Building the Future One Nail At a Time

by Kristina Silva | photos courtesy Gene Kim

"This is going to be my room," says Sheryl Lauricella, sounding like a child. She's actually the homeowner but speaks in giddy tones whenever she talks about her house.

It is 9 a.m. on a beautiful Saturday without a cloud in the sky and a gentle sunshine upon Dorsey Village. One house, incomplete, stands amongst trees, wet with dew. Groups of students stand patiently awaiting their given tasks for completing the Habitat house. With its half-built porch and its newly-laid roof glistening in the morning sun, it still looks awkwardly inviting. But there isn't time to think about what it looks like now, only time to work on what it will look like when it is finished. It is time for work, time to accomplish a goal, time for siding. "I've never done siding before," says one of the students. "We'll teach you," replies one of the supervisors.

This was my first build with The University of Georgia Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. The organization allows students to use their own hands and acquire building skills to help those in need of a home. A home that future homeowner Sheryl Lauricella is eager to have. She and her son, Robert, work along side University volunteers, which they are required to do as part of the payment on their house. Each homeowner must contribute 500 "sweat equity" hours to the building of their house in addition to the monetary down payment. Sheryl seems delighted to work those hours, watching her home become a reality. She demonstrates to the new Habitat helpers how to apply siding, find the nails and hammer in the siding. "I hurt my hand the other week hammering in a nail," she says bashfully. However, it is only a small price to pay for a new home.

Putting the last piece of siding on the back side of Sheryl's house symbolizes the feeling of accomplishment for me. I could see the direct result of my contribution to Habitat for Humanity; I even saw the smile on Sheryl's face. She feels so close to all the volunteers, knowing many by name. She feels comfortable telling us about her future endeavors, how she is going to clear a portion of the wooded area behind the house to accommodate her dog. Sheryl lives for each day, working one step closer to accomplishing a goal: to finish her home.

Habitat for Humanity has been providing housing for Athens residents since the early '90s. Two students at The University of Georgia, Robyn Painter and Molly Chase, founded the campus chapter in 1994. Throughout the years, they established the organization among their college peers and provided funds for building houses in the Athens community. As the website states, they wanted "a non-profit organization dedicated to the ideal that all people deserve a simple, decent place to live on terms that they can afford to pay." So far, they have done that successfully. The Habitat Board now has nearly 20 members, each with a different task to perform. Even more abundant is number of volunteers who attend regular bi-monthly meetings.

Current co-presidents, Sarah Sattelmeyer and Sara Pilzer, manage the extensive fund-raising events Habitat for Humanity needs to build a house. Each house costs $50,000! Such funding includes the 5K Turkey Trot, art auction and Habifest. "Most of the events happen in the fall," says Sattelmeyer. "Habifest is the big event in the spring," says Pilzer. Fortunately, UGA Habitat for Humanity only raises half the cost, leaving the other half to be paid for by other Athens community organizations including local churches.

Spencer Frye, Building Manager for the Athens Area Habitat for Humanity, works every build making sure the construction goes as planned and assisting workers in the process. Many times throughout the day Spencer appears occasionally to survey the siding project, interject commands to workers on scaffolding or demonstrate how to cut a board of siding to fit around a window. He even spends time hammering in some nails. Spencer and several skilled supervisors instruct the volunteers, making sure everything is assembled correctly. Many of the skilled supervisors are future homeowners doing their "sweat equity hours," others are volunteers who have taken classes to become certified skilled supervisors, those who earn the ability to instruct any group of volunteers to work on a house. Even some UGA students have become skilled supervisors.

Sheryl's house exists as House #50 in Dorsey Village, located off the Hawthorne Extension. The Habitat house community will continue to grow as more funding becomes available. The community will accommodate 18-21 houses when completed. According to the website, it will have a play area and nature area. "Eight houses have been built so far," says Sattelmeyer. The ninth house will start its construction in the spring with the money raised from fall events.

As the day advances more people arrive. There is a crew of UGA students, including Sara Pilzer, atop scaffolding on the right side of the house, nailing in siding. Roughly ten to fifteen volunteers from UGA show up to help build, but the numbers usually increase if weather conditions are good. About thirty people in total, including volunteers from other organizations, come to work on the houses.

Five of those fifteen or so are law students hypothetically figuring out the interest rates of houses on the market as opposed to the interest rates to the Habitat houses. They work by my side, measuring the boards and cutting them to fit the back of the house and nailing them secure. A steady hammering echoes through the site, the results coming into view as the walls go from white tarp to grey siding.

Sawing cuts through the hammering from the house next door, another Habitat house that belongs to Mary Weaver's family. Just that morning it was only a foundation, now the walls are coming into view. One after another square piece of plywood goes up, shutting in the empty space, making a room. The sun gleams off the table saw, cutting the boards to build walls. The sound of the saw accompanies the hammering, making a steady rhythm. By day's end, the walls are complete.

What a powerful image appearing before my eyes. It's nothing I have ever seen before: assembling a house for the Lauricella family to appreciate for decades to come. A family is brought together with neighbors in a thriving community. It's a great feeling to know that taking time out of a Saturday makes a difference in people's lives, even in the lives of the volunteers. A feeling of satisfaction washes over me as I see a house emerge from the many boards and nails, results on an afternoon that may not have come to pass if not for volunteers.

Sattelmeyer felt similarly when she got involved in Habitat for Humanity in college. From the beginning of her Habitat experience, Sattelmeyer has always been willing to help out. After assuming many positions on the Habitat Board, she gained a co-presidency with Pilzer in January 2004. Pilzer started working for Habitat in a church youth group before college. Once hearing about the UGA chapter of Habitat for Humanity she joined. Like Sattelmeyer, Pilzer actively pursued many positions on the board, and also became co-president in January 2004. "Education and advocacy are my main focuses," Pilzer says about the branches of volunteer work she has become most involved with.

Even though they have stayed strong in their efforts to do volunteer work, Sattelmeyer and Pilzer do not necessarily see themselves staying with the organization after college. Each January, the organization selects new presidents of the board, but the current presidents don't feel reluctant to give up their reign. They still feel they will be active in the community in some way or another, if not through Habitat for Humanity. Surely another round of eager volunteers is bound to take their place to provide funds and helpers for future builds and future families.

One thing is certain, the Lauricella family - Sheryl, her son Robert, and her parents Ray and Ann - will always be thankful for the volunteers and the invaluable effort they put forth in building their future. And other families alike will also feel the gratitude that comes from the support of the Athens community and the help of local college students. It overwhelms me every time I wake up early on a Saturday morning and drive to Dorsey Village to work on another home, molding another family's future.

It's nearing 3 p.m. and the work day is coming to a close. The siding on the left and front of the house is still incomplete, but the work will be finished another Saturday until the house is finally complete. Buckets filled with nails and pouches, hammers and gloves all get locked into the sheds, ready for the work of another day.

"You don't know how much this means to me," Sheryl says, "you really don't." She gives me a big hug and thanks me for the work I've done. It touches my heart to know that I've given her the extra lift it takes to erect a home that will shelter her for years to come. "You know, I've never lived in a house before," she says. But it has become a reality for her, living in a house that will have an address in a great Athens community environment, the same community who has gathered to put her house together.

All the families in Dorsey Village are grateful for the volunteers providing bottled water, which is actually recycled, helping build the wall of a house, or digging holes and planting vegetation around the site. I personally have not had a more rewarding experience in my life and it's not even my house. Habitat for Humanity gives me the opportunity to positively impact someone's life. It helps build a future for those in need, as the co-presidents say, "one nail at a time."