. Paul Crew.

"Working with the Twin Cities affiliate has taught us so much, and we have taken that experience with us to smaller communities with smaller Habitat affiliates that might build only one or two homes a year.  We know that we're lucky to be based here in the Twin Cities, and have this affiliate to work in partnership with and take that learning with us as we explore the rest of the country," said Roeder. 

Roeder said that volunteerism through Habitat for Humanity brings an already tight-knit group of co-workers even closer as they share in contributing to mission of Habitat's work.

During one of their build projects in Woodbury, a casual conversation with a homebuyer put everything into perspective for the Andersen volunteers.  "He said ‘I am looking forward to volunteering on another Habitat home, because I want to do for them what you did for me.' That was a very inspiring statement and reminded us all about why we work so hard at this," said Roeder.