Lynne Belmont
Partly in honor of her father, a longtime supporter of Habitat, and partly because she knew her friends would be up for a good time, Lynne celebrated her birthday by hosting a party on our Livermore construction site. She recruited about a dozen friends, encouraged them to donate to Habitat in lieu of offering a gift, and even bought lunch. The day was a crazy one, as a neighborhood-wide power outage encouraged our staff to get creative about leading tasks. Nancy and her friends demonstrated their humor and grace through the unexpected situation and Chrissy, our Site Supervisor, recounted a fun day full of impromptu singing.
How did you first get involved with Habitat East Bay?
My father was a surgeon and therefore, wonderful with his hands. He loved to build things and had an amazing workshop in the basement of our family home. He made furniture, cabinets, and the occasional school project. When he died in 1998, his workshop was given to Habitat for Humanity. It always seemed like such a good organization to me and my dad had a huge, generous heart. I know the donation would have pleased him.
Tell us about your birthday party on the construction site.
For the past 13 years, I have celebrated my birthday with 10-15 women at the Claremont spa. It was a very expensive day for everyone and I always left feeling a bit unsatisfied. I wanted more significance to this celebration and to end the day feeling great! The consensus among my friends [to work with Habitat] was unanimous...in fact, the group grew to include new women.
We arrived at 8:30 (to a power outage) and began the day with a short prayer expressing our gratitude for being brought to such a good place (meaning geographically, emotionally and communally). After our training and several hours of hammering, pizza lunch arrived at the site (I always buy lunch on my birthday) and lunch was a half hour of laughter, an impromptu song written in my honor and sung to the melody of “Up on the Roof”, and back to work. By 1pm the power came back on so we were able to use the saws.
Later that afternoon, 2 of the homeowners came to the site and we spent some time speaking with them. This gave a face to the hours of work and made the day much more personal. When I think back on the day, I can see these families living in the homes we helped to build.
At 4pm, one crew was so close to finishing a project that we stayed a bit late to “raise the barn” and the framed 3rd floor was lifted into vertical place. The cheers (and groans from sore muscles) could be heard for blocks!
"Lynne's energy and enthusiasm is infectious and inspriring, and we're honored that she chose to spend her special day with us." Eliza Schissel, Volunteer Programs Manager.
What motivates you to continue with Habitat East Bay?
Working on a site is not like fundraising where ones efforts come into a bank accounts and provide money for something or other. At the end of the day on a building site, there is a tangible result of our labors. Our hands are helping real people put a real roof over their heads.
Meeting one of the families- a mother with 4 children and a missionary husband- and knowing they will be snug and warm in their home, made the project very human to me.
The staff is completely committed and the AmeriCorp volunteers really set an amazing example. These kids were teaching us how to read plans and blueprints and work independently. It is a very empowering process.
How does the mission and philosophy of Habitat East Bay fit in your own life values?
The Hebrew word “tzedaka” means righteousness, not charity. It feels most righteous and contributory working with people who are helping themselves, not looking for a handout. The homeowners put their backs and their sweat into building along side the volunteers. Accountability, giving of yourself, helping to make a community stronger and tzedaka are the values I hope to instill in my children. What are your plans with us for the future?
I am hoping my birthday 2007 will be at the new Oakland site. If not, Livermore, here we come but with more wonderful women!
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Besides volunteering with Habitat, what other things do you do with your time?
I’m glad you did not ask about “spare” time, there isn’t any! Between running a printing company, volunteering for Children’s Hospital, fundraising in my community and raising two incredibly amazing daughters, I share my life with a wonderful husband. I have just launched a new company making high end jewelry...web site to follow!
