St. Paul’s Methodist Church and Habitat for Humanity join forces with community to build a home

IDAHO FALLS — Many hands make light work, the saying goes. This couldn’t be more true than a Habitat for Humanity build. On Saturday, May 27, “a cooperative effort” will be undertaken by members of the St. Paul’s United Methodist Church and volunteers from the community.

The church has done a Habitat for Humanity project once before, back in 2015.

“It was a wonderful project,” said Jerry Cass, missions coordinator for the church. He added the church is involved in many international projects, but he is always looking for missions to complete locally.

“It’s easier for local people to come help out for a day or two,” he said, noting that international missions are much more time-consuming.

Homeowners working with Habitat for Humanity help build their homes alongside volunteers. The Ortiz family from Idaho Falls will be on hand to meet and work alongside volunteers.

While the initial building effort will happen at the United Methodist Church, the house will ultimately end up on 18th street, Cass said. The building process on Saturday will be to ensure all the pieces fit properly, so it can be reassembled in its final location. Because the wood is cut by hand, this is an important step.

The process also gives the volunteers an opportunity to connect with the family they’re building the house for.

“People can walk through and get a feel for the layout of the house,” he said. “(Volunteers) get to write a special message for the people who get the house — their favorite scripture, advice, etcetera. … It’s fun because at the end of the day, they feel like they’ve contributed and they feel like that house is their house.”

Volunteers are encouraged to bring their families with them on Saturday.

“Because it’s on the church property, we can have families come,” Cass said. “There won’t be power tools — only hammers — so kids can help, too.”

According to the Habitat for Humanity website, the homes help families “achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves.”

But Cass thinks the volunteers will benefit from their service to “the least of us in our community.”

“Work that gets done in ourselves as we help someone else,” he said.

BASF Corporation and Help Build Hope will help coordinate the project. The event will be held at 1730 St. Clair Road, Idaho Falls (corner of 17th & St. Clair). Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Building will begin at 8 a.m.

Cass said he expects the project to be done in about three hours, but volunteers are asked to dedicate three to five hours for the build.