Volunteers are the very backbone of our organization. They are out on every build, helping in every store and working on every home repair project. We couldn’t operate without them, and it is hard to overstate just how important our volunteers are to Habitat and affordable housing in general.
We are starting a regular feature to introduce you to these special people, tell you a little about their backstory and how they became involved with Habitat for Humanity Seattle – King County. Today, we wanted to introduce you to a very special volunteer who has become a familiar face at builds and events.
Anne Zvirblis is a retired financial advisor who first became involved with Habitat SKC back in 2016, following a conversation with a former co-worker of her husband named Larry Chalmers who was volunteering on builds. After hearing from Larry about how rewarding his time volunteering had been, Anne decided to sign herself up and get involved.
Anne’s first day was at our La Fortuna project in Renton, and her group’s mission was removing all the remaining scrap drywall in five apartment units. She enjoyed her time volunteering so much that she kept coming out every Thursday. As of today, Anne has a total of 772 hours and counting!
Anne looks forward to Thursdays with our other amazing volunteers – Barry, Mike, Beverly, Diane, and Terie – dubbed “The Regulars,” and our incredible Americorp staff. Early in March, she and the regulars had a group BBQ with other volunteers, including the group of Mennonites that have been helping us out at our Pacific, WA construction site.
“I’m not special. I’m just somebody who shows up to help make sure people have an opportunity for a better life – and I’m having fun along the way.”
Anne has also enjoyed learning about drywall, painting, siding, and flooring. Recently she built a nice little outside cat house with a cedar roof and insulation using scrap materials from the Pacific site. Anne says she loves knowing that she can fix most maintenance and repair issues herself as they come up around the house.
Way to go Anne! Thank you for being such a key part of our organization. We appreciate everything you do, and look forward to many more years of seeing your smiling face on the job site! ♥