By Janet C. Wetzel
Enquirer contributor

WEST CHESTER TWP. - Ted Bailey often feels a calling to get involved in a particular cause. And when he answers that calling, he doesn't go at it halfway.

From 1992 to 1997, he spent numerous hours every week helping run The Little Red Machine, a youth organization in Bond Hill. From 1994 until 1998, he was a volunteer firefighter/emergency medical technician for the Village of Golf Manor.

When the combination of job, helping his wife Cassandra raise their three children, plus volunteering got a little heavy, he decided to limit his volunteering for a while. But it wasn't long until he felt that familiar call again.

Now he's as busy as ever.

"When we moved out here to West Chester, I felt there was something else calling me spiritually, calling me to Habitat for Humanity,'' said Mr. Bailey, 40, manager of Sears at Towne Mall, Middletown.

It started in 2000 when Sears donated money to build a Habitat house, and asked for volunteers to help with the work. Since Mr. Bailey grew up in subsidized housing in the inner city and knew what it's like to struggle to make ends meet, he was acutely aware of the need for such organizations as Habitat.

He was immediately impressed and intrigued with Habitat, and soon he knew this was it - his new cause.

"After I met the partner families and saw the conditions in which some of them were living, the hard time they were having getting that initial down payment for a home, I just couldn't turn my back on them and not help,'' said Mr. Bailey, a member of Corinthian Baptist Church, Avondale. "Some of them are paying awful prices for substandard housing.''

Families must go through a selection process based on need, put in 500 "sweat-equity" hours, and agree to terms for buying the new home, costing an average of $52,000, he said.

For two years Mr. Bailey was a family advocate, a long, involved, time-consuming job of helping a family work through the application, building and buying process. Now he's a Habitat board member, where he helps mold policies, working to make sure that decisions benefit the partner families. He helps develop a relationship with the surrounding communities and businesses to ensure the ministry can continue its mission of providing good, low-cost housing.

But he does far more than attend monthly meetings, help raise funds and give talks in prospective communities detailing what Habitat is and its mission. When a house is being built, he often goes there on weekends, rolls up his sleeves, grabs a hammer and looks for the nearest nail to pound. No job is too menial. No task is too big.

Mr. Bailey, a volunteer with the Riverfront Classic college scholarship program for three years, said growing up, people helped him succeed, and now it's his turn to help others.

"We all can look back and see that we've had help,'' Mr. Bailey said. "People who think they made it on their own, they're wrong. We all need somebody. I've been blessed with a great life, a beautiful family, a wonderful job, great co-workers . . . just blessed all the way around. This is my way to give back. I love seeing the results."

John Cerniglia, Habitat executive director, said Mr. Bailey brings a combination of unique qualities to the organization, including a necessary business perspective and compassion.

"He volunteers because he had a calling from Jesus Christ, so there's also a spiritual perspective,'' Mr. Cerniglia said. "It's nice to have those three dimensions in one person - Ted the business expert who thinks strategically and logically; Ted, a strong, compassionate and sensitive man; and Ted who is active in his Christian faith. Having those three elements together is uncommon. He's a great guy. We're fortunate to have him."

Do you know a Hometown Hero - someone in your community dedicated to making it a better place to live and to helping others? E-mail Janet Wetzel at jjwetzel@siscom.net, or fax to (513) 755-4150.