As a commercial real estate brokerage, Latitude Commercial knows the value of a property you can call home. For businesses and individuals alike, it offers opportunity, security, and much more. So, when the Latitude team decided to get together for a day of volunteerism, one idea struck it as a perfect fit – helping build a home for Habitat for Humanity.
Finding ways to give back to the community is one of the core parts of Latitude Commercial’s culture, with team members sitting on different boards for community-driven nonprofits, volunteering their time, donating, and more. They make a point to try and get the team together for a group day of service at least a few times per year, and with the holiday season around the corner, now seemed the perfect time to get out and make a difference together.
“I’ve always wanted to do a Habitat for Humanity build,” said Meghan DeLaCruz, director of finance at Latitude Commercial. “We’ve done stuff like a food drive in the past, but recently the COVID-19 pandemic made it harder to get together as a group out of the office. So I was really excited to go out as a team and get to work on this build.”
The house is going up in Merrillville and is already quite far along in the building process. The foundation, frame, and other core elements were already in place when the Latitude team arrived to help out. The company, along with a wide variety of other volunteers, got to work caulking, painting, laying shingles, and helping put up a shed.
“It was super cool and super unique,” said Ryne Pishkur, director of property development at Latitude Commercial. “I’d heard of Habitat for Humanity, but I’d never really seen how they went about things – how they build the homes, where they get the materials, who is actually doing the labor. It was great to see and take part in it all coming together.”
The team was excited to have so many ways to help, as some had been unsure of what they might contribute without experience in the trades. There is room for anyone at a Habitat for Humanity build.
“If you’ve never done anything like this, don’t let a lack of experience hold you back,” Pishkur said. “You don’t need trade skills or anything to help out. They’ve got experts there to help out and lead the way, and jobs for all skill levels.”
Pishkur said Habitat for Humanity is aiming to have the home built for the prospective family by Christmas.
“This is a very nice home,” he said. “Just because someone doesn’t have the means or aren’t well-off doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a quality house.”
DeLaCruz was grateful for the opportunity to help a family in need and is already looking forward to Latitude Commercial’s next group effort.
“It’s great, we all have something we can give to help out – even if we aren’t skilled in these kinds of things in any way,” she said. “We’ve got to take those opportunities to give back where we can.”
To learn more about Latitude Commercial, visit latitudeco.com.
