Volunteer Spotlight: Rob Maldonado

Every Saturday morning Rob Maldonado wakes up early to bike 10 miles from his home to Habitat’s Jubilee Commons construction site. As a crew leader on-site, he makes sure to get there early to help prepare the site for other volunteers. By 8:30 a.m., Rob is armed with his trusty cup of coffee and ready to lead volunteers in the building of affordable homes.

In just over a year, Rob has logged over 350 volunteer hours leading crews on the Habitat site.

Rob has a long history of volunteering. When he graduated from the University of Illinois in 2005 with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, Rob signed up for a year of service with the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), a national program that engages teams of 18 – 24 year-old individuals in disaster work, conservation, education and other civic projects.

While in the NCCC, Rob worked on the construction of new homes with New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Rob found that he enjoyed being part of the rebuilding process and working with other Habitat volunteers. Rob then accepted an AmeriCorps construction position with Habitat for Humanity East Bay in Oakland, California, working with volunteers to build sustainable, green housing.

Rob moved to Portland over a year ago and has made volunteering on the Habitat construction site a major priority. Utilizing his extensive Habitat background, Rob quickly became a crew leader at Jubilee Commons doing what he loves best–meeting new volunteers and teaching them how to build simple, decent housing.

Rob and our other Habitat volunteer crew leaders are the backbone of our construction sites. We could not do it without them.

Thank you, Rob, for all of your hard work and dedication!

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact Sarah Armstrong at 503-287-9529 x 33.