Habitat for Humanity East Bay

Dave Rosenberg

Don’t let Dave Rosenberg fool you. He would have you believe he is a simple man in an undeserving role. For example, take his response when asked what sort of construction tool he would be: “It’s gotta be a hammer, in that it is usually the first tool that I pick up and the last that I put away. You know, however, there is a proverb about trying to do too much with only one tool in your tool chest: ‘If your only tool is a hammer, then all your problems start to look like nails.’”

When informed that he had been chosen as the volunteer of the month, Dave humbly insisted that “I know that there are many other folks that I work with regularly at HFH that are much more deserving…so November must be a very lean month for you!”

Untrue Dave, untrue. Peek around the edges, or poke a little deeper, and a richer portrait comes into view. For instance, David has volunteered both as a Court Appointed Special Advocate to foster children in Contra Costa County, and as a child mentor with FosteraDream.Org for several years. These are not the natural actions of a hammer in want of a few nails.

Dave Rosenberg began volunteering with Habitat for Humanity East Bay while still working with Valero Energy and Exxon Mobile. Until he retired three years ago (after 33 years of work), he faithfully volunteered every month. Now that he can take it easy in his halcyon years, he volunteers with his friends John Lee and Mike Bartlett every week. Dave makes that weekly effort because he enjoys the camaraderie of the construction site and the satisfaction he feels from being a part of the solution instead of just complaining about the problem.

As Construction Manager Ben Grubb says, “Dave is a skilled carpenter and a part of a group of skilled volunteers who act as a sort of Swat Team for us. I have always found Dave to be even-keeled and amenable. It means a lot to me to have him out here.”

Thank you, Dave, for all the hard work you have donated to your neighbors, the people of the Bay Area, and Habitat for Humanity East Bay. Thank you also for sharing moments like the following one with us:

“On our last workday at Edes Avenue, Mike Bartlett and I drove all around the entire completed development before leaving. It was a very satisfying feeling (as everyone who has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity probably knows) to look out upon a completed project and to know that you were a part of it.”

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