St. Paul's Latest Adventure with Habitat for Humanity

More than 24 of St. Paul's finest volunteered at the most recent Habitat for Humanity event in Salem on January 19th.

Habitat for Humanity is an international Christian ministry, which teams local volunteers with the intended beneficiaries to provide affordable home ownership.  St. Paul’s parish and community friends have provided work parties for Habitat’s Salem project four times in the past year, with the latest adventure happening on January 19th. 

In addition to wielding hammers and saws, members of St. Paul’s served lunch, consisting of chili, soup and cookies, to the work crews. Lunch was prepared at St. Paul’s by a team that included some of our youth, who cannot actually work on the project due to their age.

All in all, including both the cooking and construction teams, 24 of St. Paul’s finest participated. They are: Katie Ahearn, Frank Anderson, Evan & Shirley Colton, Suzi, Nathan, Samuel & Grace Huebschmann, Stephen, Matthew, Renee & Olivia LaMarche, Priscilla March, Candy Mcgee, Josh Mentzer, Carl Ogren, Judi Ryan, Dick & Miriam Shafner, Carolyn Shea, Chris, Pam & Colin Simoneau, and Ken Rosenthal.  The other three teams, in addition to some of these folk included: Maggie, Katie & Kristin Bornstein, Fr. Mike, Samantha Ogren, Greg Pronevitz, (the other) Ken Rosenthal, Kevin Scheeler, and Yi Zheng. Yi joined us from the Lynnfield community as a result of our Spring March Madness publicity. St. Paul’s is an amazing parish!

The Salem project is a condominium that will be home for two families, one Vietnamese and one Dominican. Each family has two children. The units are three floors: first, a bathroom, a living area and a kitchen; second, a full bath and three bedrooms; and third, a roof sitting and garden area deck. In addition to providing some mortgage funding, Habitat for Humanity requires that these families provide some sweat-equity in the project, working along side the volunteers. 

On March 29th, the building will be dedicated, and the families will be in their new homes. All those who worked on the project are invited to share in the celebration. 

BUT WE’RE not quite done yet. We are planning one more adventure. On March 28, we will again head to Salem to help put the finishing touches on the project. Whether you are an alumni or a novice, consider joining our team for this last opportunity to work on the Salem project.  Please contact Carl Ogren (OgrenC@Earthlink.Net). 

All who have participated in this outreach project found it to be very satisfying. It is especially rewarding to contribute some sore muscles and a little sweat to the benefit of others. Some even learned some new skills! Habitat for Humanity is now looking at a project in Lynn, so there may be even more opportunities in the not too distant future.