Julius

Giving Back on a Milestone Birthday

Julius says that he and his family came up with the idea of a birthday group volunteering project a few years ago. “The year before COVID hit, we volunteered at the Hoboken shelter. We spent the day there preparing food.” The pandemic forced them to skip volunteering. This year, for his 40th birthday, he continues, “We wanted to take the opportunity this year to continue the tradition, but we thought it would be really tough to do something indoors.”

Julius had volunteered with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newark once before. “We wanted to continue the idea of volunteering our time, but we wanted to do it in an environment where it would be safe. Not around a crowded group of people.” His wife, Rachel, put in a call to our Deputy Director of Fund Development & Corporate Engagement. She set up a “build day” specifically for Julius’ birthday group in August at our 24 Burnet Street site in Livingston.

“One group was responsible for painting a bedroom and managing the first layer of paint across the rooms. There was another group that was responsible for installing shower doors in both the bathrooms. Another group got the main house door into position. When we arrived, there was a big hole going into the house, and at the end of the day we had a door in its place.”

The group learned a lot from Rick and Alphonso, Julius emphasizes. “Getting insight from the professionals showed us the proper way to do something, and that knowledge was something that we could take with us when the day ended.”

The hardest part about their day was that “We were constrained by time! There were so many things that we still wanted to do!”

He notes, “I think that’s the beauty of Habitat—knowing that other volunteers will come after you to continue the progress where you left off.”

We wanted to continue the idea of volunteering our time [on my birthday], but we wanted to do it in an environment where it would be safe.
Julius, Habitat of Greater Newark volunteer

“We had a really great experience. Everybody wants to continue to volunteer their time. Habitat is always looking for volunteers so it’s easy—you can just volunteer where you’re needed. I don’t just want to do it for my birthday. I want to look for more opportunities during the year.”

Interested in volunteering making an important contribution to Habitat’s mission to build homes in partnership with families in need? Our volunteering calendar has year-round opportunities for you to support Habitat of Greater Newark’s work, while also providing valuable team building and community engagement experiences for you and your team. Learn more about volunteering with us.