Thanks to the help of All Hands Volunteers, Patty Bakel, an elderly woman with health problems, is able to stay in her own home.

Last fall’s rains flooded the basement of her Longmont home, requiring the entire level to be gutted, rewired, plumbed, framed, and dry walled.

Heather, our All Hands leader, was the onsite supervisor the days we worked on Patty’s house.

Heather joined All Hands just over a year ago while volunteering on post hurricane Sandy cleanup efforts.

I listened in awe as Heather shared stories about the people she’d helped on both the post Sandy and Colorado projects. She spoke very passionately about her disaster response work.

With great patience, Heather walked me through the “drywall & mud” process. Finishing corners is a challenge, but ceilings are a lot harder.

Heather snapped a photo just as I was making another attempt at “mudding.”

Humbled by the complexity of the art, this experience has taught me a whole new respect for this process.

The Habitat for Humanity /All Hands partnership has been the key to the success of the Colorado rebuild project.

Reuben, the All Hands Volunteer Coordinator (and a very patient and kind man), gave me a tour of the new Longmont Habitat office. This is where the magic started and will keep moving forward after the All Hands team moves on to Project Detroit next week.

The two white boards serve as a most effective tool in tracking both each project’s success and where volunteers will be sent each day.