In October, DMC Chicago said goodbye our desks and hello to a build site as we volunteered with Habitat for Humanity to assist in building more affordable housing for people in need.
Decent, affordable housing opportunities matter for our Chicago neighbors and Habitat for Humanity not only aids in building the homes, but they contribute to the purchase of the house and help with education on home maintenance and financial management.
This is why nine of our employees bundled up on a blistery, fall day to pitch in. We also committed to fundraising to keep the homes built with Habitat for Humanity affordable to their future owners.
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The Where and Why of Habitat for Humanity
We worked on a house located in the West Pullman area of Chicago, a neighborhood on the far South Side of Chicago. Habitat for Humanity selected the area because it is a middle market neighborhood with strong community ties, but there have been some disinvestments in commercial and residential properties which could cause a housing decline in the future.
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Having a healthy housing market in the neighborhood is crucial since it can create a chain reaction of positive improvements like greater pride in the area, more jobs, better image, etc. The end goal of all these improvements is to have a safer neighborhood with a strong sense of community that will be able to thrive.
Getting Down to the Business of Building
The DMC team arrived at the construction site early on a chilly, Saturday morning. We met with other volunteers and our site supervisors. Everyone was eager to get to work! Volunteers were split up doing a variety of work including painting, electrical wiring, framing, etc.
Lexi is nailing the wood to the existing structure.
Heather is getting the measurements just right.
Safety first!
Our team worked on the flooring and structural parts of two households. The site supervisors taught us how to properly do a variety of skills such as using a nail gun, cutting wood, laying down flooring, etc. After the supervisors gave us assignments, we went straight to work!
Ryan and Eddie are showing off their hammering skills.
They assisted us with any questions we had and gave us pointers and corrections whenever it was necessary. Most of the work consisted of carrying the wood to the house and getting it up the second floor, laying it out on the structure and then gluing and nailing it down.
Amy, Emily, and Lexi working on getting the wood glued down.
As easy as it sounds, it was a lot of hard work!
Stephanie and Mary are working on a header for the doorway that they cut and nailed together!
Making a Difference with DMCares
One of the best parts of working at DMC is the fact that we can find volunteering opportunities such as this and DMC will match our monetary contribution. It was a lot of fun volunteering with (awesome) coworkers who want to help the community by getting their hands a little dirty. Knowing that someone will call this house their home one day and that we had a small part to do with it was well worth the time and effort.
Thank you to Habitat for Humanity for all the work you do and for allowing us to help!
DMC has several fundraising activities in the works to complete this Habitat for Humanity project. If you're able, consider stopping by the DMC Team Fundraising Page and help us reach our goal.
We finished the floor despite some hail!
Quote of the Day
Heather: "Where's your selfie stick?!"
Eddie stretches his arm out
Eddie: "RIGHT HERE."
Wish you were making a difference with DMC in a great workplace? Check out our careers page!