Retail employees from throughout state help build Habitat for Humanity homes on Kaua‘i

Personnel from retail stores located throughout Hawai‘i recently gathered at the Waimea Huakai subdivision on the West Side of Kaua‘i to help local Habitat for Humanity families work on their future homes.

Eight volunteers representing Rent-A-Center stores on Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Maui and Hawai‘i Island on Oct. 16 worked on five of ten nearly-completed Waimea Huakai homes. Rent-A-Center also donated $10,000 to the nonprofit Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity.

The team joined Kaua‘i Habitat staff, homebuyers, AmeriCorps members and local volunteers. After a safety briefing the team joined Habitat homebuyers as they went to work on the homes they will one day share with their families. The day’s scope of work included installation of pickets on the exterior stairs of the five houses.

“It’s the community outreach that is most important for me,” said former Līhu‘e store manager Rae Ann Abenes, who now manages a store in Kane‘ohe on O‘ahu.

Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity welcomes both local and visiting volunteer groups to work with the organization. For more information, to donate or to volunteer, visit kauaihabitat.org.