Volunteer Spotlight: From Team Builds to ReStore “Date Days”

Meet Jenifer Fry, an enthusiastic volunteer and avid ReStore shopper who turns her finds into unique treasures.

Most weekends you can find Jenifer Fry and her husband Brad shopping at the Habitat La Crosse ReStore for unique finds. For nearly four years, they have designated Saturday mornings as their “date day.” Jenifer said that they “love repurposing and hands-on crafting,” turning cabinet doors into charcuterie board serving trays and other ReStore materials into décor such as porch welcome signs.

Jenifer and Brad will stop for lunch at a favorite local eatery like Crooked Pint—Jenifer recommends the wings—and then head home to start crafting. These repurposed items are great for Christmas or birthday gifts. Brad finds inspiration for future projects on websites like Pinterest and will even treat Jenifer to breakfast in bed using their ReStore creations.

Jenifer works for Marine Credit Union and recently celebrated her 20th anniversary with the company. She remembers her early days at the Onalaska Teachers Credit Union branch before merging into Marine. Starting in 2017, Jenifer volunteered for Marine’s annual Team Build day on a Habitat home construction site.

Habitat’s Team Build program invites businesses and organizations to spend a day helping build a future Habitat home. This opportunity also allows community members to gain new skills, providing for a memorable team building experience. Jenifer shared that the Habitat construction staff on site helped everything run smoothly with their guidance and support. One year Jenifer and the Marine team added siding to a Habitat home; she recalled how essential it was to develop those “lifelong skills.”

Jenifer has called the Driftless Area home her whole life. She graduated from Onalaska High School and earned her bachelor's degree in secondary education at University of Wisconsin- La Crosse. Jenifer is currently a Consumer Loan Processor at Marine Credit Union and has been working remotely since the pandemic. She said she sometimes misses interacting with those outside of her core team, so she signed up to volunteer for her first shift in the ReStore in November 2024. Marine Credit Union’s ethos of giving back to the community, she said, inspired her to take that next step to volunteer with Habitat. Maybe she’ll even find new treasures for her and Brad’s Saturday excursions.

We at Habitat encourage you to take a hint from Jenifer and Brad to see what treasures you will find at the ReStore! Every day, new donations arrive at the ReStore for your shopping pleasure. The ReStore sells furniture, home décor, hardware, lumber, and so much more. Every dollar the ReStore earns directly supports Habitat for Humanity’s mission to provide and preserve affordable homeownership opportunities.

Want to join Jenifer as a volunteer? Head here to get started!