GLENDALE, Ariz. — A U-Haul volunteer day that began with prayer, ended with pizza and left one family a little closer to a home of its dreams.
On Feb. 20, U-Haul teamed with Habitat for Humanity to help build a house for a family of four in Glendale. The day started on a brisk morning with a prayer from the head construction leader. Then 12 U-Haul Team Members and their family members began to hammer nails into wooden framework with a little help from the Habitat experts.
“I think it’s necessary to give back to the community,” said Latasha Ross, who assists with U-Box® Container field support. “It teaches us the importance of doing things together and being closer to our fellow community members. I love that U-Haul pushes me to volunteer and be better in my life.”
Along with the volunteers, soon-to-be homeowner Bekuretion Legas was also on site with his mother-in-law, father-in-law and a close friend.
“I’ve seen it grow from the ground up,” Legas said. “I’m here every weekend helping and I see what’s going on. This home means more because I helped build it. And I can’t describe the unlimited happiness myself and my family have for all the support we are getting.”
Since its founding in 1976, Habitat For Humanity has helped over 6.8 million people. With the help of volunteers, the Christian nonprofit organization can build a home in about 15 weeks.
“Habitat can’t employ the amount of people it needs to build all these houses,” Habitat worker Paige Mulhollan said. “If companies like U-Haul didn’t do this, we could never build a house. It’s the only way it works.”
The impacted communities, Habitat for Humanity and U-Haul are not the only ones positively affected by volunteer work. Shaun Birnbaum, a Repwest Team Member and volunteer explained: “As U-Haul Company’s sister property, Repwest does a lot of insurance on buildings. So having a building built the right way is beneficial to us and the homeowners.”
As the temperature climbed and volunteer efforts came to a close, Team Members left with a greater knowledge of construction while the homeowner gazed at the structure that he will call home. A sense of achievement was shared throughout the group as everyone acknowledged the importance of giving back to the community.
“Volunteering is always an amazing experience,” Kate Bickmore, a U-Haul volunteer, said. “I’ve done it too many times to count. But I will keep volunteering until I can’t anymore.”
Thank you to the Team U-Haul volunteers who participated: Franklin Antonio, Kate Bickmore, Shaun Birnbaum, James Brown, Paige Brown, Michael Haggerty, Laura Marin, Rod McDowell, Jenn Roldan, Pablo Roldan, Latasha Ross and Robert Smith.
To read more about the positive efforts U-Haul is making in the community, visit: myuhaulstory.com/in-the-community
