Reading enthusiast finds volunteer home at Habitat
By Jonathan Dermid
If the Asheville Habitat ReStore has a hidden gem, it would be the used bookstore. Tucked away in the back of the upper showroom, it may seem to be just another thrifty book corner. But as soon as you enter, you feel how it is different from other used bookstores.
Our bookstore is meticulously organized and operated through the care of several staff members and volunteers, who provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere which can be felt throughout the upper showroom.
One such volunteer is Katie Caron, who has been volunteering with Habitat for five years now. A former English teacher, Katie retired to Asheville and almost immediately found a place within Habitat.
“I went to an orientation at an organization called Land of Sky and they had different representatives from different organizations, and Habitat interested me,” she said. “I really believe in the purpose of the Habitat program and the way that it’s carried out.”
A self-proclaimed “book nut”, Katie gravitated towards the bookstore, where she volunteers on both Tuesdays and Thursdays. She chose to volunteer two days a week because she loves the idea of donating her time to the cause.
“It’s nice to donate your time instead of just writing a check,” she said, “and that time is equally donated by the people you’re helping.” Katie is referring to the Sweat Equity, or volunteer hours, that Habitat homeowners contribute on their path to Habitat homeownership.
She attributes her passion for volunteering to a sort of team mentality. “I like that idea of everyone working together,” she said, “it’s like a team, and that’s what this place is all about.”
As a team player, Katie will jump in when and where she is needed. Early in her tenure as a volunteer she helped our Communications department by cleaning and painting donated windows and doors which now comprise the “Habitat mission wall” in the lower showroom – a display that explains what Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, and the Asheville Habitat ReStore, is all about.
It’s the teamwork and the end result for the partner families (homeownership) that make volunteering so satisfying for Katie.
“When I see all the people around me that work so hard for this purpose, and when I see a family that we’ve helped, it makes me think ‘wow, that’s why I go in there and do that’,” she said. “It’s very fulfilling for me.”
If you’d like to learn about becoming a Habitat volunteer (in the ReStore or another area of the organization), please click here.
