Sailors attached to the USS Green Bay (LPD 20), forward-deployed to Sasebo, Japan, volunteer with Sailors assigned to Navy Operational Support Center - Green Bay and Future Sailors in the Navy's Delayed Entry Program (DEP) at a local Habitat for Humanity during Green Bay/Fox Cities Navy Week 2017.

In total, 15 Sailors assisted with the construction of a home for a local family in need.

"As a Sailor aboard USS Green Bay, I count it an honor being here," said Command Master Chief David Robinson. "There's nothing like hard work. One thing about America's Navy is we're tough and resilient. If you walk around and see these Sailors, new and old, it's enjoyable to see their effort going into this home."

Robinson is one of three USS Green Bay Sailors who flew around the world to represent the ship during the week's Navy festivities around her famous namesake community.

The project is the most recent for the Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity, part of a global, nonprofit housing organization which works with community partners to fund construction, rehabilitation and preservation projects that provide homeownership opportunities to families in need of better living conditions. The local Habitat has completed 105 homes, with more than half finished in the past 5 years.

"We build affordable housing that revitalizes neighborhoods, improves property values, strengthens communities, and builds community-minded citizens," said Jennifer Maier, Volunteer Director with Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity.

After a lengthy application process, families that qualify to purchase a Habitat for Humanity home are required to join the contractors and volunteers by putting in "sweat equity" through their own hands-on labor (500 hours for a two-head household, 250 hours for a single-head household) before they close on their home.

Still, the projects wouldn't be successful without the continued efforts of groups and individuals who help with each home.

"Our volunteers are a vital part of our program," said Maier. "They help us keep the price of our homes affordable for our qualified families to purchase."

"The Sailors who gave us a day of their time will greatly impact the progress of this home," Maier said. "They added a day of construction help to our schedule, assisting with siding the house, completing the interior paint, and the front porch railing, among other tasks. We were honored to have these men and women build with us, and thank them not only for their support of our organization, but their service to our country as well."

For the volunteers, they are pleased with the support they have been getting from the community.

"Green Bay has been exceptional and very welcoming to us, and we appreciate this opportunity to serve our community," said Robinson. "We're more than just war fighters. We are neighbors, friends and family. We sacrifice and we serve. That's the nature of the military and the United States Navy we joined."

Numerous Navy units have converged on the region, including the Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron, Explosive Ordnance Group One and Navy Band Great Lakes, in an effort to showcase the United States Navy in northeast Wisconsin during Navy Week. Navy Week programs serve as the U.S. Navy's principal outreach effort into areas of the country that lack a significant Navy presence, helping Americans understand that their Navy is deployed around the world, around the clock, ready to defend America at all times.

For more information, visit https://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.