Debbie King, president of the La Porte County Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors, was honored by the organization on Sept. 9 for her volunteer work. Since 2006, she has contributed more than 2,000 hours to help build 20 Habitat houses in La Porte County.
Following the groundbreaking ceremony in Kingsford Heights on Sunday, Sept. 23, King will start building her 21st house. This one will be the new home of Roscoe Cook, Carly Lattimore, their son Brody and his unborn sister.
“Each house we build is like ‘the best one yet’ kind of thing,” she said. “I’ve not gotten bored. It’s still fresh and new, maybe because we’re doing it for a different family. We take pride in giving them a safe, secure home.”
King began volunteering with Habitat for Humanity about seven years ago through the Whirlpool Corporation in Benton Harbor, Mich. She is a senior supply chain specialist for the corporation, where she has worked for 15 years. King was selected to join a volunteer team to build a house in Benton Harbor as part of a Jimmy Carter Build project to construct 200 homes throughout Michigan in a week.
Since then, King has joined Whirlpool volunteer teams on weeklong builds in Nashville, Dallas and Atlanta. The corporation has donated a new refrigerator and stove for every Habitat house built in the United States for the last 25 years, King said, and sells other appliances to Habitat at cost.
Before becoming involved in Habitat home construction projects, King said she knew how to paint and use a hammer but that was the extent of her skills. Now, she can take a house from the foundation to the finished product and finds satisfaction in it. It’s helped her to be handy around her own house.
“I enjoy doing things with my hands and seeing it come together,” King said. “It’s something physically that I can do and it’s a good feeling that I get to help people that way.”
As president of the La Porte County Habitat for Humanity board, King said she has been involved in a lot more aspects of the nonprofit organization. The executive committee is presently immersed in selecting a new Executive Director to take over following the retirement of Dwight Graham, who will leave in December.
“I think being in the leadership role you get more involved and get to meet and interact with more volunteers,” King said. “That’s a good thing. We depend a lot on our volunteers.”
King has also been helping people do their tax returns as an H&R Block employee for 17 years. So, as the construction season winds down, she is starting her tax classes. When tax season ends in April, another Habitat build season is getting into high gear.
“I have been extremely busy,” King said.
A native of Decatur, Ind., King lives in Union Mills and is active in Union Baptist Church. She has resided in La Porte County for 28 years and raised her sons Matthew, 29, and Adam, 28, here.
She plans to retire in about four years and would like to be even more involved in volunteer work.
“In all the endeavors with Habitat I’ve had, I’ve made some really great friends,” King said. “I thrive on that.”