Habitat for Humanity is in need of volunteers to finish its third home on Mead Street. 

Extra hands are needed for the rest of the month as the group puts on the finishing touches to the home. 

“The less experience the better for me because that means you don’t have bad habits, and I can teach you what I want you to do and it works pretty well,” said Aaron Jones, Site Supervisor for Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio. 

Now that much of the major work is complete, a lot of the remaining tasks will be detail oriented, such as touch ups, planting grass, pouring a sidewalk, installing door and cleaning. 

“It’s such a good feeling to start a project, see it completed, see the joy that it brings somebody else, so just that feeling in itself is all the reason that you need to come out and to help,” said Bridget Tetak, Financial Advisor and Certified Financial Planner for Merrill Lynch.

Tetak volunteered her time Friday with a group of colleagues.

“I think it’s really important to be involved in the community and with the office. We’re all involved in other local volunteering organizations, such as Kiwanis and Rotary and all of those types of service organizations,” said Tetak. “It was a natural fit for all of us to jump in and do a project like this because we’re all involved in so many other things to try to give back to the community.”

Merrill Lynch is helping sponsor the project, along with its parent company, Bank of America, after Habitat reached out to the group. 

Mark Moyer, Senior Resident Director of Merrill Lynch, said his office was eager to work with Habitat for Humanity, so his office matched what Bank of America was sponsoring and then got to work.

“It’s really great because what they’re doing and where they’re doing it is really important because they’re taking a difficult neighborhood and completely bringing it back to life, and that’s so cool,” said Moyer. 

For Moyer in particular, Mead Street holds a special meaning to him since it’s where his mother was born and where he spent much of his childhood.

“It was beautiful. I mean, we would just come for every holiday and hang out in the neighborhood with all the kids, kids we didn’t normally run around with because we went to different schools,” said Moyer. “I like this part of town, and these guys are making all the difference in the world, and that’s just for the neighborhood. For the people who are getting these homes, that’s a real game changer for them.”

Moyer believes the hope Habitat for Humanity is giving the neighborhood by bringing in brand new housing and opportunity to families will help return the area to how he remembers it.

“I think the neighbors then take a look and want to keep their places nicer, and the city, I think, is more aggressive about helping in the alleys and things like that when they see stuff like this going on,” said Moyer.

For those wanting to become part of the movement, help is needed Wednesdays through Saturdays in July from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

To volunteer, those interested should email Barry Unger, Director of Volunteer and Youth Engagement of Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio, at volunteer@habitatseo.org. 

While volunteers are not required to work the whole day, Jones said they should be able to dedicate at least the morning hours to the project.