VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT: VALERIE DEMATTEI-SELBY

2. What have you learned from your experience volunteering with South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity, and how has it impacted your personal and professional growth?

I’ve enjoyed learning more about the ins and outs of the different programs HFHSPS offers I admire the hard work of all the employees I’ve never “worked” for a non-profit organization before, so that has been very interesting to learn about Selfishly, I’ve enjoyed learning about new project management software and I’ve been able to keep exercising my design and construction brain muscles while I’m on my long break from work. Additionally, if and when I do return to work, I imagine this period of volunteering for HFHSPS will look good on my resume. Lastly, I’ve met some really wonderful people and I may even go as far as to say I’ve made some new friends!

3 Can you tell us about a specific project or build you participated in with South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity, and what your role was in that project?

All of my volunteering has been behind the scenes, helping with making existing programs more efficient. I started working on the Critical Home Repair program first. I am utilizing an internetbased software that aids in online application forms, data collection, and workflow efficiencies. It will also aid in automated reporting for the different grants that help fund HFHSPS’s programs. I am constantly learning about new ways we can make the administrative work more stream-lined and accurate. I have since worked on the Heat Pump Campaign and I’ve also just started working with the Housing Program While I haven’t worked on any one specific project, the work that I’m doing will allow HFHSPS to help even more people in a more efficient manner moving forward

4 What advice would you give to someone who is interested in getting involved with our organization?

I think that if anyone has any time to spare (even if you don’t have a ton of free-time, as I didn’t when I initially volunteered in San Francisco), Habitat for Humanity is a wonderful organization that is doing good for so many people. The more people that volunteer, even if only for a few hours here or there, the more good HFH can do for the entire community Even a small amount of time can have a huge impact Don’t we all have a bit of responsibility to give back to our community in any way we can?

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