9/8/2009
Habitat for Humanity proves rewarding for Trail Creek Man
Reprinted with permission from The News Dispatch

Alicia Ebaugh
The News-Dispatch

JONESBORO, Ga. - Roofing and siding homes 10 hours a day is backbreaking work, especially when you're supposed to be on vacation. But to Tim Mark, it's worth it to see the gratitude of those whose dream he's helping come true.

Mark, 55, Trail Creek, went to Jonesboro last week to help build eight Habitat for Humanity homes with Whirlpool's annual Building Blocks program. It's the second year Mark, an engineering technician at Whirlpool's distribution center in Benton Harbor, Mich., has volunteered.

"We're helping a single mom with three kids build her first home," Mark said. "It really makes you feel good to know you're making a difference in someone's life."

Mark had some construction background before he started volunteering, but said he's learned a lot more while building homes.
"They show you how to do certain things so they're done right, and the person who is going to own the home is working right there with you a lot of times," he said.

About 30 people help build each home. On Wednesday, Mark spent the morning putting insulation in the walls of the house while the workers waited for it to stop raining.

"We hope to finish shingling the roof today before we go back to the hotel," he said during last week's phone interview from Jonesboro.

The most rewarding part of the build comes at the end, Mark said, when the homeowner sees the home completed.

"You're saying goodbye and they get tears in their eyes," he said. "If anyone has the chance to do this, they should. They'll get a lot out of it."

Two other area Whirlpool employees - William Adams, a consumer advocacy senior manager from La Porte, and Debbie King, a supply chain specialist associate from Union Mills - also participated.

Mark said he hopes to participate in more builds in the future, including some locally. This year, La Porte County Habitat for Humanity is building homes on Willard Avenue.

Whirlpool's Building Blocks program was created to recognize an outstanding Habitat for Humanity affiliate by organizing a week-long neighborhood blitz build in the affiliate's community. It has previously been held in Dallas, Phoenix and Nashville. Whirlpool also has donated more than 100,000 new refrigerators and stoves to Habitat for Humanity homes.