The house that Chuck built
By Natalie Hewlett
Scott County High School


Chuck Sgro looks like your average, happy- go- lucky retiree. His tan suggests that he’s just returned from a trip to the beach, his eyes twinkle when he speaks, and his booming laugh makes everyone around him smile.
But it doesn’t take long to see that Chuck Sgro is made up of so much more. He got his tan not from daily trips to the beach, but from long hours of hard work outdoors. His smile is inspired by the joy of those around him. Chuck has dedicated his life to helping others through Habitat for Humanity. That’s what makes him happy.
It all started in 1998, when he began work on his first Habitat House through his church in Louisville.
“I met the family that was going to live in the house,” said Chuck, “and at one point, went to speak to the mother (who) was a single mom, and was the exact same age as one of our daughters. I thought, OMG, what if this was my daughter and these three children were my grandchildren?”
He was hooked. Since then, Chuck has built 108 homes; 93 in Louisville, and 15 in Baton Rouge, La. He has helped to provide security and safety for 168 adults and 279 children. That’s almost 450 people.
The home he is building now on the West End of Louisville will be his 109th achievement, and what an achievement it will be. Habitat for Humanity has partnered with Kentucky’s the Governor’s Scholars Program to build a home in record time. As Habitat’s team leader at the worksite, Chuck would be training and working with 360 teenage scholars. GSP wanted the scholars so see the project completed before their five-week residency program at Bellarmine ended, so Chuck also faced a daunting timetable of four weeks. That would be a record pace for Habitat, which usually takes 12 weeks to build a house. Never before had Habitat attempted a project such as this.
“I don’t think anyone realized what we had stepped up to do,” Chuck said.
From raising the walls, to installing insulation, to painting, scholars had a hand in each step of this home. This also meant that Chuck had a big responsibility. Not only was he in charge of “Chuck’s Team,” the group of 25 Habitat volunteers working on the project, but of every scholar as well. As each new group of about 20 scholars arrived on site, Chuck would instruct them on safety and walk them through their specific jobs, Chuck worked tirelessly among scholars and volunteers all day. He oversaw the shipments and installation of new materials, made sure the house was kept up to code, and dealt effortlessly with unforeseen complications. To most, this job would seem daunting, but Chuck was never too busy to offer a smile or an encouraging word.

House Leader Chuck Sgro

“I love all of the enthusiasm, the wide eyes when getting out of the vans or off the bus, the incredible heartfelt messages that so many people wrote to the family,” Chuck said.”It is not about how much we can get done, but how it can possibly transform some of the students’ lives.”
His incredible positivity was infectious. The GSP faculty and staff discovered that while working at Habitat House during a week of preparation before the scholars arrived at Bellarmine.
“After the faculty went to the Habitat House, I kept hearing one word: ‘Chuck,’” said Aris Cedeño, executive director of the Governor’s Scholars Program. “I knew (we) were going to have a wonderful leader in Chuck. He’s probably the most inspiring person for the faculty and scholars. He gives me confidence and trust in the leadership on the other side of this project.”
The scholars were even more impressed:
“He really cared about what we were doing, which made me want to work harder for the family and for the home,” said Meghan Eleniak, of Ryle High School in Union.
    “It was good to see him working so hard on a house. It really set the tone for everyone else,” said Josh Price, of Central Hardin High School (Hardin County).
Chuck doesn’t see himself as an inspiration to others. For him, it is not the number of house he builds or the record pace of this last one. It’s about “knowing I have spent my days, weeks, months and years doing God’s work.”
Like most superheroes, Chuck is humble.