Habitat for Humanity helping a family in Hopatcong

By Liam Donovan
Hopatcong — Sussex County’s Habitat for Humanity branch is renovating a house in Hopatcong for a family in need.
Habitat is redoing the entire inside of the house and adding a second bedroom to the one-bedroom home. The house was donated to the organization by the previous owners.
“It’s an addition to an existing house, 300-400 square feet,” Ken Landrud, Sussex County Habitat for Humanity president said. “The family has been chosen. They are required to do sweat equity, which means they’re required to help build the house.”
Landrud has been volunteering with Habitat for Humanity for eight years. He says there are people helping who have been volunteering with the organization for anywhere from two years to seventeen years.
“I think it’s a good program. We get people into a house that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to,” Landrud said.
The group is composed of eight or nine regular volunteers.
“It makes you feel good because you’re giving someone a hand. It’s camaraderie with guys with the same frame of mind. When you go home at night, you feel good because you’re helping someone,” Claudio Pineiro, a Habitat volunteer, said.
Pineiro has been volunteering with Habitat for Humanity for thirteen years. He managed the construction of a house on Brooklyn-Stanhope Road in Stanhope for Habitat.
“I love it, said Jeff Boyle, another habitat volunteer. “I retired four years ago. Before I retired I wanted to do something with a charity. It fits into what I like to do and how I’d like to spend my time.
“I worked in an office my whole career, so I get to get outside… I learned a lot from these guys. A lot of these things I’m doing I’m learning from these guys.”
In addition to the Hopatcong house, the Sussex County branch of Habitat for Humanity is putting the finishing touches on their new office building on Mt. View Street in Newton and planning a 5K run fundraiser in July.
You can learn more about the Sussex branch of Habitat for Humanity at their website http://www.sussexcountyhfh.org/ or by calling their office at 973-940-0503.
If you’d like to volunteer, Ken Landrud, Sussex County Branch President said, “We try to use all volunteers that show up, but you need to call ahead,.”