When we first moved to Monterey and the school year hadn't started yet, I began looking for new ways to volunteer. I found the Habitat website for Monterey and learned that Monterey County has one of the most unattainable housing markets in the country. I'd assume this is largely due to folks like the military coming in and having their housing paid for them, that coupled with the insanely expensive neighboring properties of Pebble Beach and Carmel, make it pretty stinkin' hard to afford a home around here.
Another area facing difficulties like this is Hawaii, where there is tons of tourism, but let's be honest, unless you own the hotel, you aren't making a whole lot of dough to support a family.
Habitat for Humanity is just about everywhere. I'm sure you'll find a chapter near you. All you have to do is call them or email them and tell them that you want to help. I did, and they said, "Okay, show up at this address Saturday at 8." It was that easy! There's no weekly commitment or people hounding you all the time. It's a great way for you to help, when you can.
One caveat however, if you are going to bring your husband and he's a pretty hands-on guy, make sure there is some real building going on. He'll be rather disgruntled if he spends two hours searching for the right key to a doorknob :D
Disgruntled? I don't know about disgruntled. Maybe a little bored, but I really did feel like Sisyphus. Every door door knob does need a key though! I hope we can volunteer with them again while they're building a house.
ReplyDeleteOk, that last post was by me not Jess, lol.
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