Habitat Archuleta’s volunteers contributed 1,890 hours on our build sites in 2023. Larry Parks, a retired lawyer and mechanical engineer, accounts for 496 of those, more than a quarter of total volunteer hours.
At present, Larry has assisted in building Habitat homes in three states, totaling “somewhere north of 60 homes.” And he’s not stopping soon. He and his wife, Patricia, will be back in Pagosa Springs from May to November, which they do to correspond with the Habitat build schedule.
He began volunteering with Habitat in 1998 when his law office was looking for a volunteer opportunity, and “I showed up and just stuck with it.”
Larry said the best days on the Habitat site are when he doesn’t use a hammer or a saw but teaches someone else to do so.
“It’s amazing how fast a volunteer can learn. In half a day, a volunteer can learn a skill and use it for a week. In half a day, we can teach you what you need to know,” he said.
While Larry learned some building skills as a kid while helping his father construct homes, “I didn’t really build a complete house until I started working with Habitat,” he said. “And every house I build, I learn something.”
The most important thing a volunteer can bring to a Habitat site is, “The realization that without volunteers, affordable housing is not attainable,” Larry said. “And I think that’s what motivates the other volunteers I work with…That’s meaningful for them.”
He added that, if given the means, it’s important for folks to support Habitat financially.
“My belief in the import of building family generational wealth and providing homes for children makes it easy for me to write that check,” he said. “Not everyone can do that, not everyone needs to do that, but that is important to me because I know how hard it is to own a home when you’re on a modest income.”
Larry said that since he retired from law, which he practiced for 43 years, he uses his time to pursue things like reading, writing, and “occasionally I’ll play a round of golf.” He added that he and Patricia have been going to honky-tonk about once a week to practice their two-step.
To join Larry on the build sites this year, contact our volunteer coordinator, Monica, at office@habitatarchuleta.org or call us at 970-264-6960. New this year is an online volunteer application, which you can download, fill in, and email back to us. These forms can be found here.
As always, feel free to stop by our office at 703 San Juan St., Suite 201 in Pagosa Springs to learn more about Habitat for Humanity of Archuleta County or simply hang out with the office gals.
Or visit our website, https://www.habitatarchuleta.org/