Habitat for Humanity hard at it on Martha’s Vineyard

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Attention, volunteers: there's still plenty of work to be done on the house on Bailey Park Road in West Tisbury. It's fun, you may learn a new skill, and it feels good. — Photo by Neal Sullivan

Each week, the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity puts out a newsletter called the Volunteerist. Its goal is to keep interested Islanders up to date on the organization’s ongoing efforts to “build simple, decent housing for families in the lowest qualifying income range,” according to their mission. “Our homes are built with volunteer labor, donated materials, and charitable donations.”

Habitat’s current project is at Bailey Park Road in West Tisbury, where a donated ranch house is being renovated after it was moved from State Road.

The effort there has been stepped up recently, with volunteers working three days a week, rather than the usual two. “Things got off to a slow start on Thursday,” according to the Volunteerist, “but on Friday, we had the help of Norm, Bob, John, Dick, Caroline, Mary, John, Susan, Pat, and Joe, who got started on the cedar shingles.

“Then on Saturday, we had a great turnout of volunteers including Joe, Jessica, Raquel, Alana, Kathy, Carla, Tom, Jake, Jennifer, Dick, Sacha, and Norm. Joe and Tom worked with Lee to frame the West covered porch deck while Norm and Neal got the others to finish shingling on the South wall before lunch and started on the East wall after lunch. There were many first-time Habitat volunteers which became experts in hanging shingles before the end of the day.”

The next section of the newsletter solicits help, either from individual volunteers, or from church and school groups, even businesses.

And finally, there’s news of a cooperative effort between Habitat and builders involved in renovation or demolition projects to salvage copper to be sold to raise money for future housing efforts. To donate copper, call 508-696-5788.

For more information about Habitat for Humanity, M.V., call 508-696-4646, or visit www.habitatmv.org.