While helping to build houses, Matthew and Amy Steindorf found a home with each other.
The pair of engineers, who have been married since October 2023, were dating when they first started volunteering together with
Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity in 2017. Their construction volunteer work became a shared weekend activity for them to give back to their community in a hands-on way.
Their work with Habitat also allowed the couple to bond and build communication while they were dating, said Matthew Steindorf.
“We had times when we were out, it was 90 degrees outside and sunny, and we’re hot and we’re just bickering at each other because we’re tired,” he said. “I think working in that kind of environment has helped our relationship, too.”
Matthew Steindorf is a senior project engineer at Milwaukee Tool, while
Amy Steindorf is an engineer III at Komatsu. They were each working for other companies when they started volunteering. Milwaukee Tool’s community involvement was partially what drew Matthew to his role four years ago.
The Steindorfs work at Habitat construction sites once or twice per month on Saturdays. Between the two of them, the couple has volunteered an estimated 1,500 hours with Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity.
In 2020, the Steindorfs purchased their own house. Through the skills they picked up while working on houses with Habitat, they repaired aspects of their new home themselves before moving in, Matthew Steindorf said, such as redoing the flooring and replacing baseboard trim.
“When we both started volunteering, we were living downtown in a rental, had no plans to buy a house or do anything like that,” he said. “After we volunteered for a couple years (for Habitat), we’re like, we could buy our own house. So (we) started paying attention … (to) what you want to see for drywall, or what good foundation walls should look like.”
Amy Steindorf said working beside homeowners and speaking with individuals affected by Milwaukee’s affordable housing shortage “really impacted me, and it keeps me coming back.” For the past few years, she has participated in Habitat’s summertime initiative, called Women Build, which encourages women to get involved with constructing affordable homes.
Matthew Steindorf said helping construct homes in Milwaukee builds communities “from the ground up.” With stable housing, people can gain steady employment that can allow them to support their families and set them up for success, he said. This, in turn, can create safer neighborhoods.
“I really believe that having a stable house that you can go back to at the end of the day, and your rent is not going to get jacked up, really sets you up for success in the other parts of your life,” Matthew Steindorf said.
