A few days each year, the staff at RJ Thieneman steps away from their desks to pick up hammers and paint brushes at a Habitat for Humanity job site. Our ten volunteers 
arrived on Wednesday morning at Habitat headquarters in our “RJ’s Army” t-shirts eager to build a house! We were first told about the process to qualify for a home – Habitat offers a hand up, not a hand out to families who invest a modest down payment and 400 ‘sweat equity’ hours building their neighbor’s houses in addition to their own.
We were assigned to the “Board Build” job site. In celebration of 30 years, the Habitat for Humanity Board is sponsoring five homes to be rehabbed. They are located across the street from the offices on Bank Street in Louisville’s West End.
We were quickly assigned to various jobs from putting in headers, to placing tar paper on the roof, installing windows and insulation, and painting hardy board. It was hot and dirty work, but the day went by quickly. We learned from our job site supervisor and several retired volunteers who show up almost every day. We wrapped up the day tired and with paint covering our shirts, but feeling proud as we looked at what we had accomplished.
