Habitat for Humanity – Random Acts of Kindness

A few weeks ago I received an email from Orange County Association of Realtors (OCAR) asking for volunteers to participate in a Habitat for Humanity project in San Juan Capistrano (SJC). I thought, “It’s close to home, I’ll check it out and maybe sign up”.  After reading about the project, I decided it was definitely something I wanted to be a part of. This was a way for me to say thank you to the men and women who are out there everyday protecting my freedom, your freedom, OUR freedom.

The building project in SJC is aimed at helping military families, it’s called Habitat for Heroes and Foundations for Families™. In my opinion, this falls into the “Random Acts of Kindness” category even though there was nothing random about the planning that went into putting this program together.  It’s the people that are coming together to see this project through that make it such a beautiful thing.

When I arrived at the project on April 17, 2010 I had no idea what to expect. As I walked down the street toward the construction area I noticed a lot of other people walking in the same direction. Some carried tool belts, others had lunch bags, and I had nothing but my car keys. It didn’t matter that I had shown up empty handed because there were plenty of tool belts, tools, gloves, etc. for everyone that showed up that day to lend a hand.

After talking to several people and hearing their stories about how they got involved with Habitat, I felt very blessed to be spending the day with such a great group of generous individuals. What better gift can you give than that of your time? It’s easy to write a check, believe me, I do plenty of that in support of other great causes (Note: I am not discounting the significance of monetary contributions, these projects and others would not be possible with out them).  But to spend the day pounding nails, installing vents, picking up trash, painting, measuring, cutting, etc and working harder than you’ve worked in a long time for a complete stranger – THAT is a random act of kindness.

It was amazing to see how many people were out there that day that come every weekend. Others are there once a month.  New friendships have been made, teaching and learning is ongoing throughout the day, and each day this project is closer and closer to being completed.

The Habitat for Heroes and Foundations for Families™ is on a tight schedule to finish the remaining homes by September 1st and there is still a lot to be done!  If you or someone you know is looking for an opportunity to support the community and give the precious gift of time to help someone you’ll probably never meet, I hope will consider participating in this project as one of your options. If you know of a military family that might be interested in applying for consideration of receiving one of these homes, here is a link with information on what they need to do to apply.

I had a great time that day, met some wonderful people and left there feeling exhausted but I’m so glad I went. I plan to go back again another day.

If you have participated in a community event and would like others to know about it or hear your experience, please share your comments below.

For answers to your home buying or selling questions contact Adrienne

(714) 396-2819 or adrienne@adriennemarkes.com