By Maddy Alewine
If you stop by Asheville Habitat’s admin office on a Thursday morning, chances are you will see a woman with a light brown bob and stylish round glasses “hunting and pecking at a keyboard,” as Rhoda Groce calls it.
“I still think it’s hilarious that I do data input,” Rhoda confessed.
Rhoda is an admin office core volunteer, helping in Homeowner Services. Every Thursday she enters Home Repair and Homeowner applications into Habitat’s database.
While not as visible as swinging hammers on a jobsite or processing ReStore donations, Habitat’s office volunteers play an essential role in the organization. These dedicated folks handle behind-the-scenes work including volunteer data input, answering phones, printing materials, and more.
“People need to know that at any age you can be helpful without being at the jobsite,” Rhoda said.
Rhoda first got involved with Asheville Habitat 15 years ago, when a friend recruited her to be on the Board of Directors. She became part of the Homeowner Selection Committee, doing the vital task of home visits for applicants undergoing review.
For Rhoda, this was an amazing way to get to know the families and it was an extremely meaningful experience. The practice of home visits was discontinued several years ago, but Rhoda knew she wanted to stay involved.
“I’ll probably volunteer at Habitat until the day I die,” she said.
Rhoda volunteering in the admin office in 2014.
While Habitat is the only organization in town she volunteers with, she and her husband focus on donating to what they see as the big three- food, clothing, and shelter. For the past 50 years, Rhoda and her husband- born and raised here- have watched Asheville grow. As the countless hotels and expensive apartment complexes go up, Rhoda never forgets how crucial Habitat’s mission is to this community.
“Habitat is providing affordable housing,” she said, “which everybody seems to be interested in, but nobody seems to be actually doing.”
Over the years, Rhoda has seen Habitat grow as well. But one thing that keeps her coming back to the office week after week is the positive energy.
“I can always tell people how people here are on a mission,” she said. “People want to be here, and have a vision. I don’t think you can say that about every workplace.”
