Ben McKittrick volunteered with us for a summer and throughout his time, he enjoyed being a part of the community and seeing the lasting impact of Habitat's work in ReStores.
"A world where everyone has a decent place to live." I signed up to volunteer from late June through late August because I believed in the vision of Habitat for Humanity.
Knowing that my contributions play a part in building homes and making a difference was incredibly fulfilling. Working in a team strengthened my connection to the community and the solidarity of the group created a brilliant working environment that makes me want to return.
I understand the importance that teamwork has on achieving goals. I enjoyed working effectively with others and helping out with different tasks. Whether it was pricing, working at the till, helping out at the back, lifting furniture into the shop or out to customer vehicles, or loading and unloading the lorry, I was happy to adapt to new tasks.
My favourite task was unloading the lorry. There was never a bad moment. Bringing items in to get priced or PAT tested was always rewarding, and the sense of teamwork in unloading the lorry made the task more manageable. It was interesting seeing the donations we received and knowing that our collective efforts contributed to supporting families. This added to the importance of the work.
Learning how to engage with customers, answer questions, and provide assistance has undoubtedly made me more confident in my communication abilities. If a customer had a specific request or was trying to find something in particular, I learned how to think quickly and help them with whatever it was they needed. Also, if a customer had any questions about ReStore, I learned how to answer it well.
I was astonished at the amount of community support for ReStore, whether it was the number of local donors or the dedication the other volunteers demonstrated. So many people are invested in helping and improving the lives of others, and I was honoured to be a part of it all.
On my last shift, I was assigned the task of putting two shelving units together. Having visited the shop a number of times since the end of summer, I’m glad to see that the shelves are still in use and I'm happy that I have made a positive impact to the shop.
A challenge I faced working at ReStore was managing busy days. Luckily, the team was there to help. Maintaining good customer service while ensuring that the warehouse was organised and that the merchandise was brought out was challenging at times. For example, if a customer needed help while I was in the process of lifting items to the shop floor, I stopped what I was doing and provided assistance before resuming what I was doing.
It’s really hard to decide. A lot of the volunteers were inspiring. But if I had to choose, Andrew’s dedication to the cause was inspiring as he’s been volunteering at the ReStore since 2012.
Habitat For Humanity’s mission to bring people together to build homes, communities, and hope is inspiring. It shows that there are many people who want to help others through teamwork.