I’ve been a fan of General Hospital for 32 years, and can clearly remember racing home from school before the days of VCR’s to watch it, and calling my grandmother ever night to discuss the show. The chance to meet some of the actors I have watched for years, combined with the unique opportunity to physically contribute to such a worthy cause, made my decision to fly half way across the country to attend easy!

I was immediately impressed with how organized and appreciative the Habitat for Humanity staff was. You could tell this was a well-oiled machine! While I would have been happy to build with any of the 14 GH actors in attendance, as a long-time Quartemaine fan, I was particularly thrilled that I got assigned to be on Leslie Charleson’s team for the morning shift and Jane Elliot’s team for the afternoon shift.

The morning assignment for Leslie’s team was painting the interior of one of the townhouses, along with Kirsten Storms’ and Lisa LoCiciero’s team. Although none of us should quit our day jobs, we did our best to paint the walls the colors chosen by the Habitat family who would be living in the house. The afternoon assignment for Jane’s team was a bit more intense—installing kitchen cabinets in two of the units. Having never used a tool besides a hammer or screwdriver before, I found myself drilling, sawing and locating studs in the walls, while watching Lexi Ainsworth outside using a huge power tool that was almost bigger than she was! 

While part of the excitement of the day was meeting the GH actors and working side by side and getting the chance to talk to some of them, what made the day particularly meaningful to me was listening to the stories of the actual Habitat families who would be living in these homes and hearing the struggles they had to deal with in their lives. Knowing that what we were doing in some small way would impact their lives by providing security, stability and a safe environment, made the Habitat build an experience I will never forget, and one that I plan to participate in again in my hometown. 

I give kudos to the GH actors who took time out of their busy lives to participate for this worthy cause and make the fans in attendance feel so appreciated, as well as to the Hollywood Habitat for Humanity organization for putting on such a wonderful and meaningful event. This was an experience I will treasure forever.