2009 Habitat Work Day
April 1, 2009
Sometimes you just feel like picking up a hammer and banging something, and that’s exactly what the folks at Miller Designworks did on the first day of Spring. Last Friday we left the warmth of our Phoenixville studio and exchanged our web and graphic design tools for hammers and paintbrushes. What better way to lend a hand than to help a family make a fresh start in a new home through Habitat for Humanity?
It was a cold but pretty day on the job site and, with more than six houses in various stages of construction, there was no shortage of tasks. There were light lifting projects such as painting and caulking, and heavy lifting jobs such as window and drywall installation. So while Lee and Marshall found the power tools, Laura and Helene began painting and everyone else moved between various other assignments. Everyone was able to contribute to a full day of labor and by the end of the day, we all had gotten a chance to do several types of jobs.
“There is something rewarding about physically expending energy, breaking a sweat and being able to see an immediate result.” says Steve Miller, president of Miller Designworks. “I have a great respect for someone who is able to commit, day in and day out, to the physical stresses of a labor job. With a father who is a union cabinet maker, I’ve been exposed to a life around tools. Getting to apply this skill to help others is a real treat.”
It was also a good opportunity to work with CertainTeed siding products. While we’ve helped CertainTeed market their siding with print and interactive work for more than 20 years, not everybody in the studio had helped to install the products themselves before. MDW volunteers were able to get their hands on Carolina Beaded siding, Beaded Porch Panel vertical siding, and gypsum wallboard.
The Coatesville project has spanned over five years and Habitat for Humanity has built, or is in the process of building, over 20 homes on the site. As part of a larger 84 home neighborhood, they are helping make a dramatic impact to the area. The primary builder for this neighborhood, The Community Builders, Inc., is in the business of building strong communities where people of all incomes can achieve their full potential. They do this by developing, financing, and operating high quality affordable, mixed-income housing, by coordinating access to support services, and by planning and implementing other community and economic initiatives critical to the communities they serve. So it’s no surprise that they are working so closely with the people from Habitat.
