A person’s ability to make a house a home could be a key indicator of that person’s value as a future mate.
It sure seemed to work that way on Saturday, anyway, when the Red Deer chapter of Habitat For Humanity held a singles day at a duplex it is building on Jordan Parkway.
By mid-afternoon, 10 people had showed up to help put a finish coat of coffee-coloured paint on the walls of the three-bedroom home.
Overseeing the job, journeyman carpenter Shane Bevans said he was pleased with how hard his crew of 10 volunteers was working to show their prowess as house painters, although some had more painting skills than others.
Fellow Habitat staffers Cynthia de Boer and Ashley Davis speculated later on that perhaps it was the opportunity to attract a mate that had everyone working at their best.
Taking a page from the Toronto chapter, the Red Deer group invited people to come and help out on the house, with the promise that they would be rewarded with a Valentine’s Day dinner and dance at the Red Deer Elks Club on Sunday.
Whether there were any romantic sparks in the air was hard to tell, but people certainly did forge new friendships, said de Boer, executive director of the Red Deer Group.
A number of the women remarked to her at the dance that they had found it a great opportunity to make new friends with other women who shared the same interests.
Volunteer Ginny Osborn of Red Deer was unequivocal in her response when asked if her main reason for coming was the opportunity to meet single men.
“Hell yeah,” said Osborn from her rung on a step ladder, not missing a stroke in the perfect edge she was creating at the top of a bedroom wall.
“There are some pretty cool people here. It’s a great group.”
In another room, bartender Phil Murphy of Calgary said one of his friends, university student Amanda de Boer, had told him about the project and asked him for a pledge.
He did one better, deciding to come along.
“I’ve found out that it isn’t that hard to paint a bedroom,” said Murphy, acknowledging that the job is a little easier the first time around, when there are no fixtures to worry about and the walls are already prepared.
Amanda de Boer, a relative of Cynthia’s and a long-time supporter of Habitat For Humanity, said the singles day gave her a good excuse to bug her friends for some money and listen to her spiel promoting the charity.
Bevans said if he could change one thing about the houses he has been building, he would be finishing them with something besides a hole where the dishwasher is supposed to be. Corporate donors typically provide major appliances for the homes, but have never included dishwashers in the packages.
Bevans, who has a family of six, said dishwashers really are more of a necessity than a luxury.
Along with the help they received and the pledges the volunteers brought along, the Red Deer Habitat chapter got an extra bonus from the Alberta Elks during the dance.
Besides donating the hall, the provincial umbrella group donated $1,000, said De Boer.
Habitat For Humanity raises funds and receives discounts on building materials from community and individual donors to support its housing projects, providing no-down-payment, interest-free mortgages to qualified families.
Money from the mortgage account is used to purchase land for more homes and to help fund the costs that aren’t covered by gifts and donations, said de Boer.
bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com