Habitat for Humanity group sponsors local Blitz Build

April 24, 2016 at 12:06a.m.

STRUTHERS

When asked for her reaction to a life-changing event going on next to her amid the continual sounds of power saws, clanking boards and people’s instructions to one another, Janine DiPaola found it hard to get past “amazing.”

“It’s unbelievable. I feel excitement and nervousness all coming together at a single time,” DiPaola said, referring to the new two-bedroom home being built for her during a two-day Blitz Build that began Saturday morning and is expected to wrap up today.

Spearheading the project is Habitat for Humanity of the Mahoning Valley, along with members of the Habitat Road Trip Crazies, a diverse, loose-knit group of volunteers from 14 states who travel to small communities two or three times a year to plan, organize and help build homes in a matter of days.

To fulfill one of her requirements for owning the home, DiPaola worked with the volunteers, adding insulation and helping to erect some of the walls. She intends to move in with her dog by late summer, said DiPaola, a customer-service representative with Central Optical who lives with her mother in Liberty Township.

Many of the estimated 120 volunteers working on the 950-square-foot, one-story, one-bath home at 58 Ridgeway St. spent Saturday afternoon adding plywood panels to its interior and roof, installing windows, taking measurements, doing landscaping, adding siding and performing numerous other construction tasks. They worked collaboratively, cooperatively and quickly – having built most of the exterior within several hours.

One of those on the front lines was Bob Bibee of Lynchburg, Va., who performed a variety of carpentry projects.

“I absolutely love coming to build Habitat houses,” said Bibee, who’s been with the Road Crazies group for 10 or 12 years. “I’m just enjoying helping other people out, and Habitat for Humanity is a wonderful way to do that.”

Bibee and his co-workers performed roofing, siding and other related carpentry tasks. They do not do heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and cooling, plumbing or piping work. For those tasks, they work with local professionals, he said.

“This never gets old for us. It’s controlled pandemonium,” Bibee said with laughter.

Each recipient of a Habitat home has to perform at least 250 hours of so-called “sweat equity,” meaning they are required to assist with building the structure, volunteer at Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore Shop and perform other services on behalf of the Habitat organization, noted Monica Craven, the local Habitat’s executive director.

In addition, those for whom a home is built have to be income-qualified, have a job and a decent credit history and be able to “afford to buy and work for it,” Craven explained.

This weekend’s Blitz Build also is in memory of Albert “Al” Gilchrist, a ReStore volunteer who died last June. Gilchrist left to the local Habitat organization his home, which sold for about $160,000, part of which was used to build DiPaola’s home, Craven noted.

In preparation for the home, members of Struthers-based Boy Scout Troop 101 spent part of last weekend removing litter, branches and other debris from the yard of what was a vacant lot.

Providing entertainment was the Struthers High School Starlight Singers.