Habitat recognizes dedicated volunteers

Six volunteers are new members of Sisters Habitat for Humanity’s 1,000 Hour Club for having volunteered more than 1,000 hours of service. Three received the Lifetime Achievement Award for exceeding 4,000 hours of service Sisters Habitat for Humanity in a ceremony held on Tuesday, October 6, to recognize their dedicated volunteers.

The newest members of the 1,000 Hour Club are Nancy Anderson, Jerry Baldock, Colleen Fenn, Dana Hampton, Rosalie Van Ness-Hanford, and Ray Young. With the addition of these six volunteers, the 1,000 Hour Club now totals 109 since records began in 2009.

Nora Ellison, and Mike Anglea, (Steve Madsen was not able to attend the ceremony) were presented with Lifetime Achievement Awards for having exceeded 4,000 hours of volunteer service. Board President, Chuck Harper, expressed his sincere thanks for all of their hard work.

Nora Ellison started as the volunteer treasurer/bookkeeper, she served on the Sisters Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors for six years, is currently a member of the Family Selection Committee, cashiers at the Thrift Store, and continues to reconcile the organization’s checking accounts each month.

A friend introduced Mike Anglea to Habitat for Humanity while living in Texas. In 2005, after moving to Sisters, he began working with Sisters Habitat’s construction crew. He is a team lead and an essential part of operations. He loves to teach the college students who come to help build houses during the Spring Collegiate Challenge each year. Because of Anglea, the young people leave Sisters with solid construction skills that will serve them well throughout their lifetimes.

Steve Madsen began volunteering with Sisters Habitat in 2006 specializing in building cabinets. He credits his brother, Ron, with teaching him this valuable skill. During Sisters Habitat’s Women’s Build each year, Steve is the tool training instructor, introducing each person to the safe use of the tools they will be using to build the house. His volunteerism extends to Sisters Elementary School’s “SMART Readers” program, helping the young students with reading difficulties keep up with the rest of the class.

Sisters Habitat for Humanity also recognized five people who volunteered between 500 and 1,000 hours this year. Twenty-one people volunteered between 250 and 499 hours. Sixty-five people volunteered between 100 and 249 hours.

Sisters Habitat’s volunteers are a critical part of providing homeownership opportunities to qualified families. In the past year, over 200 people served 22,562 hours building homes, working in the stores and serving on various committees.

Sisters Habitat for Humanity is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. Those interested in homeownership, home repair, or volunteering with Sisters Habitat can visit www.sistershabitat.org or call the Habitat office at 541-549-1193.