ElectriCities partnered with the Town of Wake Forest to help build a home for a family in need. “While working together on a construction site, we were able to get to know not just a public power community but the people behind it,” says PJ Rehm, Inclusion & Diversity Committee member and ElectriCities Manager of Technology and Renewable Programs.
On a Friday in March, we all met to don hard hats — not an unfamiliar accessory for the lineworkers — and pitch-in to hammer nails, mount exterior siding, and other tasks needed to build a new home. Our crew included ElectriCities staff, Wake Forest electric workers, Habitat leaders, and the site’s future homeowners. We learned a lot about each other and about the future homeowners who will achieve homeownership through Habitat’s innovative affordable housing program. “You really get different perspectives by volunteering for events like this,” Rehm says. “It’s not often you install windows or do framing on a house, not to mention doing it with your CEO or another colleague you don’t usually work with. You learn a lot about somebody in those 8 hours!”
While COVID-19 has postponed volunteer efforts for the rest of this season, we look forward to working on more Habitat projects in the future, hopefully in other member communities across the state.