Volunteer, 83, grateful to give time to Habitat
Kenny Bergmann, an 83-yearold volunteer at the Bryan-college Station Habitat for Humanity Restore, has an idea of what makes a good volunteer.
“A good volunteer is somebody who can show up when they say they will, and be available to do what is necessary to help,” said Bergmann, who has logged more than 400 hours volunteering at the Habitat store in the last year and a half.
“I walk 1 to 2 miles a day, five days a week; I am 83 years old going on 60,” Bergmann said.
Bergmann started as a construction volunteer for Habitat in September 2020, building houses and playhouses for children.
“I have? I’ve put in 400 hours? What? No way!” Bergmann said after he was told by Restore director Emily Stearns that he had logged 442.4 total volunteer hours since he started.
He built houses for as long as he could until the hard labor started taking a toll, but he still wanted to help any way he could. In April 2021, he started volunteering at the Habitat’s Restore center.
Restore is a nonprofit, homeimprovement store that sells new and gently used donated furniture, appliances, home accessories, building materials and more.
“In October, I worked at the (Habitat) pumpkin patch. After about a month of working in the construction storage area, Emily suggested I become a door greeter because I was so friendly with everybody and such a ‘this is me’ kind of person,” Bergmann said. “I greet the customers with, ‘Hi, thank you for coming in to Habitat today,’ and if people are willing to, I love to visit and talk with them.”
Matt Browning, Habitat’s marketing and communications coordinator, said Bergmann volunteered at the right time.
“Kenny is an impressive man who came to us exactly when we needed him. His dedication to our organization and our cause is a daily reminder of how fortunate we are to have such incredible people who are willing to help our community,” he said. Bergmann works three days a week as door greeter, and he paints rocks that he sells to customers for $1. All profits go to Habitat.
“I have raised $121 towards Habitat by selling my painted rocks, and I contributed $50 towards Habitat in the last two years,” he said. He said his daughter encouraged him to paint rocks as a hobby.
When he isn’t greeting customers or painting rocks, he is known to be going around the store singing and playing his guitar. He said he loves to play country and Christmas music, especially “It’s Five O’ Clock Somewhere” by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett.
“Having Kenny with us is nice because we know every customer is going to be greeted when they walk in, and he thanks everybody for their purchases, so it is really nice to have that person who has that personal touch right there at the door and giving everybody the love that we want to give them,” Stearns said.
She recalled one busy day when two of her student workers were behind the registers trying to keep up with the fast pace.
“They were working as hard as they could and Kenny could see they had a lot going on, so he grabs his guitar and just starts talking and singing and entertaining everybody in line, and it really brings down the stress level,” she said. “We just love having Kenny.”
Before he found work at Habitat, he worked at St. Joseph Health College Station Hospital for eight years so he could be close to his wife, Diane, who was working as a nurse. He later retired in 2001.
“The day I retired I had become best friends with the preacher who was in charge of volunteers at the hospital, and he asked me if I wanted to become a volunteer,” he said. “So, the same day I retired I became a volunteer because my wife was still working there; I worked there for the next 19 years until 2020 when they laid us off.”
Before his time at the hospital, Bergmann worked various construction jobs after being medically discharged from the U.S. Air Force in 1968.
“I was in the Air Force for eight years. I was caring for a patient who was about 180 pounds, and I was walking him to the bathroom and he passed out. And being the kind of person I am, I reached and grabbed him, and it tore my (stomach),” he said. “But I saved him because I kept him from hitting the floor.”
He said even though he was discharged, he was grateful because at the time many of the soldiers were being sent to Vietnam to fight in the war.
“The good Lord blessed me. I felt blessed and I still do because I didn’t have to go over there; so many people were going and not coming back,” he said.
Originally from Boerne, Bergmann has three children: Darien, Karen and Katherine. When he isn’t volunteering, he is at home caring for his dogs and cats and watching baseball when he can, and enjoying life’s little things.
“I don’t eat as good as I should. I prefer doughnuts and Dr. Pepper, and in the evenings sometimes I drink Michelob Ultra,” he said.
When he was younger, he struggled with smoking and drinking, but once he picked up jogging and walking, he was able to cut back on the alcohol and quit smoking, he said.
He is grateful to be where he is today and still helping others as much as he can.
“How can I not do what I do when I am doing it for these wonderful people? Habitat for Humanity is building homes with the money that comes from what we sell at the Restore, and if I can help them build a home that gives somebody a place to live, where they can spend the rest of their life, how can that not be the place to work?” he said.
BCS Habitat for Humanity serves families who earn between 35 and 80 percent of the median income and are in need of quality affordable housing. For more information, visit habitatbcs.org.
Bergmann said he loves his life and the world he lives in, and does what he can to be positive and bring a smile to people’s face, especially if they are struggling or going through a difficult time.
“I love the place I work at and everything is wonderful. God has given me so much, and he has placed me in this place, and I have to give him credit,” he said.
He said he hopes to continue being a volunteer for as long as he can.
“I want to keep doing this for as long as my body and the good Lord will let me. God has given me this ability; and if he will allow me, I am planning on doing this for another 10-15 years,” he said. “I have been given the ability to overcome my problems and be at the age of 83 going on 100.”