Twenty-two of First American’s interns participated in a three-day event at the Santa Ana Habitat for Humanity ReStore, spending their afternoons assisting both staff and customers and logging a total of 88 individual volunteer hours.
Habitat for Humanity ReStores are nonprofit home improvement stores that sell new and gently used furniture, home accessories, building materials and appliances to the public for just a fraction of the retail price. Each store depends on donations to replenish its stock and volunteers to assist the staff in running the business. The organization uses the proceeds from these stores to build homes both locally and around the world.
“We wanted to find a way for our summer interns to participate in an event that would help to give back to our local community,” said event coordinator and human resources generalist Rachel King. “We chose to work with Habitat for Humanity as it is one of the great organizations that First American often partners with locally.”
"This opportunity gave our interns a chance to better understand how important community service is at First American," said Rachel.
During their time at the ReStore, interns lent a hand in the showroom by organizing merchandise, cleaning shelves and moving items from the warehouse to the showroom. They also worked behind-the-scenes in the warehouse by labelling and categorizing paint cans, disassembling cabinets, assembling light fixtures and cleaning furniture marked to hit the showroom.
Working at the ReStore opened many interns’ eyes to the impact volunteers have on the community. “Truly understanding the ‘volunteer’ part of the experience was enlightening,” said Michelle Whang, a marketing intern. “The fact that many of the employees there consistently volunteer their own time for free is inspiring.”
Though the interns attended the event to support the ReStore, the hours spent assisting staff in the showroom and the warehouse also doubled as a way to establish cooperation and teamwork between interns who work across a variety of departments. “An unexpected benefit of volunteering was working with the other First American interns and getting to know them better,” said app development intern Jamil Semaan.
“The fact that the work we did ultimately translates into funds for a family’s new home is worth it in itself.”
Community development is an important cause for First American, which supports organizations that work to create and sustain affordable housing for low-income families. In 2015 alone, company employees took part in 23 team builds for Habitat for Humanity, with 432 participants giving more than 3,456 volunteer hours. “This opportunity gave our interns a chance to better understand how important community
service is at First American,” said Rachel.
Based on the upbeat attitudes and non-stop smiles seen throughout the ReStore, all twenty-two interns enjoyed the opportunity to give back to the community. Nicole Truong, a corporate accounting intern, summarized the overall takeaway from the experience: “The fact that the work we did ultimately translates into funds for a family’s new home is worth it in itself.”
