Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity

Susan and Kevin Gundrum have never seen themselves as different. After getting married in 1998, they bought their house in West Saint Paul and like any ordinary couple they balanced work, bills and home maintenance.

But Susan and Kevin aren’t like every homeowner; they are both deaf. They never saw this as a hindrance; instead they worked even harder to succeed.  But when Kevin injured his arm and lost his job, paying bills and keeping up with home repairs became difficult.

For five years Susan continued to work at her job for the Community Involvement Program in Bloomington while Kevin vigorously looked for work. Eventually, Kevin signed up for baking courses at the Art Institutes International Minnesota campus. He hoped that studying baking would open up more job prospects and in May 2007 he obtained a job at 35th Avenue Bakery.

After only a few months of additional income, they received a complaint from the city requiring them to re-shingle the roof on their garage and paint the house and garage. “It was a surprise because we couldn’t afford it,” said Susan. “We thought everything was fine but then we received the complaint and we thought, ‘Oh no, we have an issue.’”

The couple had heard about Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity but they hadn’t learned about the A Brush with Kindness (ABWK) program. “My sister told me about [ABWK] and my mom called to request an application,” Susan said. “We were thrilled when we found out they could help. We were surprised and relieved.”

Not long thereafter, ABWK groups began working on their home; Affinity Plus, Star Choice Credit Union and Pepsi all had groups work at the Gundrum’s.

Pepsi Bottling Group employees focused on getting the house and garage painted.  “I was shocked when thirty people arrived to work on the house,” Susan said. “Everyone just walked up, grabbed a paintbrush and started painting. I was like ‘OK, I’ll join in too’ and we all started working together.”

“The most touching moment for our group was realizing that the couple we were painting for was deaf and low-income,” said Pepsi Company’s, Chelsea Peroutka.

One of the Pepsi volunteers even learned some sign language to help bridge the communication gap. “This one young lady came up to me and started signing,” said Susan. “I was touched that she worked so hard to connect with us.”

For Sarah Guse, an employee at Affinity Plus, volunteering with ABWK was a way to reach out to the family. “I believe in the power of community,” she said. “If we can work together to help each other, we are able to accomplish amazing things, things we cannot do alone.”

A Brush with Kindness (ABWK) exceeded their expectations, Susan said. “Habitat was there for us when we needed it. Now, we feel pride in our house and the way it looks.”

“It was indescribable,” Kevin added. “To see people who are very willing to help; it’s very overwhelming in a good way.” 

Contributed by Jessica Houlihan