What do you get when you mix a gorgeous Saturday day with an energetic group of motivated Haas students armed with power tools, hard-hats and a commitment to community? In this case you get a completed wall frame, weather-proofed house and a room finished with drywall. On Saturday August 3rd the Haas Community Service Committee successful participated in this school year's first Habitat for Humanity Event.
The site was a gorgeous 
hill side development in San Francisco’s Bayview district overlooking, well, the beautiful San Francisco bay. The day started early but everyone came wide eyed and excited. After registration and getting hold of the obligatory hard-hats, a stretching session, lead by a chartered Pilates coach, helped kick-off the event; there is really nothing better than a good stretch before getting started with manual labor.
After a brief rundown of the work scheduled for the day by site coordinator our fellow Haas students volunteered for the day's assignment. 
The work included framing the first wall of a new home, the weather-proofing of an already framed house and putting up dry wall in another. In total there were 5 homes under various states of completion.
After getting our instructions from habitat's leads everyone jumped right into work. For me, I volunteered for the work requiring the use of scaffolding which at first induced some vertigo especially with the realization that the floorboards are loose and tends to shift as you walk on them. 
It may not seem much till you realize you are reaching out over a three story drop to nail insulation onto the building exterior. In the end it all worked out and before long I was running around from floor to floor like it was a jungle gym.
At lunch time we were pleasantly surprising to be able to split lunch with another volunteer organization, Random Acts of Kindness that was also present. After consuming vast quantities of burgers, cookies and chips we all went back to the grind with full stomachs. And before we knew it the day was at an end and we were wrapping up.
After all the tools were put
away and the day's dirt and grime was dusted off the group took a short trip to a local bar for a quick drink and celebration. Overall it was a fun and very satisfying event. Not only did we have a good start to the first Habitat for Humanity event, but we helped the families that bought those homes move in that much sooner. So stay tuned for the next scheduled event and we hope to see you there!
