Whether it’s the regular crew volunteer who is on site two days a week or someone serving on the dedications committee helping to plan our wonderful house celebrations, all our volunteers are valuable to our mission.
Habitat volunteer inspired to act from early life lessons
October 3, 2012
Lynne has been volunteering with Twin Cities Habitat through her job at UnitedHealth since 2008. Hear what inspires her to give her time. (more)
On the way to the Peace Corps, with a stopover at Habitat
October 3, 2012
Callie Keeney, a recent graduate from the University of Minnesota, is on a mission to join the Peace Corps this fall. She’s hoping to secure a health education job in Latin America and commit to two years of service abroad. It is this very journey to the Peace Corps that has actually led Callie to Habitat for ... (more)
Long Time Volunteer Takes on Third Work Project
October 3, 2012
Bill Turner is no stranger to the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project. When President and Mrs. Carter came to the Twin Cities in October 2010, Bill began his third Work Project; he had already participated in one in Houston, Texas and another in Americus, Georgia. “They’re great projects,” Bill reports. “They’re very intense and a ... (more)
The Site Hostess with the Mostest
October 2, 2012
Perched 3,891 feet above sea level, atop the Alleghany county of North Carolina, the beautiful summit of Betsy Peak sits strong and sturdy, watching over the southern slopes below. Perched just a few feet above the construction site soil, transplanted from the Appalachia, another Betsy Peak stands pretty and poised, presiding over lunch at Twin Cities ... (more)
Bekah Marty: AmeriCorps Member
October 2, 2012
Bekah Marty, two–time AmeriCorps member, is connecting her past international experience and future professional goals in her role as construction volunteer facilitator at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. With an educational background in architecture and a personal interest in helping families in need, she became just the woman for the job. It was in Germany when ... (more)
Volunteering tradition passed through three generations
October 2, 2012
For both the Routhes and the Riekes volunteering is a family tradition that is passed down from generation to generation. Hal Routhe, age 85, began volunteering his woodworking talents to Habitat for Humanity in the 1980s. His son Mike got involved about ten years ago and now his teenage granddaughter Brenna is pitching in too. ... (more)
Couple personifies the “go-go” years of retirement
October 2, 2012
There are three stages of retirement. There’s the Go-Go, the Slow-Go, and the No-Go. You don’t know how you’re going to transition,” explained John Winters. “While in the Go-Go phase, you do what you can.” If ever there was an appropriate to way personify “Go-Go,” it would involve John and his wife Barb. John, a retired ... (more)
Habitat lays foundation for love
October 1, 2012
Al Onkka and Leigh Dotson got engaged in December and are getting married in July. The Minneapolis couple met in the fall of 2006 while serving as AmeriCorps members for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (TCHFH). Their experience at Habitat meant a lot to them, but the most significant part was finding each other. Al and ... (more)
Volunteer reinvents herself on construction site
September 29, 2012
Jane Bolton has a new start in life. The tools of change? A hammer, some sturdy work boots, and her trademark cow-girl construction hat. At 50 years old, Bolton is entering her final year in the construction supervision program at Dunwoody Institute, and she can be found working on a Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (TCHFH) ... (more)
Volunteer experience offers friendship, fun through building
September 29, 2012
Without people like Ron Kuhn, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity’s home building program would not be nearly as successful as it is. Ron is a volunteer on the regular crew called “Bud’s Bunch” at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. A regular crew is a group of the same volunteers that donate their time together weekly. Because ... (more)
Kerbers’ Habitat habit leads to 21 years of volunteering
September 29, 2012
In 1989 Cy and Madonna Kerber were redoing their kitchen and wanted to donate their cabinets to Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. “A man came out and looked at them,” Madonna remembers. “He said that because they were custom made they couldn’t use them. After a long enjoyable conversation he said ‘But we can use you.’” The ... (more)
Habitat Helpers give gift of home
September 29, 2012
While writing out her Christmas card list last year, Liz Mooty decided that she wanted the money she spent on this holiday effort to have a greater impact. “I spend a lot of money on Christmas cards every year. I thought about the impact we could make if one hundred friends and neighbors would sacrifice our ... (more)
From Helmets to Hard Hats
September 29, 2012
For its second week of construction, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build project received two very special volunteers: Caitlin Cahow and Gigi Marvin, members of the U.S. women’s hockey team that took home silver at this year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The two Olympians happily swapped their sticks for saws as part of Team for ... (more)
Local team builds in mexico
September 29, 2012
Ten represents the number of days for which eighteen members proudly served on a Global Village team. In January 2009, a group of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity supporters traveled to Puerto Ángel, México; an ocean-side fishing village in the state of Oaxaca. The eighteen volunteers excitedly absorbed their host culture, witnessed magnificent sites, and ... (more)
Dream turns reality for Women Build volunteer
September 29, 2012
It all started with a dream; an actual dream. Melissa Jeanson, 26, barely knew about Habitat for Humanity when she woke up one morning and reached for her laptop. She had been dreaming that someone was teaching her how to build a house. She looked up Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (TCHFH) and discovered WomenBuild. A few ... (more)
Your donations at work in Costa Rica
September 29, 2012
When you donate to Twin Cities Habitat, you don’t just help the Twin Cities community; you help make a better world. That’s because we send 10 percent of our privately raised undesignated funds – called tithe – to support Habitat’s worldwide mission of eliminating poverty housing and homelessness. In 2010, Twin Cities Habitat sent its ... (more)
Abdikadir passionate about service through Youth United
September 29, 2012
Chaltu Abdikadir has served on Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity’s Youth United Steering Committee for only one year, but she feels like it’s been much longer. And it’s hard to imagine Habitat without her. Since July 2010, Chaltu has been a committee member creating volunteer opportunities for youth, advocating in St. Paul for affordable housing, ... (more)
Giving back to get by
September 28, 2012
Kathy Christopherson is an inspiration. Outwardly she is strong, confident and generous. She is engaged in her community and committed to making a difference. Her personality and sense of purpose inspire people she meets, but it’s the recent turn in her life in which those who never meet her can find inspiration. Kathy’s husband passed away ... (more)
2011 Youth United Updates
December 13, 2011
Check out our events and activities from 2011! Haunted (Substandard) House – 10/29/11 A cross between community service and a Halloween Adventure for all: it is possible, and it is the Haunted, Substandard House put on in October by the TCHFH Youth United Leaders. Though the actual event took only three hours on the evening of Saturday, October ... (more)
Youth United Painting Party – 1/22/11
January 22, 2011
Ever wanted to stand under that green roof of the Habitat logo and be a blue man? Now you can – and get a picture to prove it! On Saturday, January 22, Youth United leaders gathered at the Habitat office to paint a signboard cutout of the Habitat for Humanity logo. Rick Anderson and PD donated ... (more)
How do you get free cookies and brownies?
January 4, 2011
I never received free cookies until I volunteered with my student council group at Youth United house with homeowner, Helen. Although my school had a dance party the night before we volunteered, all the member of student council put tremendous effort into working on insulation and painting. During lunch, the volunteers ordered pizzas and my fellow ... (more)
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