Epsilon Delta Chapter members show off their hard day's work of putting up vinyl siding and painting. Members from left to right are: Pamela Reiss, Sara Limpus, Mary Schindler, Michelle Bitler, Amy Argotsinger, Brandi Norris, Nicholas Coyle, Joe Vazquez, Jennifer Paulus, Chris Vazquez, and Howard Johnson.
by
Greg Davis
University of Missouri - Kansas City
On Saturday, November 23, 1996, twenty members of the Epsilon Delta chapter of Beta Alpha Psi from the University of Missouri in Kansas City traded in their calculators and amortization schedules for a hammer and paintbrush. As part of our community service project we traveled downtown and participated in a hard day’s work with the Habitat for Humanity charity organization.
When we arrived at the prearranged spot we had the privilege to meet Bill, who is in charge of the actual construction of the houses. For those of you who are not familiar with Habitat, it is a not for profit charitable organization who builds houses for low income families. This organization is found in countries all over the world from Africa to Asia, and in most of the states in America. In general they have two assembly plans; the ten week house, and the ten day house, with the only difference being one is built on ten Saturdays and the other is built in ten consecutive days. Thus far the Kansas City branch of Habitat has built over one hundred houses and world wide the organization has built tens of thousands. The people who build the houses are companies and organizations who volunteer with a small crew of Habitat workers who supervise and assist the volunteers.
The eventual owners of these houses are families with low incomes, who would otherwise be unable to purchase a home. These families are selected from the many letters written to Habitat and are chosen based on need. Bill Duncan, our foreman, told us the story of one such mother in need. She was a single mother of three who was also a paraplegic. She wrote in asking Habitat to help her and together they designed and built a single story, three bedroom house specially designed with extra wide doorways so she could maneuver with her wheelchair. Along with buying the houses for a much reduced rate the families must also put in a certain number of hours in the construction of their home.
After about a 45 minute discussion with Bill, we broke into three teams: the painting team, the vinyl siding team, and a drywall team. We then drove to the job site and met the other supervisors and went to work. I was on the drywall team and there we measured, cut and put up drywall for the next several hours. By the end of a hard day’s work we were dirty, sweaty, and worn out but could look around and see just how much we had accomplished.
As I write this paper now, I realize how much we accomplished. We combined hard work and getting to know each other while performing an important community service. This day of volunteering allowed me to step back from the day to day grind of academics and accounting and help out some fellow neighbors in need. If you ask any of the twenty volunteers that were there that day, you will undoubtedly be told what a worthwhile and satisfying day it was and be urged to volunteer with your local Habitat for Humanity organization.
