Volunteer Contact: Volunteer Desk (650)568-7342 volunteer@peninsula habitat.org More Profiles Home Karl Schmidt, Peninsula Habitat Regular Volunteer Volunteer Profiles Karl Schmidt Regular Volunteer Growing up in a loving family of modest means, Karl Schmidt vividly remembers—even today—the feeling of fear and insecurity his home's kerosene heater gave him as a young child. His early experience stayed with him and reinforced the importance of a safe house for families. When Karl retired, he wanted to invest his time in making a safe home a reality in his own community. During the past three years, Karl has been a permanent fixture at our Rolison Road site, accruing more than 1,000 hours by working two days per week. With extensive knowledge of our construction process under his tool belt, he recognized that his professional experience as a trainer/educator would benefit Peninsula Habitat. With the support of committee members and Construction Manager, David Randolph, Karl became Chair of our Training Committee that has the goal of improving building quality and productivity. The focus of the committee's work for the next 12 months is surveying the organization's house construction tasks and developing training manuals and aids that will be used for weekly staff training attended by AmeriCorps members, regular volunteers and team leaders. "We want to capture 'best practices' from the many talented and experienced people working and volunteering at the site," said Karl of the committee's efforts. For Karl, the personal satisfaction he receives from helping others and the interaction with his fellow volunteers and partner families is extremely fulfilling. "To be part of an organization that empowers everyone that comes in contact with it is marvelous. Anyone thinking about volunteering, either on the site or in the office, should come down and find a niche that they're comfortable in—or want to learn about—and get started. There's a lot of work to do!"