Julie Wesling is the enthusiastic community engagement manager for Habitat St. Johns.
Tell us about your involvement with Habitat St. Johns.
A long-time admirer of this wonderful organization, I have been working with Habitat St. Johns since October 2024. In my role as community engagement manager, I am the volunteer coordinator, I write our monthly e-newsletter and assist with other communications, marketing, fundraising and special events. I’m also our grant writer.
Tell us about your background.
I have worked for other nonprofit agencies including most recently Wildflower Healthcare and the Council on Aging here in St. Johns County, and Music Teachers National Association a long time ago in my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. In every one of those positions, I served as a volunteer coordinator (among other tasks — nonprofit workers wear a lot of hats!) and it’s always amazing to see volunteers give so generously of their time and knowledge and skills. It’s a blessing that continues to generate goodwill no matter what else is going on in our turbulent world.
From 2010 to 2021 I was a self-employed licensed massage therapist and certified reflexologist. The lessons I learned in marketing my business and connections I made networking (through groups like the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary and others) have prepared me well to promote Habitat St. Johns.
My “first career” was in publishing at F&W Publications and Indiana University Press (after earning a Bachelor of Science in Music and English from Indiana University). It’s been great fun to get back to doing more writing, especially for an organization that I am so proud to represent.
What do you like best about what you do?
There are so many moments of joy! I love talking to anyone who will listen about Habitat’s mission and how transformative it is to help an individual or family purchase a home that will benefit them for generations!
I love those moments when someone comes up with a way to serve that we never would have thought of ourselves — two quilting groups donate heirloom quilts to Habitat homeowners! A local painter donates up to three of her works to Habitat homebuyers as a housewarming gift! The Garden Club of St. Augustine donates plans and plants and labor to help the homeowners in Volusia Woods add color and beauty to these little landscape beds in the front of their homes that are left as bare rectangles of dirt when the homes are finished! Last Christmas two groups collaborated to decorate a veteran’s home for the holidays, surprising her while she was away for the day!
But I have to say what I like best is when a homeowner has completed everything they have to do to purchase their home — the planning and paperwork and classes and sweat equity hours — and they share their pride and gratitude with us as they cross the finish line.
As volunteer coordinator, I work with all the future homeowners to track their sweat equity hours, and as our newsletter editor, I interview them to get their stories to share with the world. Nothing beats the smiles and tears and hugs of our homeowners when we get to congratulate them and welcome them home.
What is a typical day like for you?
Most days I am at my desk, on the computer, writing or researching grants or working in our volunteer management software. But I might start the day at the construction site, greeting a volunteer team to thank them for being there and hand out T-shirts and take group photos. I might be giving someone a tour of our model home in Volusia Woods or holding an open house there. I might meet a donor or volunteer for a coffee or go with our fundraising director, Tom Torretta, to make a presentation for a civic organization. And, once in a while, we have a special event where I will be onsite setting up a registration table and decorations, or making a food run to pick up doughnuts or lunch, or cleaning something.
Are you from this area originally, or did you settle here from somewhere else?
I am originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and moved to St. Augustine in 2005. My husband at the time took a job in Jacksonville, but because we had school-aged kids, we wanted to be in St. Johns County. We are divorced now and the kids are grown, but we all still live in the area because, like so many others, we fell in love with St. Augustine.
What do you like best about living here?
Of course, I love how beautiful it is here — the abundant sunshine, being surrounded by water and the picturesque old streets. But even more than that, I think I love the people, the heart and soul of the community. I’m in a unique position to see all the good that is being done by so many individuals and organizations (through United Way, the Continuum of Care, the VOAD — Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters, the Rotary clubs, the faith community and many, many other service organizations). I am inspired by the kindness I see and the commitment to help neighbors in need.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I enjoy spending time outdoors at our local beaches and parks, and the occasional day trip to another quaint, interesting town or one of the gorgeous Florida springs. I spend as much time as I can with my two grown sons and their partners and kids and I see a lot of plays to support friends in our community theaters. I have a fascination with beads and have exhibited my jewelry and mixed-media creations in various art galleries around town.
What’s next for Habitat St. Johns?
Our annual Women Build event will be on March 6-7, where we’ll host up to 80 female volunteers to work on homes under construction on McDonald Avenue. Then, we’ll be wrapping up our Volusia Woods neighborhood, and there may be a short break before we ramp up on our next neighborhood. We’ll use that time to construct two homes on Pearl Street, and the goal is to give volunteers opportunities to do more of the actual construction work on these homes. Then, we’ll jump out to Vermont Heights to build four homes there and then start on our Cypress Village community near Clay Street and the King Street Extension.
We still have homes available now, and people you know likely qualify and don’t even know it! So, we’re asking everyone to help us get the word out — we are building quality, single-family homes for our local workforce. You can live here in St. Johns County for less than you’re probably paying in rent. A single-income earner can make up to $86,000 a year! Please check out our homeownership program at www.habitatstjohns.org. Thank you!
