Molly Kaser, Executive Director for CFH, called Kevin and asked if it would be possible to use the apprentices during renovations of the school based health center. Molly knew Kevin was good at this kind of thing because Kevin had done the demolition work to prepare for the dental clinic renovations back in 2001. And the best part about using apprentices is that they donate their time which allowed the Center for Family Health to save a significant amount of money.

Before Kevin brought it up for discussion at the Council meeting, he looked at the area around Northeast Elementary. He saw the poverty and knew that the school based health center would be a good thing. "I hate the thought of kids being in pain," Kevin says, referring to the conversation he had had with Molly regarding the lack of dental services and the statistics on the number of tooth aches children were being treated for.

The Carpenters Council is known for their generosity. They have done some renovations at the John George Home and have helped United Way build ramps for those who rely on wheelchairs. They also volunteer their services for Special Olympics. "Giving back to the local community is important," says Kevin. "It just makes us feel good to do it."

These volunteer projects are also good experience for the apprentices. Apprentices spend part of their time in class and part of their time working on jobs. The apprentices took class time to work on the school based health center project. Some of these people are together in the program for four years. Projects like this brings them closer together. "Some of the people in the program had never volunteered before. After the project, every one of them has done more volunteering," says Kevin.

The Council of Carpenters is very generous to the Center for Family Health. In fact, they designate their United Way contributions to CFH. "Health care is so difficult and so expensive," Kevin says. "There is no way that some of these people could do it on their own. We knew that helping (CFH) was worth our while because it impacts large number of people."