You Can Do It — At Habitat for Humanity construction sites, smiles come in just as handy as hammers and saws.

When Paula Page set foot on a Habitat for Humanity construction site for the first time last spring, she and her fellow team members were assigned a task: building fly rafters on the roof.

The nine team members were eager to roll up their sleeves and get to work, but for Page, there was one small problem. "I had no idea what fly rafters even were!" she says with a laugh.

No problem, the team leader assured her. After a hands-on tutorial and some patient guidance from the leader, Page and her teammates were navigating a table saw with near-expert precision.

Now working on her second house with Habitat, and serving as a Thrivent Builds chapter specialist coordinating subsequent Habitat projects in Michigan's East Macomb and West Macomb counties, Page already talks like an expert builder. (For the record: "Fly rafters are the overhangs on a roof that look like little ladders," she explains.)

Like Page, the majority of Thrivent Financial members who are volunteering on Thrivent Builds work sites in their communities are doing so for the first time, having little-to-no experience with home construction. Many will learn how to shingle a roof or hang siding during one or more shifts under the watchful eye of skilled team leaders, while others will instead choose to dedicate their time without ever setting foot on a construction site. Every task, no matter how small it may seem at the time, plays a big role in the successful completion of each Habitat home.

Roger Geske, a Thrivent Financial member from Itasca, Illinois, who is helping coordinate the construction of two adjacent homes in Kane County, attributes his desire to volunteer as a "stewardship attitude." As soon as the homes in his area are finished, he's planning to volunteer again, this time as a mentor to help Habitat recipients prepare for the financial responsibilities associated with home ownership.

For now, though, Geske is concentrating on linking Thrivent Builds volunteers with construction work that matches their interests. "If someone isn't comfortable doing physical work, they might bring water to the workers or cool cloths on a hot day, or maybe they'd prefer to be inside painting," he says. "And for some aspects of the work where professional construction workers or electricians come in with their trainees to do the wiring or hang drywall, an extra pair of hands is very helpful—you can help hold up the drywall while someone else hammers."

Equally important on any Habitat construction site are the "nurturers," whose primary task is to help nourish tired and thirsty volunteers. "Come along and be a cheerleader, or bake something to feed the workers," Geske suggests. "Or just get to know the homeowners and listen to their stories. It's all important work."

When Carol Holyszko, a Thrivent Builds congregational champion from Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Libertyville, Illinois, first began facilitating her congregation's involvement in a local Habitat project, she looked for opportunities to involve her four children, age 10 to 17. Since the Habitat policy in many states requires teens to be at least 14 years old to be on the construction site, Holyszko knew she would have to use a little creativity to engage her kids, and their peers in the congregation, in volunteering.

"I involved my kids in putting together a little model house that's on display at church every week," Holyszko explains. Congregation members can purchase construction-paper "bricks" and duct-tape "shingles" to build the replica house, with all proceeds supporting the local Habitat project. Holyszko's children and their friends staff the table on Sunday mornings in between worship services.

The project has inspired other youngsters in the Holy Cross congregation to get involved in other ways. One student gathered her confirmation class to prepare lunches to feed a construction crew; a grade-school boy saved his allowance to purchase a $1 paper brick every Sunday morning to watch the replica house grow piece by piece. And to kick off the next phase of her church's Habitat commitment planned for later this year, Holyszko already has enlisted her son to dress up as Bob the Builder.

"Even some of the older women in the church just want to help with publicity or help stuff envelopes and send letters," Holyszko says. "There is something for everyone who wants to be involved."

Back on the building site in Michigan, Page explains that groups of teenagers helped prepare the lot for construction by whacking weeds and clearing away debris from the property. "They were hauling wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of junk-debris and old tires that had been left there on the vacant property," she recalls. "Ultimately, when you break a house down into all its little parts, it's amazing what you can do!"

Make a Difference

That extra $20 in your wallet can buy a couple of movie tickets, half a tank of gas or a few magazines from the local newsstand. That same $20 can give a hard-working family in one of hundreds of communities a deposit of hope toward attaining a safe, affordable place to live. That's because even the smallest financial gift makes a significant contribution to the building of affordable homes for struggling, working families in the United States and across the globe. And, when supplemented by Thrivent Financial—$1 for every $2 donated by Thrivent Financial members to Habitat for Humanity International, up to a maximum supplement of $300 per member annually—the impact reaches even farther.

Consider what your donation made directly to Habitat for Humanity and combined with supplemental funds from Thrivent Financial can accomplish:

$20 buys one gallon of paint

$100 buys a new front door

$2,000 provides enough siding to protect the home's exterior

$150 pays for a window to keep out the elements

$200 supports landscaping, such as planting trees on the lot

Building Around the Globe

Just three days into his three-week journey to Ghana last October, Brian Boyle was already in the hole.

No, he wasn't out of money. Rather, the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans financial consultant from Santa Barbara, California, was waist-deep in dirt, digging a 20-foot-deep hole that would serve as a family's latrine.

A lifelong traveler, Boyle wanted to take a trip that would enable him to give back to others at the same time. "Instead of just writing a check, I wanted to be part of the gift," he explains. After doing research, he landed on a Habitat for Humanity Global Village trip, knowing he could see a part of the world he'd always wanted to visit, confident in the expertise of a trusted organization like Habitat.

Working side-by-side with other volunteers from the United States, Canada and Hong Kong, Boyle helped build homes in a nation where he was told the average village person's salary is a mere $500 a year.

"I was most impacted by how the people of Ghana view life," he says. "They are so happy, even without all the material things we take for granted. They worked with us every day and arranged cultural events for us every night. One of the volunteers would hand out boxes of crayons to the kids, and they were so excited. It really turned their world around."

Through the new Thrivent Builds Worldwide program, volunteers will work with families around the world who face critical housing needs-from Bolivia to Romania to Kenya to the United States. The trips last one to three weeks, and funding opportunities are available for Thrivent Financial benefit members.

Boyle says he was grateful for the outpouring of support from his colleagues and clients. "I will definitely go back," he says. "There's been so much interest that I may lead a team of Lutherans on a Thrivent Builds Worldwide trip."

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