Retiree involvement sought for 14th Habitat project

Story written by Rachel Hammer

Your help is needed as AEP employees begin work on the 14th AEP – Habitat for Humanity Partnership home. This year, AEP retiree Dale Krummen will be leading a Wednesday work crew and AEP retirees in Central Ohio are encouraged to participate.

Employees also began construction of the 2009 house with a wall-building session at AEP’s Line Training Facility.

Starting Wednesday, July 6, work sessions will begin about 8 a.m. each Wednesday at the home site, 667 E. Gates Street, Columbus. Sessions will continue until the home is complete.

Saturday work options also continue to be available.

Construction gets underway Saturday, July 9, when AEP employees, retirees and family members pre-assemble interior and exterior wall panels. Work begins at 8 a.m. at the AEP Line Mechanics Training Facility on Bixby Road in Groveport. The group will assemble all of the wall sections for this year’s one-and-one-half-story floor plan and then will prepare the sections for transport to the home site. Work probably will wrap up in the early afternoon. All other Saturday work sessions will be at the home site.

No experience is needed. Training will be provided. AEP retirees are encouraged to bring their own safety equipment (hard hat and safety glasses). It also is recommended – but not required – that volunteers bring their own hammer and nail apron. Optional tools include a cat’s paw and carpenter’s pencil. A water bottle and sun screen also are important.

To volunteer, contact Jim Rosing or simply arrive on site for any work session.

A hand up, not a hand out. Habitat for Humanity International, and the Greater Columbus Affiliate, is an ecumenical Christian housing ministry. Habitat affiliates work locally in communities around the world to select and support homeowners, organize volunteers, and coordinate house building. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built more than 300,000 homes worldwide, providing shelter for more than 1 million people in nearly 90 countries. In the Greater Columbus community, Habitat has built more than 207 homes since 1987.