|
Shelter — Jeanne and Ed Heideman
compiled by Sarah Asp | photography by Dave Kaphingst
Name: Jeanne Heideman
Age: 64
Hometown: Friendship, Wisconsin
Family: Husband, Ed
Cause or organization: Habitat for Humanity
Q: What do you do?
A: My husband and I had donated money to Habitat for years. Bill Gomel was instrumental in starting the local Habitat chapter, which arose out of a class Habitat had at our church. Ed and I joined subsequent to that. We are both on the board and attend the monthly meetings.
I’m on the committee for Shantytown, which is our main annual fund-raiser. It’s an overnight on the fair grounds in houses made out of cardboard. This will be our second year, and it will be April 30 to May 1.
I slept out last year, and it was I think 39 degrees—a little cold but I was cozy. I am a retired nurse, so I do the first aid station for Shantytown and also cook. You get people to sponsor you and if you get $100 in donations, you get a T-shirt. We also sell food. But people register, buy a “lot” for $10, then put up their cardboard houses and spend the night. On Sunday morning, there is an ecumenical church service.
We also helped build a Habitat house. One woman and I did all the measuring, cutting and stapling for the insulation. I worked one day climbing a ladder outside, nailing the blue insulation strips. I prepared lunch for the workers one Saturday. This is our chapter’s first house. We started building it last summer, and it was dedicated in December 2004.
It was really exciting, and it’s a nice little house. The owners had to put in 500 hours of sweat equity, so they worked right alongside everybody. They had been active in Habitat prior to being chosen as the family.
Q: How long have you been doing this activity?
A: Two years.
Q: How could I get involved?
A: Habitat International has fund-raisers; visit www.habitat.org for information. We had supported them financially for a number of years because we felt like it was a worthy charity and something that needed support. When we heard through our church that a Habitat chapter had been started here, we joined up right away.
Q: When you go home at night after a long day of volunteering, how do you feel?
A: I feel good. I think it’s fun. I’ve been retired for two years, and I’m busier now than when I worked. I was a public health nurse so I was pretty aware of the living situations of families in this county—this is one of the poorest counties in Wisconsin. I was well aware of what the needs were here.
Q: Do you believe you can change the world?
A: Not the whole world, but maybe a little part of it. I hope to inspire other people to join in and do the same thing I’m doing. And my husband is still working, so when he retires in September, I hope we can do even more than we do now.
Q: What do you say to the person who says, “One person’s efforts don’t make enough of a difference?”
A: Well, that’s ridiculous. You know, one person and one person and one person, and before you know it, you have 100 people. It all starts with one person. You can’t just sit back and throw up your hands and say, “There are too many problems in this world and I can’t help it,” —because you can.
Q: Is volunteering a part of your faith?
A: Yes. People who go into nursing have some nurturing or some gene that makes us do these things, and that’s part of it also. I believe that we’re put here for a purpose and to use whatever we have—whether it’s monetary or physical assets—to help other people. If I can do this, you can do this.
Q: Do you expect a reward from giving back?
A: Oh no. It’s just the satisfaction of helping.
Q: What’s been your favorite volunteer moment—the one that keeps you coming back?
A: I guess it was at the dedication day where the new homeowners received the keys to their house after all that planning. To finally have a house and have it finished was very satisfying, very exciting. We’re hoping to build two houses this year, and we’re looking for properties.
Name: Ed Heideman
Age: 61
Hometown: Friendship, Wisconsin
Occupation: Engineer
Family: Wife, Jeanne
Cause or organization: Habitat for Humanity
Q: What do you do?
A: Today we’re just in the planning stage, with two homes still in the discussion stage of that. We’re looking for a parcel of land to build two side-by-side homes. It would be an easier build for everybody working when you’re right next door to each other.
As a volunteer, I just basically do whatever is required—pounding nails or, on our last build after the foundation was put in and then the walls were built, we had to do stuff that I hadn’t done in the past, as far as insulating on the outside, vinyl siding and insulating on the inside.
Q: How long have you been involved with Habitat for Humanity?
A: Just since our chapter evolved, when we started our first build. Jeanne and I have been interested in that. We have been contributing on a yearly basis to the Habitat Fund, and when the chapter started up, that made it especially intriguing for us to get involved.
Q: What do you say to the person who says, “One person’s efforts don’t make enough of a difference?”
A: One person contributes, and that builds and that helps. The more “one persons” we have—yes, that does work.
Q: Is volunteering a part of your faith?
A: I would say so. I think that to receive we have to give.
Q: Do you expect a reward from giving back?
A: No, no reward. Internal pleasure.
Q: What’s been your favorite volunteer moment—the one that keeps you coming back?
A: In my work with the VFW, we’d bring wheelchairs and walkers to the disabled. People were thankful that they were able to be mobile.
Q: Why do you volunteer?
A: For the gratification, I guess. When a job is done, I feel good. I’m just thankful that Jeanne and I are able to be of help.
Top Of Page | Magazine Home Page
|