“It’s more fun than going to a gym,” says Denny Davis of his weekly volunteer work with HabiJax. “I get a good workout and I don’t have to pay monthly dues!”

Since fully retiring from his executive position at Chrysler, Denny volunteers two to three times each week, currently on the framing crew. “I liked working with wood as a teenager and decided this was a good way to do something I enjoy and give back to the community at the same time,” he says. “I enjoy working side by side with the future homeowners and the HabiJax crews.”

For the first year he volunteered, Denny worked in the HabiJax warehouse, helping to frame walls in sections that were then moved to a home site and assembled into a house. “Sometimes we’d put a house up in one day,” he explains. With more emphasis now on refurbishing homes and neighborhoods, Denny spends more time at home sites. “I’m learning useful skills that I can utilize to improve my own home,” he says.

“Many of the regular volunteers that we depend on are retired and have time to give each week,” says Stephanie Ransom, Volunteer Services Manager at HabiJax. “They tell me that they get ‘hooked’ by the satisfaction they feel in accomplishing something tangible through their work here. They get to see a finished home they helped to build and watch the keys handed to the excited family they have been working with. We really depend on volunteers’ time, skills and energy to fulfill our mission.”

Volunteers are always welcome, no matter your skill level. To learn more about individual or group or corporate volunteer opportunties, please go to www.habijax.org or call Stephanie Ransom at 904-208-6676.