Volunteer makes gift of home PDF Print E-mail

  As snowflakes silently fell in mid-December, offering the gift of a white Christmas to the Twin Cities, a quiet man expressed his love and generosity in a bold and unexpected move.  Larry Hossfeld donated an immaculate, move-in ready house - one that he had carefully and lovingly renovated - to Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (TCHFH).

Hossfeld is a man of few words.  When asked why he made the donation, he says simply "It seemed like the right thing to do."

But what makes this story of generosity more amazing and humbling, is that Hossfeld has already invested years of volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity.  A former engineer, Hossfeld has utilized his professional skills as a construction volunteer for TCHFH since 1990.  In recent years, he has volunteered full-time, and some weeks during peak construction season, he's volunteered six days a week.

"There is no one that embodies the spirit of volunteerism quite like Larry Hossfeld.  He is deeply spiritual and sees volunteerism as a way to express God's love.  His hope is that people will take care of each other," said Terra Lumley, construction site supervisor for TCHFH.

Considered a valuable member of the construction team, Hossfeld serves as a crew leader, helping inexperienced volunteers gain knowledge and feel productive about their contributions on the construction site.

Lumley made her start with Twin Cities Habitat as an AmeriCorps construction assistant on a site where Larry volunteered, and has worked alongside him for the past decade on multiple build projects. "In my eyes, Larry is staff, but he would never take a paycheck for his work," she said.

A family will be selected to purchase the Richfield home later this month, and will move into their home after completing eleven homebuyer education courses, and 300-500 hours of sweat equity on another Twin Cities Habitat home.

To read more of Larry's story, visit www.tchabitat.org, and select "Habitat Herald" from the main menu.

Contributed by Sharon Rolenc

Photo caption: Pictured from the left: Mike Nelson (Land Acquisition), Larry Hossfeld, and TCHFH President Susan Haigh in front of the Richfield house.

Photo by Sharon Rolenc 

 
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