Fred and Tricia Reichert
When you think Build-A-Thon, you think Fred and Tricia Reichert. Fred and Tricia first met while swinging hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Years later the couple is married, and continuing to volunteer with Habitat. They recently celebrated their five year anniversary by building at our 2006 Earth Day Build-A-Thon. They were joined this year by their daughter and future Habitat volunteer, who enjoyed her first Habitat Build-A-Thon. Fred and Tricia are among the very highest pledge-earners each year, and this year raised over $3,000, a fantastic achievement.
Tell us a little bit about yourselves. Besides volunteering with Habitat what other things do you do with your time?
After Fred & I got married, we bought an old 1935’s ranch house and more recently our lives have gotten fuller with the addition of our 18 month old daughter, Rhea. Most of our free time is spent enjoying time with her. What’s left gets spent on household projects (which are never ending, especially with an old house).
How did you two first get involved with Habitat East Bay?
I work for Kaiser Permanente, and first got involved in Habitat via a company work day. Fred started volunteering on his own at the Oakland 105th site in 1998.
What motivates you to continue with Habitat East Bay?
We both feel very strongly that it’s important to be personally involved in your community. Habitat East Bay is such a great organization. In addition to the benefiting to the community, there is also the personal satisfaction of being a part of building homes for other families. Providing a safe shelter for families to raise their children is really important. And of course there’s always “getting to play with tools”!
How does the mission and philosophy of Habitat East Bay fit in your own life values?
Again, it’s the connection to the community and families that is so important. Habitat East Bay doesn’t just provide a service to people in need. They build communities and friendships that support families. Fred and I will always think of Habitat EB as part of our extended family. We have met so many wonderful and awesome people during our years here. We are truly grateful to be a part of it all.
Please share with us your Habitat love story.
It always amazes me how people happen to meet. Fred and I actually lived within blocks of each other in Oakland for a number of years. We never met. It wasn’t until Rose Gee planned a Bowling night, following the end of the HfH softball season, that I met Fred. And the very next day we both also happen to be volunteering out at Habitat. We started dating the following week, and that was it. Almost all our Saturday dates involved volunteering out at 105th. It was an excellent way to get to know each other, and has helped to build a strong foundation in our relationship. That’s why this years build-a-thon seemed so special, falling as it did on our 5 year wedding anniversary.
Since you two are such phenomenal fundraisers do you have any tips for the rest of us?
In the past, we’ve created flyers that we mailed to friends and family (with return envelopes!) and have had articles written in our local neighborhood association newsletter. This year having the website was such a great tool. We emailed all our friends, family, co-workers and neighbors (multiple times!) and it really paid off. We met our original goal for $2,000 so quickly that we decided to raise it to $3,000 and sent another email.
