Habitat for Humanity is a volunteer-driven organization
When Arianna started working on her Habitat Home, she had a full team of dedicated nail pounders working alongside her every step of the way. Every wall, every window, every door – truly, every aspect of her home was coming together because regular people were coming together to make it happen. Then, COVID-19 hit, and as a result none of those people got to see her home through to its completion.
As is often the case, raising walls and installing kitchen cabinets together created a bond between Arianna and our volunteers that she will not soon forget. Knowing that those volunteers worked so hard to help make her dream of homeownership a reality, she decided to put together a virtual tour to share with them.
“I really wanted you guys to see where all of your hard work went,” she says, “and to say thank you so much – truly!”
The tour begins with Arianna showing off the laundry room, living room, and front entry way. As she sweeps through the space, viewers can catch glimpses of special quotes, and small details Arianna has added to personalize the home. “Thank you for everything!” her children say from their place on the couch, before getting up to join the tour.
Next, Arianna brings us through the kitchen. “This is one of my most memorable spots,” she says, “because all the cabinets, I actually got to help with.” Grateful for the support she received in learning how to install her kitchen cabinets, she adds, “thank you so much to Leroy and his wife (two amazing volunteers) for teaching me how to do that.”
A group of volunteers raising the walls for Arianna’s Habitat Home
Then we get to see the bedrooms. First Arianna walks us through her own room, where we see a bed, some dressers, plus a few odds and ends. Then we move through each of her children’s rooms. “He loves Paw Patrol,” she says of her son as she shows off his room – the walls fully decked with stickers of various characters from the show. In the girls’ room, which is painted in ethereal pinks and blues, we see mermaid’s and unicorns all over the walls. These images are special, Arianna tells us, because the children’s grandparents painted them.
Throughout the tour, happy children dance in the background, excited to play Vanna White, as they show off their rooms. Then we enter the last room. It’s another of Arianna’s favorites. As she recalls, it’s the room where the first wall went up, and seeing that happen was truly a magical moment.
As the tour wraps up, she concludes with a special message for all the volunteers and supporters she worked with so closely, saying, “we are so blessed to have all of your support. Thank you again for everything. I can’t wait until we can all volunteer again.”
*Due to the continued spread of COVID-19, we are not actively using volunteers to drive our mission forward. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay tuned and find out when we can safely welcome volunteers back to our jobsites.
