Habitat ReStore keeps volunteers busy
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Indianapolis - With Thanksgiving right around the corner, some Hoosiers are showing their gratitude by giving back.
At the ReStore Project Warehouse, two families are volunteering for the holidays at a Habitat for Humanity project as part of a broader volunteer coordination by United Way of Central Indiana.
Allen Witchey, United Way of Central Indiana's Volunteer Center director, says people can help in all sorts of ways - by volunteering at the ReStore, through education in the classrooms, on specific building projects, with individual families or by donating items to the ReStore. It's not just the Habitat families who end up reaping the benefits of that generosity.
"It's phenomenal. And it's important, because we know - research has shown - that if kids are involved with volunteering at a very young age by their parents, they're far more likely to go to college, they're far more likely to take an active role in volunteering in their community and improving the world that they live in," Witchey said.
The families helping out at the ReStore were organizing items to make it easier for shoppers to find what they need. The ReStore carries the same type of products found in any hardware or home improvement store - with some unusual or quirky finds thrown in, like vintage doorknobs.
Witchey says there are always deliveries coming in and items being picked up from people's homes, so there's a variety of tasks for volunteers to do. "Some of it can be very heavy work; some of it can be light work, depending on what you're capable of doing," he said.
Habitat for Humanity's sweat equity concept - which requires those on the receiving end of a home to put in a certain number of hours towards its construction and encourages volunteers to get physically involved in a project - is what attracts people, Witchey said.
"That's what the purpose of this is - to help people have stable housing in their lives, and you can come in and really feel that, as you're working and putting things away, and moving things around," he said.
You can also donate your new and slightly used building materials or pick up something you need at the warehouse.
ReStore Warehouse:
1011 E. 22nd Street
Wednesday - Friday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
