By Melanie Jacob
Journal Editor
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It's been a full year and after two families are already settled and enjoying their new homes, Habitat for Humanity Humboldt is gearing up to start their next project.
They held a meeting on Oct. 6 at the Community Gathering Place to go over the success of their previous project and to discover if there would be any interest for another.
"We need people that would be committed to volunteering to help out with the house, but a large of it is that we need someone to be chairs of the whole committee," said Bob Bellamy, one of the co-chairs with the Humboldt chapter of the organization. "The build committee, the family selection committee, the volunteering, the fundraising, the amenities, and publicity committees all require about 25-30 people as it stands. I think probably all committees are in need of some new members."
Not only that, but both Bellamy and his co-chair, Ivan Buehler, say they'll be stepping down for this year's project as well. While they'll be on hand to help the new committee chairs, neither of them thinks he'll be able to keep up with a new project.
"It was an extremely worthwhile experience, but it was time consuming and it's time for someone else to pick up the mantle and continue on," said Bellamy. "It's a long process and it's all volunteer. It requires some dedication to make this whole thing operate."
With regards to last year's project, it was new for everyone, even their Saskatoon guidance. It was the first time that the Habitat Saskatoon had worked with a chapter outside of the city (although not the last).
"It's been great working with the whole committee, but you were kind of our guinea pigs in terms of working with a chapter and so there were some bumps along the way," said Barb Cox-Lloyd, CEO of Habitat Saskatoon at the meeting. "We've learned a lot from it and every committee is going to be different as well it's always a new experience, but it was great working with the Humboldt chapter."
Prior to beginning the project, the organization was able to secure some land from the City of Humboldt at an inexpensive price. They bought it as a package and so they knew there would an option to build again on it, but didn't guarantee it. The meeting this past Monday was to determine if there would be enough interest from the community.
"It would be nice if we got 25-30 people, but it would also be nice if we got 10 people who said they were willing, then go knock on doors and see if they'd be willing to sit on committees," said Bellamy. "Obvious we're a chapter of Saskatoon so we do get guidance as far as the accounting process and they help out with the financial screening of the families. They'll do background checks, but it's the local family selection committee that chooses the family."
As far as the first project is concerned, most of the work has been done already. Over the least few weeks, the families and volunteers have been completing some of the landscaping, putting up the fence, and other finishing touches. Since the start of the build, various local companies offered their products and employees to help out as well.
At the one-year anniversary, there was an inspection done to make sure everything was done to code. Aside from some handrails that have to go up, everything else is a go.
"It's just little things like that that we'll have to finish off," said Bellamy. "We have the people and the labour."
It wasn't just the volunteers doing all the work either. Aside from paying a mortgage on the house, the new owners also had to contribute 500 hours of "sweat equity" on the property themselves, which translates to approximately a little over an hour and a half every day for a year. According to Bellamy, at least one of the families did even more than that.
"It's been an amazing blessing for our family. This has been a fresh start for my kids and I; a place that's ours, a place that we can call home," said Kristy Knuttson on behalf of her family. "There's no memories of past things, it's just wide open to make new memories and to create those memories that are going to last. It's a beautiful home with plenty of space."
Volunteers who come on board don't have to have any construction knowledge. There's a site supervisor on hand to give instructions and dole out tasks that the inexperienced can handle.
The supervisor is the only person in the entire project that's paid and if he isn't on hand, someone else is always there to guide volunteers along the way.
"I wasn't sure when I first took on the job if it was for me. I'm a people person, but these were volunteers," said Tim Prytula, the builder for the first project. "It's a lot of managing your time and your volunteers' time, but it was an excellent experience and I would do it again."
Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Bellamy at 306-231-3078 or email him at [email protected].
