Today at Habitat, Josh and I were promoted! Instead of tedious caulking and painting, we got to install metal roofing on one of the homes. It was the perfect day for roof work (before the wind started gusting in the afternoon). We worked with Chad (a volunteer who has been with AmeriCorps for 2 years and has visited New Zealand, Antarctica and a bunch of other cool places). We had a good team and got the roof done by the end of the day. It was awesome to get down and see the almost-finished product of the house we started just a week prior!
This trip has got me thinking about how great it would be to volunteer full-time. There are so many fantastic differences from a real 9-5 job - you get to meet amazing new people every day, everyone is happy when you show up, your efforts are always appreciated, you can change jobs and learn something new mid-day, you work with people who are excited to be there, your 'boss' is super supportive when you screw up. If only more employers would take a page from the book of volunteer management, employees would feel more appreciated and maybe even be psyched to come to work every day! Later, Jesse and his wife invited us over for drinks. We chatted about volunteer coordination, non-profit management and Jesse's struggle to define his position at Habitat. His wife, Moira, is sweet and smart and their house has a fun, cozy vibe. Bonus: Moira was cleaning out her shoe closet and I left there with a pair of great Doc Martin motorcycle boots!
I hope we were able to impress upon him how much his passion and energy are appreciated on site and how vital he is to the program. His work is a real balancing act between pleasing volunteers and supporters, training staff, marketing and, most importantly, building homes. A 10-year veteran of Habitat, he seems to have learned to pull all this off and still end the day with a smile!
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