Day of Caring: College employees enjoy helping in the community

Published 10:59 am Friday, April 7, 2023

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By Mike Barnhardt

Enterprise Record

BERMUDA RUN – It was a chance for Lisa Kraft to learn some new skills and help a fellow Davie County resident at the same time.

All she had to do was hammer some nails.

Lisa was taking part in a build for Habitat for Humanity of Davie, and the volunteers were putting together window and door frames at the new Habitat home in Bermuda Quay Shopping Center here.

She was also taking part in Davidson-Davie Community College’s second Day of Service, when college employees volunteer at charitable organizations throughout Davie and Davidson counties. That is held while students are on spring break. Lisa is career readiness coordinator at the Davie Campus.

Habitat for Humanity has always been on her radar, Lisa said, so she was quick to volunteer. “It’s something I’ve always been interested in,” she said. “And I get to hang out with a bunch of fellow employees.”

Volunteers are essential to Habitat, and it takes some 400 volunteers to complete a single build, said Jessie Elmore, Davie Habitat’s director of operations and build supervisor.

“By having volunteers, it cuts down on the costs. It makes the home more affordable and allows us to build more homes. It’s a great program because we teach the volunteers valuable skills, and volunteers impact the community. When people in the community see volunteers, it opens it up for more.”

She enjoys teaching building skills to those who have none. “They want to learn because their hearts are in it, so that makes it easy,” she said. “It does not matter the skill level. We’re trying to develop a corps of volunteers to help bring in other volunteers. It’s exciting to see how many volunteers we can get.”

On that door and window build day with community college volunteers, Jessie had everyone working within minutes. All worked on their own, or in pairs, with Elmore not far away should the need arise.

College President Dr. Darrin Hartness started the Day of Caring in 2019, this was the second year because of COVID concerns in the past. “I know that each of you will serve with the same care and compassion that’s part of our campus culture, and for that I’m grateful,” said Dr. Darrin Hartness, president of the college, addressing faculty and staff ahead of the service day.

More than 150 employees participated at some 20 projects, among them the Habitat build and at Smart Start of Davie’s headquarters in Mocksville.