Jim DeMint
U.S. Senator, South Carolina
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| Habitat for Humanity in the 5th District |
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| Posted by Kelly Long |
08/11/2008 - 11:46:41 AM |
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Last month, my friends and colleagues in Senator DeMint’s Washington office, Legislative Assistant Kimberly Gluck and Legislative Correspondent Brian Eisele, spent a day working with the Lancaster Area YouthBuild.
YouthBuild is a remarkable organization. Max Melton, the executive director of Communities in Schools, describes it best: “We at YouthBuild work with Lancaster area youth (ages 17 through 24) who have not obtained their high school diploma. They enroll in a year-long General Education Degree course and spend time on a construction site with several YouthBuild advisors. We teach these young men and women a marketable construction skill and help them achieve their GED. In the process, our students build quality homes for Habitat for Humanity.”
I have worked a couple of times on a construction site with the young men and women of YouthBuild, and I walk away impressed with their work ethic and skill set. Kimberly, Brian and I had a great day hanging sheetrock and installing insulation on a 1,200 square foot home in downtown Lancaster. The old hands in the 2008 YouthBuild class were exceptional tutors for us.
Kimberly and Eric ‘Jo Jo’ Thompson install insulation on the YouthBuild home. Jo Jo is an exceptional young man. He is one of the hardest working guys I have ever worked with. This quality will serve him well in life.
Brian and Michael Miles hang sheetrock on the ceiling of a bedroom of the YouthBuild home. I have worked with Michael a couple of times. It is easy to tell that he knows his way around a construction site and that he has earned the respect of his YouthBuild advisors Chris Smith and Danny Reed.
YouthBuild Executive Director Max Melton speaks with Ruth McCrae of CN2 about the home his team is building. Max is one of the founders of this program and has been key to its success. Max told me last year that he knew very little about construction prior to his joining YouthBuild, but his work now is changing lives.
Brian Eisele takes a break with Michael Benson and Robert Totherow. Robert has nearly finished his YouthBuild program and has already received a couple of job offers. My first day working with YouthBuild I helped a team build that front porch. I will remember that day very well; I had only been on the site three minutes when I accidently shot YouthBuild Advisor Chris Smith in the hand with a semi-automatic nail gun. Chris wondered aloud if I would be more help to the building effort operating a paintbrush.
Kimberly talks with YouthBuild student Patrick Benson. A day after our site visit in late May, Patrick became a proud graduate of Lancaster High School.
Kimberly and Jo Jo finished insulating the great room in mere minutes. Later, I asked Jo Jo what he thought of his new work partner. “She is a hard worker,” he told me. “She is not afraid to get her hands dirty.”
Left to right: Chris Smith, Patrick Benson, Brian Eisele, Kimberly Gluck, Eric Thompson, Brandon McElwain, Danny Reed and Robert Drakeford. Some of the YouthBuild students and advisors had been called off-site to work on other projects. The YouthBuild advisors, like Smith, Reed and Drakeford, are vital to the success of the program. They not only teach a marketable skill to these young men and women; they mentor them and walk with them through various challenges in life. Their love and respect for the students is clear.
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Regional Director
Kelly Long |
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1901 Main St
Suite 1475
Columbia, SC 29201
Map It!
P: 803-771-6112
F: 803-771-6455
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About the Regional Director
Kelly Long has served at various capacities for Jim DeMint for nearly 10 years in his South Carolina offices. He grew up in Spartanburg and graduated from the USC Upstate. Kelly currently resides in Lexington with his wife and two children. |
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Cherokee
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Lancaster
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Chester
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Lee
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Chesterfield
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Marlboro
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Darlington
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Newberry
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Fairfield
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Sumter
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Kershaw
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York
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| Office Locations |
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Charleston
112 Custom House
200 East Bay St
Charleston, SC 29401
P: 843-727-4525
F: 843-722-4923
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Columbia
1901 Main St
Suite 1475
Columbia, SC 29201
P: 803-771-6112
F: 803-771-6455
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Greenville
105 North Spring St
Suite 109
Greenville, SC 29601
P: 864-233-5366
F: 864-271-8901
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Washington, D.C.
340 Russell
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
P: 202-224-6121
F: 202-228-5143
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