One day on our jobsite in Indian River I heard a new volunteer say, “By volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, I can be a part of the change I want to see in my community”. I turned and looked and it was Bob Snyder one of our local volunteers here at Cheboygan Habitat. Bob has been volunteering with Habitat for Humanity for several years. When he lived and worked near Detroit, he volunteered 5 times in and around Detroit with their Blitz Builds. Bob most recently volunteered in Indian River on the Habitat houses in Inland Lakes Subdivision. Bob is married and him and his wife raised two children who are grown now and living on their own. Much of his construction knowledge was gained by owning his own home and helping his children with their own homes. He recently retired from the automotive industry as an Automotive Manufacturing Engineer.
Last year at our Habitat Jobsite we also meet Mark who was here visiting Indian River for 4 weeks. He came out to our jobsite to help for a couple weeks. In the past Mark had volunteered near his home in Texas, for a number of years, and he had traveled overseas to a number of different Habitat projects worldwide. Now, Mark tries to volunteer near where he and his wife travel. Mark is really a great guy with a cool way to meet local people and help out. Mark had a lot of interesting experiences that he shared with us all as we were working on the jobsite. Everyone tries to be helpful on the jobsite. If someone needs some new skill for a task, someone will take the time to show how it’s done and how it’s done safely. The Habitat experience is “safety first.” If you don’t feel comfortable doing the task, no worries, some one that is comfortable can do it. At the end of the day I like to ask first-time volunteers, “how was your volunteer experience”? and invariably they tell me something positive. Bob Snyder says, “I would encourage someone to come out and try it. They can come out once, once a week, or more often. You meet some great people from all over, you can learn some useful skills, and you help fulfill a great need in the community. I describe it as learning and doing home improvement using someone else’s money. If you want to be inspired and make a difference in our community, I highly encourage you to contact us for some volunteer opportunities near you. Trust me, the feeling of giving back is truly priceless. -Ron Hart, Construction Supervisor
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AuthorMandy Martin, Executive Director & Team Archives
October 2024
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