Habitat Build 9/21
October 2, 2019
No More Ugly!
On Saturday, September 21, at 140 Mount Vernon Avenue, Bronxville’s Habitat For Humanity club got the incredible experience of working with The Fuller Center to achieve the never-ending goal, no more ugly. Bronxville’s Habitat For Humanity club is one that is always trying to make a difference, whether it be building houses for those in need, hosting fundraisers, or just generally spreading the word about environmental issues and how everyone can help. Upon arriving at the build, the group was welcomed by a profound and inspiring speech from Jim Killoran, discussing how important it is to be aware of global issues, as well as local issues that continuously go ignored despite being in plain sight. The only way to help change the world is to do whatever it takes to save the people and places around us, which is exactly what the spirit of Habitat For Humanity exemplifies. The Fuller Center’s catchphrase, “no more ugly”, is one that is essential (despite how funny it sounds) because in order to keep the Earth clean and habitable we must prevent anything destructive from further ruining it.
Although the task of pulling weeds off of a garden fence and planting flowers may not seem like anything major, these chores make the world of a difference to the space and allow it to thrive now that is has been liberated of anything holding it back. The garden was certainly not a sight of beauty when we arrived, the fence around it was completely clad in overgrown plants and weeds and the garden itself needed to be freshened up. With Jim preaching about how impactful our generation is and how we will be the ones to solve cancer or save the planet, it was hard to not feel inspired. So, as a result of this everyone gave it their all and devoted their Saturday morning to helping the environment and trying to bring change.
Seeing the newly cleaned garden with fresh flowers and a more suitable environment for growing vegetables was the highlight of the experience. It is possible for doubt to try to cloud up someone’s vision during a build, making one wonder whether or not a difference is really being made, but it does not stand a chance against the validation and genuine happiness of seeing the aftermath and how important every last bit of effort was. Participating in such an enlightening experience like a Habitat For Humanity build can immensely increase awareness of the burden of climate change and how much is going wrong, making people more cautious in day to day life in how they may contribute to it unintentionally, and not just by ditching plastic straws. Please come and join President Molly Denning and the rest of the club run by Mr. Doyle and Ms. Cabrera as they try and help our local communities.