Volunteers raise a roof truss on Easter Morning Build house #17. click to enlarge What does it take to pull off a 25- house blitz? Answer: A lot of pre-building, in addition to 1,000 volunteers the week of the build and loads of hard work. Before the first nail was driven Saturday, the following had already been done. 257,147 nails and staples secured 20,000 feet of trim painted 12,364 block laid 10,000 feet of pipe installed 4,000 feet of footings dug 720 Ts and corners used 624 trusses built 600 yards of concrete poured 600 door and window kits made 525 doors painted 400 cabinets built 13 trailers packed to perfection 11 miles of electrical wire installed More about the 1999 Easter Morning Build: Return to Monday's 1999 EMB Report Volunteers Pour in for 1999 Easter Morning Build More Updates: Tuesday | Wednesday Thursday | Friday 1998 Easter Morning Build

Pre-Building Paves Way for Blitz AMERICUS, Georgia (March 29, 1999) -- When more than 1,000 volunteers arrived at the Easter Morning Build site Saturday morning, all the building materials were ready and waiting for them. As the sun rose, so did the walls and the trusses, framing what will become a family's new home. But how did the foundations get there and who made the trusses and walls? Are the windows and the doors straight from a factory? Sixty construction volunteers at the Americus-Sumter County Habitat for Humanity affiliate have been working since January to prepare for the second annual EMB. Thirty-two of these volunteers are Habitat*AmeriCorps members. A partnership between Habitat for Humanity International and AmeriCorps, the federal government's youth volunteer program, Habitat*AmeriCorps members work to eliminate substandard housing, logging 1,700 hours of community service in a year. Before the build, AmeriCorps members surveyed the land and staked out where each house would be constructed. Second-year AmeriCorps member Stacie White served as the building partner coordinator, helping families select floor plans and house options. Crews worked weekends and evenings digging 4,000 feet of footings and laying 12,364 concrete blocks. Other crews worked for hours cutting lumber and building the 624 trusses needed to uphold 25 roofs. All prep work was undertaken while crews continued to work on and complete non-blitz houses. Even after the prep work was complete and the last trailer of material dropped off at the site, the work did not end for the construction crews. Each Habitat partner family partners with an AmeriCorps member who helps build and supervise the home's construction. "Working so closely with a partner family really helps the AmeriCorps members understand the dynamics of the Habitat mission," said Darius Harris, the AmeriCorps program manager at Americus-Sumter County HFH. After the EMB volunteers retire for the evening, the AmeriCorps and affiliate volunteers will still be at the site making sure the build stays on schedule. "It seems crazy to work 12- and14-hour days after preparing for the last three months," said Rebecca Taggart, Habitat*AmeriCorps member. "But the blitz is fun; you don't feel like you are working so hard." Many of the AmeriCorps members know what to expect at this build. There are 14 returning Habitat*AmeriCorps members who helped with last year's EMB. They assist first-year members and guide them through the build. "I am really pleased and proud of how the members have served," said Harris. "I am impressed with all the hard work they have put into preparing for this blitz. In my opinion, without the work the AmeriCorps members have contributed, this blitz would not be possible." Return to Monday's 1999 EMB Report Home | Get Involved | Where We Build | How It Works | True Stories To contact Habitat for Humanity International, please see our contact information page. © 2004 Habitat for Humanity International