National Volunteer Week: Meet Bobbie, a longtime Habitat Volunteer

Bobbie has been volunteering with Habitat for Humanity Greater Cincinnati for 30+ years. “It’s been a long time,” she says. Bobbie started volunteering when the Habitat office was still in a church basement. “So many people have come and gone, but they’ve all been really nice.” Right after her husband retired, they went with Bobbie’s mom to a local retiree’s dinner. They sat next to some Eastside Coalition Habitat volunteers, and they convinced her and her husband to volunteer. “When you’re retired, you need something to do,” she says.

So, they got connected through a church group and started volunteering. “We ended up being advocates for 6 or 7 homebuyer families,” she says. Her husband Stan volunteered on the build sites. “He’s pretty strong." Bobbie started coming into the office to help Helen Spieler, the Director of Homebuyer Services.

“Helen and I have become good friends, I know how hard she works, how hard all of you work, and so if there’s some little job that I can save you from having to do, I’m happy to,” she says. She enjoys helping to file, sort, and organize. She organizes current family folders so all their required papers are where they are meant to be. Her work helps Helen and the rest of the homebuyer services staff save countless time on office tasks.

Bobbie loves to organize and clean. “My daughter loves it because then I don’t bug her for projects at her house.”

“[My husband and I] are both retired and fortunate to have good health. I love coming in here because not only is everyone fun, but you also know you’re really helping, and Helen is my friend,” says Bobie. “I don’t think about anything else. You’re not thinking about politics, kids and their problems, or relatives… you just come and do what you’re told! It’s a kind of nice feeling.”

“I play tennis in the morning,” she says. And after she has some fun on the court, she heads into the Habitat office. “Thursday is a day I look forward to because it’s all planned.”

She’s made really good friends with some of the homebuyer families. She has seen so many families go through the entire homebuying process. One homeowner she really connected with recently paid off her house. “Getting attached to the families was really important to me,” says Bobbie.

“It’s been fun to see how things have changed.” Bobbie mentioned how seeing the Repair Program grow has been cool to see. Habitat has grown so much during her time as a volunteer, and she’s seen it all. She even watched Helen’s kids grow up, which was extremely special to her. The friendship she has formed with Helen has been one of her favorite parts about volunteering with Habitat. “We talk about movies, and we talk about books, and we get a lot done,” says Bobbie.

“Habitat has been really generous with their time,” she says. Bobbie also volunteers with the Red Cross helping Ukrainian refugees adapt to life here in the United States. She often connects them with Habitat homebuying classes so they can learn about what homeownership and finances are like in the states.

Bobbie has been such a big part of Habitat throughout the years. Her volunteer work has helped Helen and so many families right here in our community.