Volunteer Opportunities

Inclement Weather 

Winter Weather Conditions

by Cathy Petriano, Volunteer Coordinator

Construction volunteers: please show up SNOW, RAIN OR SHINE once you have committed to a particular day. Although we try to maintain the schedule listed, occasionally poor weather or unforeseen delays will interrupt our schedule. We will make every effort to let you know ahead of time if your task assignment has changed. Cancellations or delays will be posted on Volunteer Up (you must be registered on Volunteer Up to access the information).
 

Questions?  Contact

Cathy Petriano, Volunteer Coordinator, 704.896.8957, ext.  108                                    

  A Special Thank You!

CONSTRUCTION 

VOLUNTEER

HOURS

7:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Youth United

A small group of Davidson High School students from Community School has adopted OTHFH this school year. Once a month, the group dedicates a half day toworking with  their selected non-profit group.

So far, the students have helped us with our holiday mailing and have been on the Huntersville construction site working on a few homes.  They are very engaged in the mission of Habitat and learning more every month. We appreciate this group and all other youth involved with us.

Jessica Grantham, Youth and Volunteer Associate

We need your donations!! Don't forget that the ReStores in Mooresville and Cornelius take donations of new and used houseware items, furniture, building materials, books, home décor items...the list continues! Please see our website for a complete list of items that we do/do not accept.

Would you like to receive weekly updates on the ReStores? Email Amy Williamson

Upcoming Events 

Terry Laney, Our Towns Habitat for Humanity, Executive Director

Zig Ziglar, the most popular motivational speaker in the world, passed away at the age of 86 on November 28th. Zig, someone I never met, has had a tremendous impact on me and my family.

While waiting at Atlanta's airport in the 1980's,  I purchased a book titled "See you at the Top", by Zig Ziglar. I had never heard of him at the time, but when I read this book I became inspired to read more by this author. Eventually, I purchased cassettes of his presentations. It became an obsession in "positivity." 

During driving vacations, my kids, not to mention M.C., and I were a captive audience for hours upon hours. Zig said that you had to listen to a tape 15 times in order to absorb the content. I took him at his word. By the early 1990's, I could have stood in for him! I could begin qoutes and my kids could finish them.  He helped in shape my life of "positivity".

One of the series of tapes I purchased had a card that I still have to this day. The card was a daily affirmation filled with 54 positive descriptive words. It began with "I (fill in your name) am a person of integrity, with high hopes and specific goals..." It ends with: "I am an honorable person who is truly grateful for the opportunity life has given me. These are the qualities of the winner I WAS BORN TO BE, and I fully intend to develop these marvelous qualities with which I have been entrusted by God.  Tonight I am going to sleep wonderfully well. I will dream powerful, positive dreams. I will awaken energized and refreshed, and tomorrow's going to be magnificent.  God, my family and my true friends love me no matter what!"

I had it taped to the mirror in my bathroom, and read it aloud every morning. Zig said you had to read it every day for 30 days, and when you did, you would start believing what you were saying, especially when looking at yourself in the mirror. After that, anytime I had a bad day at work, I would start reading it again for 30 days, and more. Some may say that is ridiculous, but for me, IT WORKED.

Jessica Grantham, our Volunteer and Youth Associate, sent an article from Forbes Magazine to me recently that has 10 Zig quotes with the power to completely change the direction of one's life. I believe our Habitat homeowners "get these."

"Remember that failure is an event, not a person."

"You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want."

"People often say motivation doesn't last. Neither does bathing that's why we recommend it daily."

"There has never been a statue erected to honor a critic."

"People don't buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons."

"Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes."

"If you go looking for a friend, you're going to find they're scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you'll find them everywhere."

"A goal properly set is halfway reached."

"Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude."

"If you can dream it, you can achieve it."

Reading the daily affirmation and quotes when you are down can help to pick you up again, BUT reading them when you are up, can help you soar. Our Homeowners-in-Process are actually living them!

Zig Ziglar was truly the person "HE WAS BORN TO BE" with marvelous qualities entrusted by God.

God Bless you all, and have a very merry Christmas and a joyous New Year.

Terry Laney

AmeriCorps Construction Crew

by Jamie Hofmeister, AmeriCorps Member

Watching homeowners anticipate the completion of their very own home, waiting for volunteers to arrive, and expecting inspectors are all activities that have given me new perspective during this season of anticipation and waiting. This really is what we do at Our Towns Habitat we wait for, hope for, and work for a better world. 

I have been struck by the opportunity to get to know the homeowners down in Norman Park who are out there every Saturday, sometimes with their kids. I have enjoyed swapping stories, watching them master the chop saw, see them take pride by sweeping out their home or witness them take a tour of their house with newly raised walls and see the glint in their eyes as they step into their living room and bedrooms for the first time. There certainly is a lot to be thankful for and a lot to remember, but we also have a lot left to hope for. A lot left to work for. There are families to serve and homes to build so that next year there might be a wreath on the door, a family gathered around a tree. I'm eagerly anticipating the completion of Bettie, Katrina, and Kiya's homes, and looking forward, with the help of the whole Our Towns Family, to being able to serve a lot more families in the coming year.