Volunteers develop Habitat habit on MLK Day

For some people, helping low-income families build homes on MLK Day is becoming a habit.

“They know it’s our house-building day, rain or shine,” said Cyndi Eden of her 9- and 10-year-old children, as well as her husband. “They grab their boots and work shirts, and we swing by and pick up Grandpa.”

Monday, they returned for a third consecutive year to Habitat for Humanity’s slowly budding River Vista subdivision near west Modesto’s John Thurman Field.

Last year, they joined more than 100 volunteers honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by framing a few homes. This year, they saw the fruits of their labor in a couple of finished houses and several more in various stages of construction.

“It’s fun for the kids to see,” said Eden, a Kaiser Permanente pediatrician whose family has developed its Habitat habit over the past six years. “They get excited and run up, (saying) ‘Hey! We helped to build that house.’”

Kaiser employees and their families made up much of Monday’s workforce of about 150 spread among several construction lots, some caulking windows and painting door jambs, others putting up siding or hammering fence boards.

“We painted the inside of that house last year,” said Taylor Osnaya, 17, who has volunteered 11 years with her mother, Cathy, a Kaiser nurse. He had spread the word of the upcoming workday at Central Catholic High School, drawing 24 students this year.

“To be a part of each phase of development is neat,” said Andrew Mendoza, a Kaiser community outreach employee.

Scott and Kathy Harris would not even think of missing the annual trek from their Elk Grove home to Modesto, as they’ve done the past 10 years with as many of their six children as can come.

Seven years ago, The Modesto Bee published a photograph of her carrying their 22-month-old son Hunter in a kiddie backpack. Now 8, Hunter on Monday wielded a mean paint brush with other youngsters preparing small-scale play houses for an upcoming Habitat for Humanity fundraiser.

“It’s neat to see him make a connection” with past years’ efforts, Kathy Harris said.

Her husband, a regional Kaiser director of occupational medicine and employee health, could choose to do any number of MLK service events sponsored by his company throughout the state; he said he prefers Modesto because the Habitat partnership produces permanent results, the kind his family can track from year to year.

Habitat for Humanity, an international nonprofit, helps low-income families obtain discounted homes with zero-interest loans. Buyers must contribute 500 hours of sweat equity working on their future homes or those of others similarly chosen as Habitat partner families.

The Stanislaus chapter has built dozens of homes throughout the county since organizing in 1989.

“It’s a great cause for great people,” said Eden, a Modesto native and 1991 Downey High graduate who returned to her hometown after med school in Southern California.

Kirsten and Andrya Strand said they genuinely appreciate the help. Habitat approved their application in April; they’ve invested about 250 hours of labor since and are anxious to be assigned one of River Vista’s future homes.

Zinnia Mercado, an orthopedic technician with Kaiser in Stockton, moved to Modesto from Chicago with her family not long ago. Monday was their first MLK workday, and they vowed it won’t be their last.

“We try to make (service) a part of our lifestyle,” Mercado said.

Her 17-year-old daughter, Ziadelyn, a senior at Enochs High, said, “The things teens do these days don’t always bring satisfaction. It’s a lot of fun doing something that’s going to make someone’s life better; you can’t beat that feeling.”

This story was originally published January 19, 2015 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Volunteers develop Habitat habit on MLK Day."