By Maddy Alewine
For a DIYer like Erika, the Habitat jobsite is a dream.
“I joke that Habitat funds my DIY hobby,” she said laughing.
Before volunteering at Habitat, Erika used hammers and screwdrivers for her home DIY projects, but now she’s added saws to her arsenal of power tool skills. While learning how to properly use different power tools and hone her construction skills is a huge plus, the biggest draw is the friendly open environment on a Habitat jobsite.
Erika caulking on the porch of one of her neighbor’s home during a Saturday volunteer shift in April 2025.
“There’s no sort of polite distance that you often encounter when meeting new people. Everyone walks in like you’re a friend and like they’ve been expecting you all along,” she said.
It’s the infectious friendliness and a program that helped her find stability that motivated Erika to come back to volunteer, even after her sweat equity was completed. She applied to Habitat’s homeownership program back in 2023 and after being accepted and completing the program, purchased her home in May 2024. An integral part of the Habitat model is sweat equity, where approved homebuyers must complete 200 hours of volunteer work on the jobsite building homes, taking homeowner classes, and working in the ReStores.
Erika on her front porch on closing day in 2024. She purchased her 2 bedroom/1 bath home in Habitat’s Glenn Bridge neighborhood in Arden.
Erika remembers being excited but nervous to start her first week of sweat equity, feeling like “the new kid,” she said. But after meeting staff and volunteers, by the second week that nervousness melted away.
After she completed Habitat’s program and bought her home, she continued to volunteer on Saturdays, her days off, and eventually became a Saturday “Core” volunteer. She had always had an interest in volunteering, but couldn’t find many opportunities on a Saturday. Plus, she gets to help build her neighbors’ homes- how many people can say they did that?
“I hope everyone feels that appreciation. You get in the grind, even when it’s a good cause. Everyone out here is really making a difference, and I hope they feel that appreciation,” she said.
Erika describes herself as an introvert, but loves hearing volunteers’ stories. During the morning safety talk, she will often point out her house and is happy to answer any questions volunteers may have about the homeownership program.
“I love what you guys, what Habitat does. Everyone on the crew is great. I wish I had known about Habitat before I had the need to apply, that I’d been volunteering sooner,” she said.
