Volunteering With the Rays
Like many of Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity’s dedicated Core Volunteers, husband and wife Jerry and Sheila Ray bring a wealth of life experience to their service. Throughout long careers — Jerry serving 21 years in the Air Force, 11 with the State of Florida, and five with Buncombe County, and Sheila working as a civilian for the Air Force for 29 years — the couple has always held a mutual passion for giving back. Though their volunteer service at Asheville Habitat is largely apart from each other, their impact on the organization, as well as their appreciation for its results, is significant and shared.
“When are you going to come out here and work?”
Jerry Ray
Jerry’s connection with Habitat began before he officially retired, starting with a project funded in part by grants through his church, at the 55-home subdivision on Warren Haynes Drive. “I took Sheila’s sister and her husband out there… and I met Kenny Busch,” Jerry explains, referring to Asheville Habitat’s Senior Construction Supervisor. “And Kenny says, ‘When are you going to come out here and work?‘ After that, it’s all downhill.”
Downhill, of course, means 20 years of consistent volunteer service. Today, Jerry spends his Tuesdays and Saturdays with the New Home Construction team. For him, the motivation to keep building is simple. “I tell people I do it pretty much for the kids,” he says. Sheila recalls the days he would come home from the construction site. “It didn’t matter if it was hotter than hot, or cold, or whatever, he’d be whistling. He’d be humming or whistling because he had seen all these kids running off the bus and knew that he had a part in making a neighborhood,” she shares.
Sheila Ray
True to her lifelong commitment to volunteer work, Sheila spent years filling her weekends with opportunities through multiple local organizations. Five years after Jerry took an early retirement, she decided to join him with a timing that still warrants a laugh from her today. “I retired in the middle of February,” she shares. “Nobody does that in the middle of the month, but I was done!” With her weekdays freed up, she decided to settle her efforts on Habitat. Sheila spends her Thursdays and Saturdays at the Weaverville ReStore, helping to keep the bookstore stocked and organized, as well as participating in the processing and stocking of donated linens.
For Sheila, the tangible outcomes of Habitat’s work are just as rewarding as they are for Jerry. She fondly recalls attending a key passing ceremony for a family moving into a newly built home. “Two of the little girls came up to me and asked if I wanted to see their new room. They brought me into the house,” she recounts. “And one of them looked around to see if anyone else was there, turned to me, and said, ‘We’re going to paint it pink and purple ‘cuz we’re girls!’”
Sheila and Jerry Ray have built a life of service around helping others and encourage anyone considering volunteering to take the leap. Whether framing a new house or helping to process donations at the ReStore, they are proof that there is a place for everyone to make a difference. As Sheila puts it, “If you’re thinking, ‘well, I don’t know what to do,’ close your eyes, turn around three times, and point. And you’ll land on an organization, somewhere close, that could use a good volunteer. And maybe that’s Habitat.”
Want to find out if volunteering with Asheville Habitat is the right fit for you? Learn more here.
