habitat for humanity

I currently do not have a job.  I was laid off from my job of 5 years in the first weeks of January. It was a great experience.  The economy called for many changes and my former company only acted to stay afloat like many others.  Hopefully, I will never be in a position to have to layoff employees that have dedicated so much time and energy into a company.  Never less, what must be done is what was done.  It is a business. Funny to say even nonprofits were affected.  Unfortunately,  about 3 weeks ago Habitat for Humanity had to follow the same suit due to the current economic pitfalls.

I began volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in 2007.  I always wanted to participate, but due to the demanding undergraduate schedule my weekends were spent in one of the numerous studios that line these hallways:

So soon after I graduated in Dec. 2006 I joined. After orientation and the introduction period I settled into working within the roofing crew.  Laying shingles are the primary thing I do as part of the roofing crew. Occasionally we lay down the felt if it has not already been done. The decking is always done before the roofing crew takes charge. 

Well, due to the layoff I had extra time on my hands.  Of course I am taking graduate courses, but with no work the typical rigorous schedule is left open.  I decided to send an email to the Habitat coordinator with all my qualifications.  Kind of a mini resume.  If they needed any of my expertise I was willing to volunteer the skills.  So, a week later I am sitting at my studio desk at home searching for ways to convert dwfs and pdf to into editable files.  After reading various online post and google searches, I succeeded!!  The next week I am working through elevations updates.  I am still in the process of updating drawings and giving attention to the more crucial permit based issues as they come. Its been great. Hopefully, I can quickly get their drawings up to speed. 

I would not have imagined four years back that I would not only be helping build Habitat homes, but also helping update the actual drawings that are used to build them.