Jack Arnold

Habitat for Humanity

Contact: Emma Wagenvelt
December 16, 2014, 8:30am-4:30pm
Journal 4
Today I volunteered at a home on Dorchester Street in Grand Rapids. This home was in
the early stages of building with just the wood framing mostly completed. Our tasks today
included covering the exterior of the house with foam board and house wrap, cutting out of
window holes, blocking in the interior walls, and begin placing hurricane clips on the roof
trusses. We first started the morning with introductions of our fellow workers followed by a
morning prayer since Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organization. Our site supervisor was
Troy, whom I had worked with before, went over safety for the jobsite and then asked if anyone
had any prior experience with construction or home building. I started working with one of the
regular workers placing foam board on the back of the house. The work was not difficult; it was
the weather that made it tough. It was a cold day with occasional rain which made the job site
muddy and chilled you to the bone. We took a short coffee break at 10:30 and then worked on
through till lunch at 12:30 which was a welcome break. It felt good to get out of the cold and
rain for a little while. After lunch, I went with my co-worker to the Habitat warehouse to obtain
some more insulation board so we could finish the house. Once we returned, we finished up the
front of the house and began the process of placing the house wrap on. This will help with the
overall insulation of the house. Once this was complete it was about 4 oclock so I began
picking up the job site while others finished up projects they were working on. After that, tools
were picked up and stored away in the tool trailer and the day was complete.

Todays activity helped me achieve my own personal goal of helping someone selflessly.
There was no expectation of receiving something in return, which is the case most of the time
when helping family or friends. You tend to bank favors for when you may need one of your
own. The nursing goal that I achieved today was Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. The portion
that was met today was physiological and safety needs. These needs were met by working
toward completion of a house.