Shirley

“You Have to Know Who Your Neighbors Are”

“Our building was the first Habitat for Humanity project in Newark!” says Partner Family member Shirley with pride. “We’ve been here 30 years!”

“Me and my husband and seven kids, we lived in an apartment. The original owner died and the apartment building was sold to a slumlord. He took the automatic water feeder off the boiler system and in the summer the electric bill was over 800 dollars!”

“My friend Donna Jackson had been reading articles about Habitat for Humanity and found out that Habitat for Humanity’s Newark affiliate was interviewing potential Partner Families for the co-op on East Orange Avenue. Donna convinced Shirley to apply. Once Shirley showed Habitat’s Family Service managers where she was living, she says, she was accepted.

Every Saturday, Shirley recalls, she went to work on the build site with Habitat volunteers. “The building had been empty for ten or twelve years. We had to make an entrance through the back yard.”

“Donna and I would not only come on Saturday, but also on Thursday evening when we finished work.” Shirley credits Habitat leadership with maintaining an extremely positive, equitable atmosphere during the years it took to transform the building. “Everybody that came on board was introduced to the new families and welcomed to the Habitat family.”

Thirty years later, being active in the community remains one of Shirley’s core values. Although she retired from her job as a clerk with the Newark School system in 2013, Shirley was still volunteering in the local schools and with her church in early 2020.

When Habitat of Greater Newark started the food pantry at the West & Central Village Community Resource Hub in April 2020, Shirley says, it was clear that staff needed help with distribution. “You had a line from the Habitat door to past our parking lot!” The building’s Partner Families jumped in to volunteer, and they are still volunteering every Wednesday.

Interested in 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. Learn more about volunteering with us.