Last modified Wed., August 30, 2006 - 05:32 PM
Originally created Thursday, August 31, 2006

CPO selectees give back to the community

By IT1 John Mullen, Special Contributor

A group of chief selectees from NAS Jax gather in front of the HabiJax house they worked on Aug. 19.

Several NAS Jax chief selectees rolled up their sleeves Aug. 19 to lend a helping hand to HabiJax by working on some new homes for Jacksonville residents. ''It's an incredible feeling to be involved with this project, we are literally putting a roof over someone's head,'' said HM1 Jonathon Wells of the Disease Vector Ecology and Control Center.

Under the direction of expert builders, volunteers are able to accomplish tasks that significantly reduce the cost of building a new home. With this direction and a morning prayer, the chief selectees set out to make a difference. The goal for the day, presented by the HabiJax staff, was to prepare and prime a new home located in the McNair Park Villas, a HabiJax community comprised of 94 new homes.

The first task was to ensure the molding and doors were smooth and ready for the paint primer. The caulking guns and wood putty were put to swift use and the work went by quickly. After this had been completed, the paint primer was applied to the unfinished surfaces. Many of the volunteers had done this type of work before on their own homes and drew upon this knowledge to execute the tasks with precision.

Having accomplished the goal set forth earlier, the consensus among the group was to push forward and paint the walls, putting future teams of volunteers ahead of schedule.

AT1 Leonard Myers of VP-30, caulks a baseboard in a new HabiJax home.

The humidity was high, and the term ''sweat equity'' was realized by this group of resolute volunteers. The Navy was well represented and the term ''chief's pride'' was felt not just by the chief selectees but by the staff of HabiJax and the other volunteers. The smiling faces of everyone involved depicted the pride and accomplishment felt within. ''It was nice to volunteer my time for a good cause. I spent time with some new friends and I will do it again in the future,'' stated AT1 Leonard Myers of VP-30.

HabiJax is a faith-based organization which relies on volunteerism, donations and the sweat equity of the new homeowners to lower the cost of building a new home which in turn allows median to low income Duval County residents the opportunity to own a new home. Since 1998, HabiJax has built 1,300 homes throughout the greater Jacksonville area. Homeowners must invest at least 300 volunteer hours into the building of not just their own home but of others as well. The mortgage is a zero percent loan over a term of 25 years, which in turn goes into the building of other homes.

Volunteers do not have to be experienced. If you are interested in joining the effort to bring affordable housing to those who desperately need it, please call the HabiJax Volunteer Services Department at 798-4529, Ext. 252.