Habitat Spotlight: Al Maddalena

As many of you know, our ReStore is an integral part of our organization, providing an exceptional shopping experience, incredible deals, and valuable income so we can build homes for deserving people in our community. Today we want to highlight the work of a man who is also integral to the success of our organization: Al Maddalena.

Al began working with us here at Solano-Napa Habitat for Humanity 15 years ago. After working as a construction trade teacher at Armijo High School in Fairfield for 42 years, Al retired but never gave up his love for working with students. Al continues to keep his students involved and learning the construction trade, and before the COVID restrictions, brought them to volunteer at our construction sites so they can learn the process of building a home from start to finish. The students also spend time at our in-house construction shop where they learn to build various projects.

“I really enjoy getting students prepared for the construction trade, and Habitat offers the ideal setting so they can learn skills, meet people, and get job training,” said Al.

In March when our community began to shelter in place, Al managed to stay busy and continues to give back to his community in the best way he knows: by building. By safely utilizing his shop at home, Al builds sawhorses for ReStore  which fly off the shelves because of their versatility and craftsmanship. He also builds bird houses, tool boxes and other items that he donates to ReStore, as well as helps with repairs and deliveries using his pick-up and trailer. In addition to building handcrafted items for ReStore, Al is helping build storage sheds and delivering them to the Veterans Home in Yountville.

“I enjoy woodworking and doing things that help people, and I especially love working with all the people at Habitat” said Al. “In fact, I’ve got 6 sawhorses ready to go which I’ll be delivering to the ReStore later today.”

We are so grateful to Al for his dedication to our organization, his adaptability during challenging times, and his incredible work ethic. Along with our crews, Al has helped build more than a dozen homes for people in our community, and we are blessed by his creativity and generosity.

* Group photo: Al Maddalena and his students from Armijo High School (taken prior to the COVID pandemic).