Service members build for community

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jacob Jimenez
  • Northwest Guardian
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  Airmen with the 1st Weather Squadron at Joint Base Lewis-McChord recognize that not everyone receives a basic allowance for housing. Therefore, they teamed up with Habitat for Humanity and have now built 12 low-cost homes for local families in need.

"This started with me wanting to do this on my own and get volunteer hours," said Staff Sgt. Carl Kemper, a battlefield weather forecaster and the squadron's Habitat for Humanity volunteer facilitator. "Now, I regularly volunteer with Airmen from my squadron and have built numerous homes."

The squadron's participation with the Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity began in 2012 after Kemper arranged a Habitat for Humanity safety and volunteering briefing for Airmen and their spouses.

"I started off by myself, and people started volunteering and it became an ongoing thing," Kemper said. "The biggest struggle was the initial briefing and getting everyone together for the training. To get us out there consistently was the result of our leadership's support."

To encourage volunteer participation, the days that Airmen volunteer with Habitat for Humanity take place during normal duty hours, and Airmen who volunteer are not required to perform their normal duties. However, for many of the Airmen giving back to the community is a personal responsibility.

"I like the fact I get to give back to the community," said Staff Sergeant Dale Cain, a battlefield weather forecaster for the squadron. "I used to live by one of our build sites. It was cool to give back to the community I came from."

Since 2012, more than 35 Airmen from the squadron have volunteered 16 days working a combined 558 hours and have contributed more than $11,000 in work to the local community.

"This is one of the sustained large-effort volunteer programs we run," said Lt. Col. Clayton Baskin, 1st Weather Squadron commander and I-Corps staff weather officer. "They learn some good construction skills but also improve the lives of people in their community."

When you ask the Airmen, they'll tell you the end goal of every project is having families move into the homes they've built.

"The time spent on these homes is worthwhile and a good thing," Cain said. "These houses will have a lasting impact in our local community."

Now a quarterly event for the squadron, Habitat for Humanity group build days have been growing in participation. The 1st Weather Squadron has received help of volunteers from the 5th Air Support Operations Squadron, 62nd Operations Squadron and McChord Dental Clinic totaling 44 volunteers who have participated in the volunteer days. And while helping the community is the focus, the work also helps the Airmen learn skills they can use for their own homes.

"We have definitely helped out the community," said Staff Sergeant Adam Chmielowski, a battlefield weather forecaster for the squadron. "But this gives us the opportunity to learn how to maintain a home while helping out the community. The learning experience is amazing. Everything I've learned here I can apply to my own home."

In addition to being an opportunity to give back, the volunteer days also build relationships among team members and the community.

"They never complain and are always happy to do whatever needs to be done," said Mike Taggart, Habitat for Humanity site supervisor. "Without their help, Habitat for Humanity would not be able to provide an affordable home to the future resident."

To find out more information about volunteering with Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity email: carl.w.kemper.mil@mail.mil.