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Ramp to a better life
Published 10:47am Wednesday, September 12, 2012While Sept. 11 marks a day of remembrance, it has also become a day to give back to the community. This year, Habitat for Humanity of Fergus Falls and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans joined forces to help out a family in need.
Travis Boyd has been diagnosed with a medical condition that will soon put him in a wheelchair. In preparation for this, the two organizations came together to build a ramp in order to make his home accessible to him.
“This is the best project we’ve done,” said project manager and Thrivent employee Steven Gundersen. “We can start and finish the project in one day. People can see something started in the morning and finished in the afternoon.”
Jessica Bruck was one of about 10 volunteers who showed up to assist with the project.
“One day of giving back can make an impact on a person’s life forever,” she said. “If I needed help, I would hope other people would be willing to help me. That’s one of the things I think about when I do this.”
Bruck also said she volunteered with the project to learn. She studied architecture in school, and she wants to learn how to put what she has learned to practical use.
Many would say this is a strange day to do a project like this because it’s the middle of the week at a busy time of year, but this is the same scenario in which the terrorist attacks 11 years ago occurred, said Habitat for Humanity of Fergus Falls executive director Craig Molstad.
“We’re trying to make it a national day of community service,” Molstad said. “Every year we want to do a project in the spirit of building something on this day.”
Next year, Gundersen said he hopes this event will become more popular and the volunteer force will double in size to about 20.
“We have the excess health and resources, so it’s important for us to help improve the lives of others,” Gundersen said. “We’ve been blessed in Fergus Falls with resources to help those in need.”
