Take a Breath: Hearts and Hammers fixes homes, builds relationships

Published 1:30 am Saturday, April 4, 2026

If Tre’ Everett was on the fence, the tears might have sealed the deal. The happy tears.

Everett was minding his own business — “I just wanted to get my chain saw serviced,” he says — at Oak Harbor Ace Hardware a few years ago. “North Whidbey Hearts and Hammers (NWHH) was handing out free hot dogs,” he recalls of the annual PR event. “I didn’t even eat one, I just talked to them. I wanted to know what they were all about.”

The tag line, “Neighbors Helping Neighbors,” caught Everett’s eye. And his heart. In May of every year, Whidbey’s three Hearts and Hammers groups mobilize hundreds of volunteers for a single day to assist homeowners who struggle with home repairs and upkeep. “I like to work with my hands,” Everett says, and there was a bonus. “This just seemed like a great way to build community.”

The NWHH volunteers that day saw the fire in Everett’s eyes and invited him to a board meeting. Everett soon found himself on his first assignment: calling homeowners to let them know their project applications were approved. The happy reactions amazed him, he says, like he personally had lifted a giant weight off their shoulders. “The level of gratitude really got me,” he says. “Some of them were crying, they were so thankful.”

Art Huffine, NWHH co-founder, chuckles at Everett’s story. “We met him at Ace, he came to a board meeting, and two months later he was our president.” Huffine says Everett’s dedication is welcome and badly needed. NWHH is still young, in just its seventh year compared to 17 years for the Central Whidbey group and 32 years for South Whidbey.

The north end holds the most residents, so naturally the need exploded from just a handful of projects and volunteers in 2018, to 16 projects and nearly 150 people on the job in 2025.

NWHH also provides “Heart Projects” throughout the year when possible, for homeowners whose needs can’t wait until May. But the main focus, the theme that drives the organization all year long, is planning for Work Day.

It is a huge undertaking, according to Huffine, who praises Everett’s ability to smooth the bumps and logistical challenges. Homeowners’ requests need to be vetted and approved, then project-managed into a six-hour work day. Board members work to procure grants, donations, tools and materials. For each project, the leadership team recruits a House Captain who finalizes requirements for people and equipment. Volunteers are assigned based on their skills and the needs of each project.

When Work Day finally comes, vehicles need to be available for deliveries to each site and for hauling refuse — lots of refuse — to the dump. And everyone has to be kept happy, hydrated and fed throughout the day. It all needs detailed planning under a tight timeline. “Tre’ is a good leader,” says Huffine, “with a ‘how can I help’ attitude, and he’s just a good person too.”

Everett came to Whidbey from Texas with the Navy in 1994, and stayed to raise his family here. He loves the island and is a solid believer in Hearts and Hammers’ value to the whole community. It’s not just about the homeowners who might need help with a heavy pruning project, a wheelchair ramp, or a home repair. He points to the line that grabbed his attention in the first place, “Neighbors Helping Neighbors.”

“If we can, we assign volunteers who live close to the person they’re helping,” Everett says. That’s not always possible, but “it builds community. The volunteers get to know each other, meet new people. We get organizations volunteering in groups, and we try to break them up a bit, send them to different projects.”

He isn’t shy about these “forced meetings,” and says it’s good for everyone to get acquainted with others who have a common interest in giving back to the community. You get the feeling, hearing Everett’s evangelism, that some volunteers get even more out of Work Day than the homeowners they’re helping.

Whidbey builder Gary Wray agrees. He’s a long-time volunteer and House Captain who served on the NWHH board early on. “People show up to volunteer, and they realize they’re working next to someone who’s on the other end of the spectrum, politically or socially. But none of that matters, because they have a common interest in doing good for others. It’s beautiful.”

All three Hearts and Hammers groups build that volunteer camaraderie all day long with an early breakfast, sack lunch, and a celebration dinner. That takes even more volunteers, and more donations from local restaurants and businesses, just to feed everyone.

On top of recruiting a huge team of volunteers, Everett says his North Whidbey group alone garnered tens of thousands of dollars of cash and in-kind support from donors and local businesses to make Work Day happen in 2025.

Everett noted Home Depot in particular for the crucial support they provide, through their Team Depot program. NWHH receives in-store funding for every HD employee who volunteers. Add it all together, and that’s a huge outpouring of time and generosity from our community, and an impressive bit of “let’s work together” when we can be so polarized elsewhere in our lives.

Ex-Navy pilot and multi-year House Captain Greg Goebel received a promotion this year. He’s now a House Admiral. He laughs, maybe a little embarrassed at the title. But he doesn’t mind the extra work that goes along with it: recruiting and directing a cadre of this year’s House Captains. “My family really bonds over Work Day,” Goebel says of his wife Lynn, their two adult children and their spouses who volunteer every year.

These leaders and volunteers are a great example of what a community can be. Whether you want to step up with your whole family like the Goebels do, or with a group from your church or workplace, or by yourself, Hearts and Hammers needs you.

North, Central and South Whidbey Hearts and Hammers serve the approximate areas of Oak Harbor, Coupeville and South Whidbey school districts. Find all three on Facebook or go to their web sites below:

South Whidbey’s Work Day is Saturday, May 2. Board member Allyson Meyer encourages volunteers to sign up soon as work team assignments are made in early April. Please go to www.heartsandhammers.com and click “volunteer” or call 360-221-6063. Childcare is available, per the instructions on the signup page.

Central Whidbey Work Day is also May 2. President Randy Lamb says please go to the “volunteer today” link at https://cwheartsandhammers.org where you’ll find the volunteer form. Call 360-720-2114 with questions.

Work Day is Saturday, May 16 for North Whidbey. Click “Become a Volunteer” at https://nwheartsandhammers.org or leave a voicemail at 360-499-2005.