On a recent sunny Saturday in Gresham, Sarah Cox helped represent Habitat at a community event. She’s been volunteering for nearly a year, mostly at the Gresham ReStore and occasionally on the construction side.
Sarah describes the volunteer experience by drawing an infinity symbol in the air with her finger. “I’m able to give into something that’s bringing some spirit back into my heart,” she explains. “And that’s what keeps me coming back… knowing what we’re doing on a bigger level is contributing to building homes and being able to provide opportunity for people in our communities who might not otherwise be able to buy a house.”
A fresh start, one shift at a time
Sarah moved to Portland after a traumatic experience prompted her to leave the community she’d called home for years. She’d spent nearly two decades as a school counselor before stepping away to focus on her own healing. Sarah found the Gresham ReStore as a way to get to know her new neighborhood.
Her first shift stuck with her. She’d signed up for an orientation and Carol, the volunteer coordinator, greeted her in the lounge.
“I felt at ease,” Sarah remembers. “I’m a retired educator, and Carol is also a retired educator, so just having that immediate connection put me at ease. She was really thorough about taking me around, introducing me to people… and letting me know how flexible it would be to volunteer here.”
That flexibility mattered more than Sarah expected. “It was kind of my first time connecting with any sort of routine that I would be picking up post-trauma,” she says. “I didn’t know how consistent I’d be able to be, and Carol was like, ‘Just email me, let me know if you can’t come in. It’s really flexible.’ And it almost made it easier to be consistent, because I could lean into it. It wasn’t going to make me feel anxious right off the start.”
Finding her place among the shelves
Sarah initially started volunteering in the back of the store, where donations are processed. But she soon settled into the front, organizing inventory on shelves and making the store shoppable.
ReStores are home improvement stores and donation centers that sell new and gently used furniture, appliances, building materials, and more at discounted prices. The four Portland Region ReStore locations generate funds that support Habitat’s local homebuilding and home repair programs.
One of Sarah’s ideas to sort products by color in one area of the floor was enthusiastically embraced. No matter what she’s doing, she says it always feels hugely satisfying. What Sarah loves most isn’t the organizing itself — it’s the quiet handoff with the volunteer who comes in after her. The two rarely overlap, but they’ve built a kind of relay: Sarah leaves things ready to go, and her counterpart picks up right where she left off.
“Even as the store is shifting and moving, we have this idea and routine that’s developing,” Sarah says. “We get to make that connection… even though I don’t work on her shift it’s still together and working toward a common goal.”
The people who make it feel like home
Ask Sarah what she loves about volunteering and the answer is clear: the people.
There’s Stephanie, who’s teaching her about growing fruits and vegetables as Sarah builds her first backyard garden. There’s Elluard and Jeff, who stop by throughout their shifts to talk about dogs, grandkids, and sometimes bring in sweet treats. There’s the daily huddle, where staff and volunteers gather to go over updates together.
“It’s huge,” Sarah says. “I legitimately look forward to coming in.”
For Sarah, that sense of belonging isn’t a small thing. It’s been part of how she’s found her way back to herself.
“I have a deep value in my heart about contributing to community,” she says. “Not being able to do that in a regular way… I think that would be very difficult for my brain, and my heart and soul.”
Building something of her own
Earlier this year, Sarah joined our Women+ Build, a community day for individuals who identify as women. Sarah signed up early, but when the day came, she almost didn’t go. After a rough morning, she pushed herself to show up.
“The second I walked onto the site and saw everyone… it just was exactly what I’d been looking for,” Sarah says.
The day included tool training by Habitat construction staff and regular volunteers. The experience inspired her to get her own chop saw and impact driver. Using what she learned, Sarah decided to build a picket fence from driftwood collected on trips to the coast.
“I cut them all the same length,” she explains. “I’m doing it all on my own. And it’s all because of the Women+ Build.”
Even if her plan to grow tomatoes doesn’t bear fruit, Sarah says she’ll feel proud every time she looks at her garden and the fence she made.
“Habitat has saved my life”
Sarah is open about the fact that her path to the ReStore came out of a hard chapter — one that included a long stretch of feeling, in her words, like her “joy nerve” was severed and she was lying on a battlefield without hope or connection. She’s not looking to relive those details publicly, and she doesn’t need to. What she wants people to know is what came after.
“I do feel like Habitat has saved my life,” she says. “I have felt like if I couldn’t get something that was meaning making to sort of bandage my ‘joy nerve’ I wasn’t going to make it. And Habitat gave me an avenue to give me meaning and hold my severed ‘joy nerve’ back together.”
She hopes that by sharing her story, she can be a voice for others who are also on their own healing path.
Her advice for anyone thinking about volunteering
“Don’t be nervous — reach out and make the step,” Sarah says. She confesses that she visited the volunteer website for nearly a month before signing up. “It was the anxiety and nervousness of not knowing what to expect.”
Sarah suggests just joining an orientation. “It really is such a welcoming environment,” she says. “Once you walk into that space, you feel like you’re home.”
Ready to start your volunteer journey? Click here to learn more.
