"The very first time we volunteered with Habitat the weather was terrible and they had us dig footings out with shovels. As we were driving home that night, we both said, ‘We will never do this again.’”
Amy and Joel would never have imagined that years later they would be at the Habitat Wake construction site every week...for fun!
Their journey into regular volunteering with Habitat was gradual.
“It really was a few years before we came back,” they said, laughing. “And then when we semi-retired, we started to come out more regularly. And when we fully retired, it became a routine thing.”
Joel and Amy now serve as part of Habitat Wake’s FOH (“Force of Habitat”) a group of longtime, highly skilled volunteers who help guide newer volunteers through construction tasks.
And while couples volunteering together isn’t unheard of, it’s unusual to see a married pair on the construction site as consistently as Amy and Joel. This can lead to moments like: the entire construction site learning when it's your 44th wedding anniversary!
We asked what volunteering together brings to their relationship.
“I think it’s good for us,” Amy said. “We work well together. We don’t always agree, but we know we can ask each other for help.”
“My job is carrying the ladders,” Joel joked.
“We really do get to rely on each other,” Amy said.
This Valentine’s Day, we invite couples to try a volunteer day together! Instead of searching “date ideas Raleigh,” head straight to habitatwake.org/volunteer for a free day filled with fun, learning and giving back together.