Jeanette Thomas has seen firsthand the incredible need there is for decent, affordable housing in Portland. A financial supporter of Habitat since moving to Portland in 1997, she recently decided to give in a different way: as a volunteer. “I volunteer because I believe that I need to give back to my community and because […]

After volunteering weekly for over a year, this past January dedicated regular Garry Schuman opted for a new kind of Habitat experience. Leaving Portland’s gray skies behind, Garry joined Habitat staff, board members, friends and spouses on his first Global Village volunteer trip to our sister affiliate in sunny Guaymango, El Salvador. Over the course […]

Joni Portmann is no stranger to paying it forward. After a fire raged through her family’s coastal dairy farm as a child, neighbors gathered every day to help them rebuild—even after working full days on their own farms. A year ago and on the brink of retirement from her 36-year-long career as a dental hygienist, […]

Sarah McDonagh has been volunteering with Habitat for Humanity Portland Metro East since June of 2016. She first got involved with Habitat her Freshman year of college where she went on a service trip to work the with the Spokane affiliate. As a student at Portland State, she wanted to stay involved with Habitat and […]

Most people picture Habitat volunteers with a hammer in their hands and a hard hat on their head, but not every volunteer pounds nails and paints walls. Heather Krizanac has been volunteering with Habitat on a regular basis for over two years, assisting the resource department during large events such as our annual Hopebuilder Breakfast. She […]

Lil Maizer has been a weekly volunteer at Habitat for almost two years. Starting with no building experience, Lil has now helped build homes from foundations to finish work. We can count on Lil to help lead other volunteers and make everyone’s build day more enjoyable. Lil retired from the military in 2007. Now she […]

If you’ve volunteered on our construction sites this past year, you are probably familiar with our AmeriCorps construction crew leaders. Andrea, Nathan, Cassie, Jake, and Adam have reached the end of their AmeriCorps terms and are on to exciting new things! Adam is about to start a road-trip to Mississippi where he will get to […]

Caroline Lujan has been a regular volunteer with Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East since getting involved in early 2016. Below, read some words she wrote about her experience working alongside future homeowners to help build homes in Portland. “Growing up, my mother was always getting into some sort of new project around the house and […]