Last Day and Reorientation

March 30, 2012

Final product at the end of the week

We concluded our last day at site by finishing up the trusses for the house. It was an amazing transformation to see how the house progressed throughout the week. Together of the volunteers including our WM Branch Out team finished the backyard shed, nailed in hurricane straps, built lattices, put up the trusses and started the front and back porches. We also had a barbeque for lunch that day with all the long-term volunteers I had a great time and it was the perfect conclusion to our trip. On the drive home, we caught up on sleep, sang along to all our favorite theme songs of the week, and discussed future reunions with our Branch Out team.

Group photo with our amazing AmeriCorp volunteers and Habitat  shirts

A week after we got back to the ‘Burg a few members of our team participated in a Reorientation Day of service through which we continued working towards our social issue of affordable housing. We partnered with Habitat again but this time we worked at a Restore in Williamsburg. We went with another Habitat alternative break group that went to the Nicaragua and a student group from the WM Law School. Most of our group worked on finishing touches for construction, but I was working on cleaning donated appliances for resale and was paired with two law students and two women working toward their Habitat house.  At first, I was frustrated that I wasn’t doing “real construction”, but I was really glad I got to hang out with the two women. They were pretty funny and we had a really great time chatting about life and one woman was actually busy planning for her June wedding!  I truly feel that the Reorientation program was extremely valuable to my Branch Out experience because it was opportunity for me to connect my experiences in Charleston to my local Williamsburg community in the same capacity. I was able to partner with the same organization doing similar work and I can continue to work with them in the future. The Restore provides an inexpensive alternative to home improvement and furniture stores when homeowners struggle to furnish and maintain their house, which is an additional aspect of the affordable housing issue.  Furthermore, I greatly appreciated the human connections I made speaking with the two women while volunteering about their experiences with the Habitat program. I gained a whole new perspective on affordable housing both through my Branch Out trip to South Carolina and my Reorientation trip down Jamestown road, and I can’t wait for my next opportunity to work with Habitat for Humanity.

Leaving our mark on the house!