A volunteer road trip across America
By Dillon Keefe, volunteer
What inspired you to make the trip?
- School. The University of Saint Joseph is a small Sisters of Mercy school in West Hartford, Connecticut. Students are encouraged to volunteer our time and efforts, no matter the size of the community or service.
During my last semester of pharmacy school, my schedule allowed me a six-week break just before graduation. When I told Dean Ofosu about this idea I had of a Habitat for Humanity volunteer tour of America, he chuckled, clapped his hands and playfully hurried me out of his office while asking why I hadn’t gotten started yet. - Life skills and life goals. After nearly three straight years of schooling, I was starting to yearn for something that would get me out of a desk and put some callouses on my hands. That whole brain and brawn, yin and yang thing. I have always wanted to get involved with Habitat, and this was my perfect opportunity to do so.
Not only would I get the chance to learn a classical skill set that I could continue to pass on to future generations, but I could make a real difference in some families’ lives. And excuse my philosophical tangent, but to me the very idea of helping other humans in an attempt to make our species as healthy and prosperous as possible during our time on this planet is the meaning of life. Well, at least my life. - Adventure. The selfish aspect of the trip was my love of travel and desire to see the country. I have always had a strong wanderlust that had been suppressed during my years in college. Throughout those years, I made incredible friends that were now living all over the country. I reached out to a few with this hypothetical plan, and they all offered a spare bed, a couch, whatever they could to help.
So with my innate couch-surfing abilities, my work boots and six weeks of traveling gear packed into the Prius, I set out from New England on what would be a 13,000-mile adventure around the continental United States.
Where did you volunteer?
Indianapolis, Indiana; San Francisco, California; Portland, Oregon; Billings, Montana; Collinsville, Illinois.
What were your various volunteer activities?
At the Habitat ReStores, my tasks were as expected. I spent my shifts receiving, cleaning, organizing and stocking donations. Occasionally, customers would ask me for help finding specific items, and I would do my best. For example, I rooted through boxes of electrical outlet covers for a man remodeling his kitchen in Indianapolis and ended up sorting them by color in the process.
In San Francisco, I operated a reciprocating saw, removing doorframe bases for floor installation. After lunch, I grabbed a hammer and a work belt full of nails to help finish driving nails into the wall studs, doorways and subfloors.
In Portland, we applied the second coat of paint to a few nearly complete houses.
By far the most enjoyable site was in Billings. When I showed up the in the morning, I was greeted by wonderful people with hot coffee and donuts. We spent the morning building and installing pony walls. Lunch was a home-cooked meal, delivered to the work site by the generous woman who made it. Apparently, she does this most weekends and asks nothing in return, just the Tupperware.
In the afternoon we finished mounting the trusses on the pony walls, secured them to the foundation and began to install the subfloor. At the beginning of the day, we started with just a foundation and by 4 p.m., the house was nearly ready for the walls. The sense of accomplishment while taking off my work gloves at the end of that day was the best feeling I had during the entire trip.
Did you meet anyone interesting on your volunteer adventure?
In Billings, I got to meet and work alongside a lovely mother of three, Cara. This was the first time I had actually met a Habitat homeowner-to-be.
Cara, and most everyone else, was quite curious as to how a kid from Connecticut ends up in Montana. This turned out to be my ice-breaker with pretty much everyone that day, and the same could be said about my other sites. But after I got the short story out of the way, we had a pleasant day getting to know one another.
The memory isn’t as fresh as it could be, but I do remember a lot of laughing between hammer swings. Cara was gracious enough to share with me some of the more personal details of becoming a homeowner and the commitment she has given to Habitat in exchange for their commitment to her. I had no idea that the to-be residents help to build homes — their home and their neighbors’ homes. Frankly, it’s beautiful. That was the moment I remember feeling empowered. I was a lucky man to be working with men and women all committed to a plan greater than themselves, committed to the idea of community.
I recently reached out to Cara to see how things were coming along, and I was ecstatic to hear that the construction on her house is scheduled to start in April, and she and her daughters plan to move in by July.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to do a trip like this?
- Plan, but don’t use a pen. Have some concrete checkpoints to keep yourself moving along your timeline, but allow for the flexibility to stop and smell a rose or two.
- Plan early. Local Habitats were incredibly helpful, welcoming and willing to help me, but I handcuffed some of them by not contacting them sooner.
- Plan often. As I mentioned, having flexibility in your travel course is critical, but this comes with having to actively reorganize the remainder of the trip after nearly every stop.
- Don’t overestimate yourself. The driving can become just as exhausting as the volunteering.
What did you learn from your volunteer experience?
- Trade skills. In San Francisco, I learned how to throw a daisy chain to make it easier for me to carry around a 200-foot extension cord. In Billings, I learned how to install a floor. I honestly think I could (and would) do it again if given the opportunity. And just something I’d like to throw out there, I didn’t know how to really swing a hammer until I was able to do it hundreds of times in a row.
- I love to meet people, and I certainly met people. Looking back, it’s remarkable how natural the interactions were. Honestly, I was nervous the morning of every volunteer date. But every single location was welcoming and appreciative — and genuinely. They were truly glad I was there, and I knew they meant it when they said it.
- And lastly, I now have a pair of work pants that has memories literally worn into the fibers.
If I had to guess, the stereotypical answer has something to do with gaining a new perspective or a real appreciation for manual labor, but I didn’t set out looking to gain anything from Habitat. I figured I might pick up a skill here and there, but I really just wanted to help build houses for people. And that is what I really gained. I gained the experience, an opportunity that I may never have again.
Cross-country or in your community, find a local Habitat and get involved today!