Local resident Jackie Phillips readying for week-long Habitat for Humanity effort

Next week Senoia resident Jackie Phillips will make her way down to Biloxi, Miss. Her trip will not be one of luxury or relaxation, but the results of her visit will leave a lasting impression on her and those whom she will be helping.

From May 11-16, Phillips, who is a national account manager for Gibraltar Industries Storage & Ventilation Group, will join hundreds of volunteers participating in the Home Depot Habitat for Humanity’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project in Biloxi on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Phillips has been with Gibraltar for three and a half years and is currently focused on building The Home Depot business in Canadian markets.

As a representative of the Gibraltar Home Depot team, Phillips will support the efforts of The Home Depot Foundation, a Gold sponsor and the exclusive home improvement sponsor of the work projects’ Framing Frenzy, a component of the project that will engage volunteers in the building of the frames for 48 homes in one week.

“The Home Depot Foundation had the opportunity to invite vendors, partners and associates to join in this volunteer opportunity. I will be at the Gulf Coast working during this week,” said Phillips.

“I am thrilled and eager about being able to help. Mississippi is my home state, and where I have lived my entire life, until we recently relocated to Georgia. I was there during Hurricane Katrina and saw the devastation first hand. It was a very sad and testing time. My family lives in Pascagoula and Biloxi, so I feel I am helping and giving back to not only my family but all the helpless victims affected by Hurricane Katrina. I am ready to get there and start building with The Home Depot Team!”

“For those of us that know Jackie, we are not surprised at all by her enthusiastic support and personal involvement in this type of activity,” said Mike Daniels, vice president of The Home Depot Team. “She brings this kind of energy to all she does for our THD Team.”

The Framing Frenzy in Biloxi will overlook the Gulf of Mexico at the historic Biloxi Lighthouse site. During the week, volunteers like Phillips will work side by side with more than 1,700 volunteers and 60 families to build 30 new homes, repair and remodel an additional 30 owner-occupied homes, and construct 48 frames.

After the walls are prefabricated and inspected for quality, they will then be stored and erected within Harrison and Jackson counties in the coming months.

The project is in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s and the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project 2008.

“It has been more than 30 months since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, destroying or severely damaging over half a million homes. With some 12,000 families still living in ‘transitional’ housing across southern Mississippi, and countless others living in substandard conditions, there is much more work to be done,” said Chris Monforton, chief executive officer for Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. “While locally Habitat for Humanity has worked with diligence to provide shelter for more than 200 families since Katrina, there are still many families in need of a safe, sanitary and secure place to call home.”

Phillips concurs with Monforton’s assessment, and is looking forward to the chance to help. “This experience will mean a lot to me and I am grateful for the opportunity. I enjoy helping others in need and giving back to communities,” said Phillips. “To be able to see an area in ruins and turn it into a place for families to live again is a feeling I cannot explain. I am eager to see the facial expressions of the people we are helping once the project is completed. It will be an amazing experience!”

For more information on Habitat for Humanity, visit www.habitat.org.

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