MEET OUR VOLUNTEER:       DAVE KAMPS

“Being a child of the sixties, I believe in the concept of Karma.  I believe that if you do good, good comes back to you.  This is a little bit of my effort to do good.”

Dave Kamps has been the coordinator of the “Cans for Homes” collection program for about three years. Shortly after moving to Richmond he was looking for a volunteer opportunity.  Dave came into the Habitat office one day and just talked to people.  Habitat needed a coordinator for the aluminum can recycle program.  Under Dave’s direction, the revenue raised from cans increased from about $4,000 to $15,000 annually.  “We get a ton of cans from EKU, and that’s a big help.  Also Novelis…are a big supporter…they pay us one and a half times the going rate for aluminum.”

Dave and his wife moved to Madison County from Wisconsin after retiring.  They had visited many of Kentucky’s scenic attractions over a twenty year period.  “I love this area… [the region] has a lot going for it,” Dave said.  “We’d come down here many times on vacation, camping…my wife and I have probably been more places in Kentucky than most Kentuckians have been.”

Dave, who has thirty years experience in Social Work, really likes the mission of Habitat.  “It’s not a handout, the people who get the houses put in a lot of work… it’s a really good program,” he said.  “These times things are difficult for everyone, but certainly for single parents trying to make ends meet. For many, it’s a dream to own their own house.” 

Other than the obvious sense of helping those less fortunate, Dave says volunteering for Habitat gives him a chance to meet new people in the community, good people, both staff and volunteers.  The organization has a real family feel to it, or as mentioned above, he says, it has “good Karma.”  One of Dave’s favorite memories is actually many.  Each dedication feels good.  “It’s really quite a moving, touching experience.  People are just so happy, so proud,” Dave said.