Community Leader

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Statistically speaking, most people spend their days in jobs that don’t truly fulfill them. That was never more evident than in the height of the pandemic, when we all had time to stop and reassess our priorities and what we were really doing with our lives. Millions of people made drastic changes—to their careers, to their home life, to their location—all to find what they feel they’ve been missing. To find fulfilment and purpose. But as the Development Director of Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West, Leighanne Weeks hasn’t had to go in search of fulfillment. She already has it.

“I grew up in Mandeville, so I have a deep love for the Northshore,” says Weeks, who joined the organization in 2014 as the Marketing and Development Coordinator. “I have always wanted to work for a non-profit and to work for the benefit of others, not just have a job that benefits my life and my needs. I wanted to be a part of the community and build a career that was in service to the people around me who make this area so wonderful. I’d done volunteer work with Habitat in college, and that’s where I was first introduced to Habitat for Humanity.” community outreach, marketing, fundraising and events,” explains Weeks, who took the position more than four years ago. “The best part of my position is that I can be a part of this community. I try and give back to organizations and clubs that give to us, like Leadership St. Tammany, Rotary, Junior League of Greater Covington and Northshore Homebuilder Association. In the midst of that, I also get to meet so many new people.”

People. They’re the heartbeat of everything that Habitat does, and, in fact, the part of her work that Weeks loves the most. “These are individuals who strive every day to make our parish a wonderful place to live and to raise a family,” she says of the people she meets in the course of her work. “It’s also incredible to see the absolute joy on the faces of the children we impact. There is nothing like attending a home dedication ceremony or wall raising where a child shows you where their room will be and how they want to decorate it. You can see the excitement of how this home will change their life. We have so many stories about how moving into Habitat homes has had such a positive influence on the children’s grades, health and confidence. They are our future. To see them happy and thriving in their new home is the best.”

Challenges are a natural consequence to any endeavor, and Weeks certainly faces them in her work. “One of our greatest issues is the wide misconception that we give away homes for free,” Weeks notes, explaining the steps and the amount of “sweat equity” that their families must put in to become homeowners.

The passion she has for her work is evident—and that passion is a strong driving force in affecting change and making a real difference. Still, she claims none of the credit for what she has accomplished in her work over the past four years as solely her doing. “None of my achievements has been solely of my own accord,” she says. “Our Habitat family has all worked passionately to provide homes for those who are in need and have built almost 300 homes. Whether it’s from the leadership of our board, the expertise of our construction crew and ReStore staff, our ReStore volunteers or from those on our construction sites literally building the homes, each one of us have played such a vital role in the successes. The homeowner’s themselves deserve so much credit for their efforts and dedication in working towards their goal of homeownership. I’m just so grateful to be a part of their journey and story. The reward for me is being there to celebrate the homeowners when they get to turn the key to their new home.”

Looking to the future, Weeks hopes to continue working with Habitat. “I want to set an example for my children that it is important to give back to your community and serve those around you,” she says. A Mandeville native who returned home after a few years in Nashville, Weeks is a wife and the mother of two young children she’s happy to be raising in the community she loves. “I have amazing parents that are also very active in volunteering their time and energy in our community,” she notes. “It’s the greatest thing knowing we have three generations living in this wonderful town.” Our team is highly experienced with special needs, sedation, and hospital dentistry. No dental insurance? Call and ask about our

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