We were thrilled to welcome the
Helpful Honda Team out to help
us rehabilitate a home in Long Beach. It is the first time we have had the
opportunity to work with them and as you might have guessed, they were indeed very
helpful! We asked a member of our Entertainment, Marketing and Communications
team to drop by the site to see how they were doing and the result is this interview
with Helpful Honda team leader Steve Judkins.
HFH GLA: Have you ever built
with Habitat for Humanity?
Steve: This is our first time building with Habitat
for Humanity. We had a briefing this
morning and we got right to work. It’s a
great team and we are excited to be a part of it!
HFH GLA: Who else came out to
build with you today?
Steve: I am joined by three other team members today – Lorena Mariscal, Peter Tang and Tamara Torres - all of whom
have been on the campaign for a long time. They’re building here with Habitat
now and later tonight they will be out at the Dodgers’ game helping in any way
they can - assisting the elderly to their seats, helping people carry food back
if they’re struggling, etc.
HFH GLA: What skills have you
learned today?
Steve: Today, I learned
how to draw the chalk lines so we can start laying tile and how to mix the
cement. We are getting ready to level off the cement so we can tile the
bathroom.
HFH GLA: Our site supervisor,
Billy Gifford, says your team is doing great!
Steve: Billy is very
enthusiastic and he set the pace for the day, which is what you have got to do
to motivate people. As a team leader myself, I know if you don’t set the bar
high you can’t expect other people to match that. He is a great example and he is really
passionate about the safety aspect of everything; he really knows his
stuff. He’d make a great Helpful Honda
Team Member, but he would have to cut his hair.
HFH GLA: Tell us more about what
the Helpful Honda campaign does in the community.
Steve: The Helpful Honda
campaign was set up seven years ago by Southern California Honda dealerships to
perform random acts of kindness in the community such as blood drives, pet
adoptions, and free gas giveaways for Honda drivers. We have teams of volunteers throughout the
community who do as much as they can for everyone, not just for Honda drivers, but
for all of Southern California.
We are grateful to the Helpful Honda Team for working with
us to rehabilitate this house for hardworking, low-income new homeowners. In just a few weeks this 3 bedroom, 2 bath
home will be completely renovated to be LEED compliant, which will help the new
partner homeowners to save money on their utility bills once they move in!
Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers for helping us
build hope, lives and communities!
