I had the pleasure of talking to Thomas McKenna about his experience with Habitat for Humanity Thousand Islands volunteerism.
Thomas is a 17 year old student who is part of a program called Special High Skills Majors at South Grenville High School in Prescott. His specialty is in the electrical field as Thomas plans to become an electrician one day. As part of this program, Thomas was required to do co-op hours in construction and approached Habitat for Humanity Thousand Islands when they were doing a two-storey family home in Prescott.
The build supervisor took Thomas under his wing. Soon, Thomas was working side-by-side with tradesmen learning and watching and participating in all aspects of the build. He worked with the HVAC to see how the furnace was installed. He had the opportunity to learn how the wiring was done and helped with pulling of wires and saw first hand how skilled these people were. Thomas helped with framing, drywall and mudding, insulating in the basement and laying linoleum and said this was the coolest experience he could imagine!
“I learned so much in my co-op time that I decided to volunteer. I can’t tell you how rewarding this was.”
Thomas used his spare time to come back to the building and finish it up with the rest of the crew. After investing 248 hours of co-op and volunteer time Thomas felt that he was part of something he couldn’t compare to anything else.
When asked if he would recommend this experience to others looking to learn and be part of something that he refers to as amazing he replied,” definitely.” Thomas is looking forward to participating on another Habitat for Humanity 1000 Islands building site and of being part of a team effort to make a very positive difference in the lives of a needy family.
If you think that working on a build as a volunteer is something that would interest you click here.