CARVER & PLYMOUTH, MA ISSUED MARCH 14, 2024 – Habitat for Humanity of Greater Plymouth (HFHGP) is delighted to announce the appointment of Doug Ballum as the organization’s new Construction Director.
The Construction Director role is a brand-new part-time position, created to expand the affordable home building capacity of the nonprofit by offering more days in which building can occur. HFHGP is now actively engaged in construction activity on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays weekly, tripling the past pattern of building on Saturdays only. Under Habitat’s traditional model, nearly all home construction work is performed by community volunteers who come from all walks of life, many of whom have no construction experience. Ballum is charged with overseeing the work, ensuring quality standards and safety while training and teaching volunteers on the tasks at hand.
Although Ballum is new to this staff position, he is no stranger to the organization. Previously, he had served as Construction Supervisor since 2007 on a volunteer basis. In this role, he directed all-volunteer crews on Saturday builds over the course of 17 years, leading the construction of eight new homes, ten significant critical repair/renovation projects, and dozens of smaller repairs in the community.
Professionally, Ballum worked as a resident project engineer supervising public infrastructure projects with Environmental Partners for more than 15 years; earlier in his career, he owned and operated his own residential construction business. Overall, he brings more than 40 years of experience to the position.
“We are so excited to have Doug take on this new role, after all his years of dedicated volunteer work here,” said Amy Belmore, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Plymouth. “He understands Habitat and our mission so well, and has tremendous appreciation for volunteers who give their time to this important work. His efforts will undoubtedly go a long way toward achieving our goal of getting more low-income families into stable affordable housing faster.”
Since last October, Ballum has been leading construction crews for HFHGP’s newest project located on Indian Avenue in Plymouth. For more information or to join the crew, please visit www.hfhplymouth.org/how-to-help or call Lynn at 508-866-4188. Volunteers may sign up for just one day, or multiple, to suit their schedule. Everyone is welcome.
About Habitat for Humanity of Greater Plymouth, Inc.
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Plymouth, Inc. is a registered non-profit organization with a mission of providing decent affordable housing in the region. Their office, along with its ReStore, is located at 160 N. Main Street in Carver and the service area includes Plymouth, Kingston, Carver, Middleboro, Plympton and Lakeville. In addition to complete home builds, they also make repairs on existing homes that are essential for health and safety. An application process is required for those interested in becoming a Habitat homeowner or needing a critical repair. HFHGP is always seeking volunteers, financial support, and furniture/building material donations to the ReStore. More information and volunteer sign-up can be found at www.hfhplymouth.org, and readers are encouraged to follow HFHGP and HFHGP ReStore on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. Questions can be directed to info@hfhplymouth.org or 508-866-4188.
