Inside Duke Medicine
Carolyn Graham: Volunteering in the spirit of MLK
posted January 25th, 2010Every Saturday morning, Carolyn Graham, Ph.D., a patient resource manager in Neurology at DUH, can be found at a Habitat for Humanity project, working to provide housing for those who need it most.
"Imagine," writes fellow patient resource manager Susan Page. "While many are relaxing on Saturday, she is up on a roof hammering! If it is a rainy day, she is inside painting. She never misses a Saturday unless the build is canceled. I can't image there could possibly be a more consistent Habitat volunteer."
"Indeed," says Tyler Momsen-Hudson, construction director for Orange County's Habitat for Humanity, "Carolyn is one of their most skilled and reliable roofers."
The most challenging part of building these houses can be shingling in the valleys, where two roof lines intersect. Carolyn has eagerly learned how to do this difficult job, and competently weaves shingles while the less-skilled volunteers do the easier flat sections.
Carolyn has also mastered painting, especially the taxing and difficult trim work, vinyl siding, and wall and floor framing. Her Habitat work extends far beyond North Carolina. She has participated in several Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Projects, helping to build homes in Los Angelos and Biloxi, Mississippi, among other neighborhoods.
Carolyn was nominated for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Caregiver Award for her long and selfless commitment to Habitat for Humanity throughout the country and for knowing her way around roof lines.
Learn more about others nominees and the 2010 MLK Community Caregiver here.