Building Habitat home sparks learning, volunteering [video]
Written by Alex Davis Wednesday, 01 February 2012 15:12
House quickly being built in Whitesboro
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP – Judy Donohue walked out of the under-construction Habitat for Humanity home in Whitesboro Tuesday, saying the inside resembled a large woodshop class.
“Everybody is really learning a lot in there,” the Dennis Township resident said.
Tuesday, Jan. 31, was the third work day on the Reeves Street home in Whitesboro section of Middle Township.
Work got under way on the Habitat for Humanity home Jan. 24. Since then, the walls of the house had been put up and the floor had been laid.
Inside the home Jan. 31, people hammered away, putting together wall frames.
“It’s going fast,” Cape May County Habitat for Humanity executive director Shawn Lockyear said.
This is the first stick-built home tackled by the Cape May County Habitat for Humanity since 2005, Lockyear said.
“Habitat houses were ‘stick-built’ in Cape May County prior to 2005, but the construction projects were slow-moving and offered limited opportunities for volunteers to get involved,” Lockyear said. “Modular home projects from 2007-2011 were more efficient, but were built almost entirely by contract, rather than volunteer labor.”
On average, more than 20 people from throughout Cape May County have turned out for workdays at the Whitesboro site, many who are retired, Lockyear indicated.
“It’s enjoyable,” said Barry Taylor from the Tuckahoe area of Upper Township.
Tuesday morning was his second time helping at the Whitesboro site, he said.
Taylor said he has an affinity for construction, though never worked in the field.
When he retired last summer from Comcast, he said he yearned for “something to do.”
Taylor found Habitat for Humanity.
He said he will likely help with the Habitat home likely one day a week.
Jay Kopp of Cape May, who is not retired, said he has never constructed a house.
But he has done woodworking as a hobby. He figures he has built wooden furniture for 15 years.
Now Kopp is getting his chance to help build one for a good cause.
The Habitat work allows him to walk away with more knowledge about construction.
On Tuesday morning, he took a break from work.
He was nursing a bottle of water. It did not seem like the end of January.
“It’s hot,” he also said.
But it’s not all about learning for Kopp.
“It’s nice to give back to the community,” he said. “This is fun. This is a really good organization.”
A volunteer, who wished not be named, said Tuesday that the work site in Whitesboro had been much better than one he had been at in Mississippi.
“I like that it involves the community,” said Judy Donohue of Dennis Township.
She has been involved with the Cape May County Habitat for Humanity for about two years and serves on the board.
Lockyear expects the 703 Reeves St. home to be completed at the end of June. That’s when the family is likely to move into the three-bedroom home as well.
“It will be the sixth house built by Habitat on a lot donated by Middle Township,” Lockyear said.
The plot of land had been donated by Middle Township Committee, she said. That’s why the Habitat for Humanity has been focusing in the township, she said.
“Our goal is to build two houses this year, and three houses in 2013, completing the development on Sumner Street,” Lockyear said. “This property from Middle Township offers us a huge opportunity to get more people in the community involved in Habitat, to build more houses, and to help more local families afford a home of their own.”
But Lockyear does not want to leave out other Cape May County communities, and she wants to expand efforts of the organization.
“Because Habitat offers local families in need ‘a hand up, not a hand out,’ homeowner partner families contribute more than 300 hours of sweat-equity building their house and the houses of others,” Lockyear said. “Homeowner partners purchase the house from Habitat via a zero-interest loan, making monthly mortgage payments, and paying municipal property taxes like other local homeowners.”
A $15,000 grant has helped the Cape May County Habitat for Humanity, too, according to Lockyear. The Habitat of Humanity used the money to buy a tool trailer and construction tools, including ladders, circular saws, screwdrivers, hardhats and safety glasses, according to the organization’s website.
“The trailer was outfitted with 20 construction hardhats, but another 10 are already on order after the crew ran out three workdays in a row,” Lockyear said.
The Mustard Seed of Cape May County, part of the St. Mary's Episcopal Church of Stone Harbor, donated the money.
“We are thrilled to be starting a brand-new house on Reeves Street, as it will offer even more people the opportunity to experience what is truly magical about Habitat for Humanity – people of different backgrounds, different ages, different races, and different social economic statuses – working together with our partner families to build affordable houses here in Cape May County,” Lockyear said.
Volunteers are welcome to lend a hand at the Whitesboro site, even those without construction experience. Workdays are 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and every other Saturday. The next weekend workday is Saturday, Feb. 4.
Those interested in helping can sign up at www.habitatcapemay.org or leave a message for the volunteer coordinator at 463-0244.
For more information about the Habitat for Humanity, see www.habitatcapemaycounty.org.
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