One summer during my college years I was lying around the house with no job nor any prospects.  My father was pretty frustrated with me and my lack of something constructive to do, so he pulled me aside and told me he was taking me to a job site to work construction.

As a firefighter, my father had time off that usually turned into his supervision of my older brother and me working with him on a construction job. It’s been a part of our life for as long as I can remember, helping my Dad or his firefighter friends with construction, somewhere. I assumed this was more of the same.

The next day we were up and off bright and early to the worksite. Upon our arrival we got to work right away. I remember how some of my coworkers were experienced and some weren’t. I paid little attention and went about laying shingles on the pitched roof working in the hot Virginia sun.

One of the supervisors was a friend of my Dad’s and I had seen him many times before. I went to him that afternoon and he asked if I would be coming back the next day. Not having gainful employment, I answered in the affirmative.

The following day was much the same, working on the roof, helping others and in general, enjoying the physical aspects of the job. I kept this up for about two weeks.
I clearly remember my Dad asking frequently, how the new “job” was going.

Finally I asked when I might see a paycheck from all the work. He laughed and laughed at my question. Once he could catch his breath and clear the tears from his eyes, he explained that I had been working on a Habitat for Humanity construction site.

After looking at me for a full 30 seconds or so and not seeing the comprehension on my face, he went on to explain the good work they do helping worthy new homeowners with a hand up, not a hand out. He went on to explain that I was ‘volunteering’ and that the work was its own reward. I wouldn’t be getting a paycheck.
Being a creature of habit and with nothing better to do, I continued to volunteer the rest of the summer and got to understand the good work Habitat was doing. Needless to say, it made an impression on me that is still with me almost 25 years later.

As a side note, my wife and I believe so strongly in the spirit of volunteerism, two of our three children have volunteered at Habitat as their ‘summer jobs.’ We expect the third to also volunteer once she is old enough.

By Steve Cooke, Habitat Tucson Board Member