Mike Dombrowski: Building homes, creating opportunities

When Mike Dombrowski and his wife Christine moved to Dallas in 2018 they only knew each other and their son John, a student at SMU. They were looking for something to contribute to, and to not feel so isolated. Then one day, while visiting HPUMC on Sunday for worship, a piece of communication gave Mike the connection he was looking for, volunteering for a build for HPUMC’s Carpenters for Christ.

Now Mike was not a stranger to this type of work. He had volunteered for Habitat for Humanity when he lived in New Jersey and did a lot of his own renovation projects, with his sons and daughter as his apprentices.

But on his first day on the building site with Carpenters, he was shown the ropes by a handful of seasoned veterans, like Ed Wilson. Soon, Mike got even more involved with the charter members and became a core volunteer and Carpenters committee member, gaining a deeper appreciation for the work the program does for the community.

“What I have taken away from Carpenters versus other volunteer experiences — all of which have their own ways of delivering important services to our communities — is the absolute commitment of the church,” Mike said. “We are doing these things that fit with the overall mission of our church and the Dallas community."

"What is really impressive to me is the way our involvement sets an example for others, especially those outside of the church. We have a lot of real credibility with our involvement with Habitat, and I think that really spills over beyond just HPUMC.”

For the past 27 years, HPUMC’s Carpenters for Christ has helped build over 120 homes in the community—with even more internationally—making it the largest commitment to Habitat for Humanity by any single congregation in the world.

“One of the fundamental outcomes of our work is to provide a head start of sorts for individuals and families who are willing to take on the responsibilities that come with that,” Mike said. “Every city is dealing with housing challenges, not just affordable housing but housing in general. How can we remove that uncertainty as a daily stressor and allow people to be who they can be?"

“I just think what Carpenters does is provide a little bit of that in a way that encourages others and provides a foundation for people to be who they need to be without concerns like where am I living next week, how am I dealing with the most basic of disruption that could be tremendously impactful.”

Part of that impact is what it means for the families to receive keys to their new homes at the end of a build. For Mike, it hit him at the dedication ceremony for his first home build in 2018, when after two-plus months of work, he heard the family's story about how Carpteners gave them new life and opportunity.

“You get to know them, you get to know their story and understand what you are doing for somebody. It’s not abstract, it’s right there in front of you. It’s the most satisfying exhaustion at the end of a Saturday you can have.”

The other impact Carpenters has is the commitment of the volunteers to the ministry. Many of them have been involved with the program since the first house build, but now they're looking at how to pass the hammer on to the next generation of volunteers.

“What I have clearly seen, is that people that started doing this in their forties and fifties are now in their seventies and eighties. That same group that has brought continuity for the past 27 years has been a bedrock of what we are doing, but it’s really important that the next generation of people that are going to continue this are active,” Mike said.

“We need to be prepared to learn from those that have been doing this from the start so that they are comfortable with what comes next. We should now be preparing others that are willing to take on the same kind of responsibility. I can’t think of a better way to recognize and thank them for all they have done and continue to do.”

Mike thought of his own children while looking at the next wave of volunteers. He wants them, as well as others in the younger generations, to develop similar skills, many of which can be learned through the builds all while they accomplish something for someone else, working with a great group of people, and making themselves more self-sufficient.

“What would I do to 'sell' Carpenters to someone in their twenties and thirties when it comes to becoming a volunteer? I think there is something very simple to this: you are really making a difference, you’re doing it in a way where you can see it every time you volunteer, and when we dedicate the home at completion, you know the impact it has on the family," he said.

“You also don’t have to be a construction person, and you don’t have to be the handiest person on earth; you just have to have the commitment to fill in and do something meaningful.”