Celebrating Lucy’s 25 Years!

We’re honored to celebrate one of the longest volunteer anniversaries in our history with Lucy’s 25 years of service to Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver. Lucy’s involvement with Habitat started in 1995, when she volunteered on the construction crew to help build homes. Once staff learned about her 20 years of experience as a math teacher, she was quickly recruited to help in accounting as an office volunteer.

Throughout Lucy’s tenure she has seen and experienced countless Habitat milestones and memories. She’s worked in three different Habitat offices and still remembers some of the quirks of the first office.

“When I started the office was in the basement of an old apartment building in Five Points,” Lucy recalls. “The accounting files were kept in the bathtub, and office supplies were in what we called the jail (an area walled in by unfinished 2×4 studs).”

Lucy also played an important role when we moved to our current headquarters in 2009.

“I was asked to give some training to the new AmeriCorps [volunteers] to emphasize how important it was to submit invoices on time. I brought in a Ping-Pong paddle to suggest what might happen if they didn’t cooperate… and when they laughed I passed around a posed photo of me pretending to paddle a young man. The paddle still hangs over my desk.”

As the old saying goes… all good things must come to an end. And with that sentiment, we celebrate Lucy’s 25 years of service AND her retirement as a cherished volunteer. Lucy shared that what kept her inspired to come back year after year is Habitat’s mission, and the amazing people she has met along the way. Lucy’s legacy will be part of Habitat Metro Denver’s history forever, and our staff members were excited to give Lucy a proper “socially distant” retirement party with a drive-by celebration earlier this month.

“Lucy is an absolute gem! She has a wealth of knowledge about Habitat from the old days. I love her stories, especially the one where they used to do accounting in the bathroom of our old building, where the files were kept in the bathtub. I miss seeing Lucy’s pink highlighter marking all the invoices. In honor of Lucy, I will always use a pink highlighter. She brings so much warmth, dedication and care to all that she does, and all those she encounters. Lucy inspires me every day and I will miss seeing her every Tuesday.”

-Mani Phiavong, Habitat Accounting Team.

“I’m going to miss Lucy a lot. She’s part of why I chose Tuesdays as part of my volunteering. I loved her stories of volunteering with the young people of [the Gang Rescue And Support Project] and of teaching in alternative schools.”

-Connie Curtis

“Many of us would stop by the volunteer room on Tuesdays just to talk to Lucy and enjoy her company. She has had a very interesting life and much wisdom to share with us all. I have appreciated her friendship as much as her contribution to Habitat.”

-Randy Parker