Editor’s note: The celebration of local philanthropy by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Mahoning-Shenango Chapter is set for Nov. 14 at Mr. Anthony’s Banquet Center in Boardman. The Business Journal is highlighting this year’s National Philanthropy Day honorees in a series of stories.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – This year’s honoree for Special Recognition for Valley Impact is another reminder that philanthropy isn’t just measured in dollars and cents, but also in hours and effort donated.
In 2024, more than 400 individuals affiliated with Habitat for Humanity of Mahoning Valley Volunteers put in more than 4,000 hours of work, according to the nomination packet submitted by Kristina Nichols, director of grants and organizational giving for Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley.
“We can’t accomplish our mission without volunteers,” David Redig, hired three years ago as executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Mahoning Valley. “I want every volunteer to have a positive impact, because then you’re an advocate.”
Habitat volunteers work at construction sites, at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Struthers and at the local chapter’s administrative office in Youngstown. “Our volunteers just resonate passion. They love what we do. They love the mission, and that’s why they come back,” he adds.
Prospective Habitat homeowners have to meet three criteria: A need for housing, an income between 30% and 80% of area median income, and they put in 250 to 500 “sweat equity” hours that include working alongside Habitat volunteers as well as learning about financial literacy and what it takes to be a homeowner so they can be successful.
“One of the biggest misconceptions is that we give our houses away,” Redig says. Habitat acts as a bank and works one-on-one with families to make sure that they are qualified.
Cayenne Ferenchak is the Mahoning Valley Habitat chapter’s volunteer coordinator. Originally from Maine, she and her family moved to her mother’s hometown of Youngstown when they experienced housing insecurity.
“We actually lived really close to the ReStore, and we found that we could fill our new home with a ton of stuff from [there],” she says. Her mother later got a job there and she spent a year with AmeriCorps, leading to her being hired as a construction crew leader and, in 2023, her current position.
Volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds, according to Redig and Ferenchak. One of the core volunteers is a retired carpenter while another is a former teacher.
As some people age and enter retirement, they feel they have already done their part to help, while others feel like they still have “a little bit of gas in the tank,” Ferenchak says.
“We rely on volunteers from the gamut of the spectrum. So, it can be a volunteer group that comes out one time, from a business, a church, local organizations, and they spend a day on the job site with us,” he says. “Our volunteer experience is second to none, because when you come to Habitat to volunteer, you walk away learning something.”
Volunteers David Bedell of Salem says he is following Jesus’s example. Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and told them to go out and serve. He and his fellow volunteers work with the prospective homeowners and see the social and financial challenges they have faced.
“This team gets together and walks them … out of that circle of poverty and into [home ownership,]” he says.
“I like to say we focus on home ownership,” Redig says. “It’s more than just that physical structure of the house. It’s building up individuals and families to be future homeowners. And for many of the individuals and families we work with, it’s something they never thought they’d be able to do.”
Pictured at top: Habitat for Humanity of Mahoning Valley volunteers and staff include Kristina Nicholas, Ceyanne Ferenchak, David Redig, Heather Brown and Dave Bedell.