The RV “Care-a-Vanners” are in town again, to bolster local construction by Habitat for Humanity, Lake County.
A crew of 24 retired, semi-retired and vacationing volunteers was at two 37th Avenue construction sites as of Friday, April 27. “We brought in a larger team this year, to work on two houses, and if we run out of work we have a third waiting for us,” said Vera Pringle who, with her husband Rich, is leading the Care-a-Vanners crew.
The volunteers range in age from 33 to 87 and hail from all over — Oregon, Nevada and Texas being among the home states cited. Thirty-three-year-old Mitzi Dillon-Goldman, her father Dennis and uncle Max were on their second Habitat build with the first having also been in Lake County.
Dillon-Goldman had just completed her residency as an emergency room physician and was looking for a way for her family to vacation together. “Dad and my uncle are handy with stuff like this, and my dad loves his RV,” she explained, adding that a Habitat build had been the perfect way to combine these interests. And although Dillon-Goldman had no prior experience during her first Habitat build, she found plenty of willing teachers.
Also paying a return trip were Carlisle and Lydia Harrison, who were joined this year by his brother Lawrence and his wife Kaye.
“We had friends who got us into it,” Lydia said, “and it took only one build to get us going. We try to do one a year, and we talked to Kaye and Lawrence.”
“Lawrence retired in January and doing a Habitat job was something I wanted to do for 20 years,” Kaye said. “I love it.”
The 37th Street projects offer an added dimension of incorporating “green” energy. Photovoltaic energy cells will be installed on the roofs and the floors of the houses will be equipped with radient heating. “This is our first shot at radient heat,” said Richard Birk, who is board president of the local Habitat affiliate. “At some point we”ll be green-certified.”
While volunteering at the Habitat build site, the RV Care-a-Vanners enjoy local hospitality; meals are being provided by restaurants and community groups.
Habitat for Humanity, International works to eliminate substandard low-income housing. Each recipient family commits to repaying a no-interest loan, plus insurance and property tax, and to 500 hours of “sweat equity” in hands-on home construction.
Habitat”s Lake County affiliate welcomes ongoing volunteer involvement for all types of work — construction, general office work, accounting, volunteer coordination, grant writing, fund-raising, youth coordination, congregation and/or community outreach, newsletter preparation and more. For more information about the local affiliate, call 987-1101 or visit Habitat for Humanity, Lake County at 16825 Main St., Suite A, in Lower Lake.
Contact Cynthia Parkhill at cparkhill@clearlakeobserver.com.
