By Gillian Heckert-Mitchell, Volunteer Outreach Coordinator
Patti Post is one of our regular volunteers and has been our volunteer lead at our Habitat Helps partnership with Meleny’s House. We are so thankful for her continued hard-work and we are grateful every day for her mentorship.
Patti first started volunteering with Habitat for Humanity after seeing a local newspaper article about an upcoming Women’s Build meeting. Patti knew about Habitat but wanted to learn new skills and decided to attend the Women’s Build meeting. She said, “I thought I would be the only one at this meeting but when I pulled up to the meeting and saw 125 cars and people, women from miles around,” she realized how special Habitat was and the positive impact it has on so many people. After the meeting and being on a worksite for the first time, she formed a bond with other women on the worksite. She found her “Habitat sisters” and has continued to volunteer with the same group of women from her first Habitat build.
After attending Habitat’s Women’s Build, she helped build a house in Upper Darby and continued to lend a hand any way she could. Patti said, “Habitat opened my eyes to the needs [in our community]” and she began attending more events. Patti realized how important Habitat was to her life and how its’ mission aligned well with her values.
Patti joined Habitat of Montgomery County in 2005 for their yearly Women’s Build a few years later and fell in love with the work, the staff and the other volunteers. The most meaningful part of being on the worksite for Patti, is meeting and getting to know the homeowners. She recalled a time when she saw a homeowner years later and said, “hey, I helped build your house” and the homeowner was so appreciative, and the connection continued.
“Habitat is about the relationships built between the homeowners, the other volunteers and yourself.”
Since COVID began in March 2020, Patti realized how much more meaningful Habitat has become for her. During the pandemic she realized she was having serious “Habitat withdraw” because “it just feels so good, so right to be giving back to the community.” Although she has utilized the skills she learned on a Habitat worksite to redo her kitchen, Patti is happy to be back volunteering with Habitat MontDelco. “It gets under your skin. I talk about it with my friends and family all the time.”
Patti’s advice to any new volunteer or anyone hesitant to sign up for the first time because they don’t feel as though they have the skills, she says,
“Take the leap of faith. Sign up and show up. Habitat staff and other volunteers are there to help you learn the skills. Even if you only stand on the bottom rung of the ladder, you showed up and you’re always welcome.” There are so many different jobs with Habitat that are equally as important, “It’s not just about pushing up a wall, it’s about sweeping the floor or cleaning up the space to ensure the worksite is a safe place for volunteers to work.”
Every time a person volunteers with Habitat no matter if it’s the first time or you’ve been doing it forever, you will continue to learn new skills no matter how big or small.
Thank you, Patti for your continued support and dedication to Habitat MontDelco. We could not do this work without you or any of our amazing volunteers!
You can also watch Patti in our Women Builder DIY YouTube series HERE!
