Local volunteers build homes for Katrina victims
Source: Seattle Times, 6/24/2006
By Rachel Tuinstra
"Blessings from Seattle" read the handwritten note scrawled across the I-beam of a door frame.
"May u live happily in this house," read another message.
These notes were written by some of the 40 employees from Bellevue-based Expedia who spent Friday volunteering for Habitat for Humanity of East King County.
The workers hammered and lifted lumber into place to form the frame of a 1,100-square-foot, three-bedroom home that was scheduled to depart today in a tractor-trailer for the Gulf Coast.
It is one of three house frames put together by Habitat volunteers in Snoqualmie that will eventually house families who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina.
In all, volunteers from Tolt Congregational United Church of Christ in Carnation, members of the Army Reserve, Expedia employees and Habitat for Humanity volunteers put together the frames of the three houses this week. Habitat raised $250,000, enough to cover the cost of framing the three homes and paying for the homes to be completed once they get to the Gulf Coast.
The East King County Habitat is one of many affiliates nationwide that are participating in the Habitat program called "House in a Box," said Sarah Schieron, spokeswoman for Habitat for Humanity of East King County.
"So many Habitat affiliates are blessed with volunteers who want to come out and help," Schieron said.
But there aren't accommodations to house as many volunteers as are needed in the Gulf Coast region. So, Habitat decided to harness the efforts of local volunteers to do as much of the work outside of the hurricane-impacted areas.
Volunteers with Habitat for Humanity of Seattle/South King County recently completed a "House in a Box," and the Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity plans to build a house frame during the Taste of Tacoma on July 1.
On Friday, the volunteers carefully raised the framed walls to form the bones of the house.
Once the frame was complete, the walls were lowered and stacked into 12-foot sections, and loaded onto a waiting semi-trailer that is destined for Biloxi, Miss.
Once there, the frames will find a permanent home atop a concrete foundation, and Habitat volunteers will reassemble the frames and finish the homes with drywall, plumbing, electrical wiring and windows.
"You really are making a difference," said Chris Backus, who spent a week volunteering to build Habitat homes in Thibodaux, La., about an hour west of New Orleans. Backus worked with a crew of four other people who put together the frames of homes that were assembled elsewhere.
"It's still horrible down there. It's private organizations like Habitat that are making a difference," Backus said.
For Doug Miller, vice president of partner marketing for Expedia, Friday's volunteer effort was a break from the regular workday behind a desk, attached to a computer and phone.
"It's the least we can do, given the devastation in the Gulf," Miller said. "While we're thousands of miles away, we want to be able to support that community."
By Rachel Tuinstra
"Blessings from Seattle" read the handwritten note scrawled across the I-beam of a door frame.
"May u live happily in this house," read another message.
These notes were written by some of the 40 employees from Bellevue-based Expedia who spent Friday volunteering for Habitat for Humanity of East King County.
The workers hammered and lifted lumber into place to form the frame of a 1,100-square-foot, three-bedroom home that was scheduled to depart today in a tractor-trailer for the Gulf Coast.
It is one of three house frames put together by Habitat volunteers in Snoqualmie that will eventually house families who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina.
In all, volunteers from Tolt Congregational United Church of Christ in Carnation, members of the Army Reserve, Expedia employees and Habitat for Humanity volunteers put together the frames of the three houses this week. Habitat raised $250,000, enough to cover the cost of framing the three homes and paying for the homes to be completed once they get to the Gulf Coast.
The East King County Habitat is one of many affiliates nationwide that are participating in the Habitat program called "House in a Box," said Sarah Schieron, spokeswoman for Habitat for Humanity of East King County.
"So many Habitat affiliates are blessed with volunteers who want to come out and help," Schieron said.
But there aren't accommodations to house as many volunteers as are needed in the Gulf Coast region. So, Habitat decided to harness the efforts of local volunteers to do as much of the work outside of the hurricane-impacted areas.
Volunteers with Habitat for Humanity of Seattle/South King County recently completed a "House in a Box," and the Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity plans to build a house frame during the Taste of Tacoma on July 1.
On Friday, the volunteers carefully raised the framed walls to form the bones of the house.
Once the frame was complete, the walls were lowered and stacked into 12-foot sections, and loaded onto a waiting semi-trailer that is destined for Biloxi, Miss.
Once there, the frames will find a permanent home atop a concrete foundation, and Habitat volunteers will reassemble the frames and finish the homes with drywall, plumbing, electrical wiring and windows.
"You really are making a difference," said Chris Backus, who spent a week volunteering to build Habitat homes in Thibodaux, La., about an hour west of New Orleans. Backus worked with a crew of four other people who put together the frames of homes that were assembled elsewhere.
"It's still horrible down there. It's private organizations like Habitat that are making a difference," Backus said.
For Doug Miller, vice president of partner marketing for Expedia, Friday's volunteer effort was a break from the regular workday behind a desk, attached to a computer and phone.
"It's the least we can do, given the devastation in the Gulf," Miller said. "While we're thousands of miles away, we want to be able to support that community."
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