Meet Our Volunteer Contributers!

Lily Rider

Lily started volunteering at the ReStore in 2019, and as soon as I realized she was a well of creativity and passion, I let her know about our goal of growing the How-To side of things at Habitat. She grabbed the idea and ran with it! Between Lily and her volunteering partner-in-crime, Lisa Jacobson, this dream for a Habitat How-To blog and YouTube channel is finally underway!

Read on to learn a bit about Lily and stay tuned for more How-To videos and insights from her in the future!  

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​ABOUT LILY

​Family:
Married to Dennis Rider for 46 years. We have 3 children and 7 grandchildren. 

Career:
Itinerant Services Director currently employed with Cooperative Educational Service Agency #4 (CESA 4) located in West Salem WI. My educational background is in the area of Speech Language Pathology working with children ages birth to 21 years of age.

Passion:
Learning about and working with individuals who live with autism.

Hobbies:
Upcycling furniture, scrapbooking, long walks, cooking, outside activities and spending time with family and friends.

Friendship: 
Lisa and I have been best friends for 24 wonderful years. We worked together as teachers at Boscobel Schools and always had each other's backs. We love to spend time together, working, playing, and just hanging out. Volunteering together for Habitat just made sense. Habitat for Humanity is a great organization that gives back to their communities and I am proud to be a volunteer.

Fun Fact: 
Honored to be invited by Jesse Horn, a wonderful young man who lives with autism, to proofread his book, Stacked Against the Odds, and add my comments. Very surprised when my comments were added to the book.

“Jesse not only tells his personal story but the story of thousands of individuals who live with autism.”
-Lily Rider, Stacked Against the Odds by Jesse Horn

Funny Story: 
Crafty as I am, one Christmas I decided to make an advent wreath for the centerpiece of my kitchen table. On Christmas day, we all lit the candles,  ham went in the oven, and the family went to watch a Christmas movie. A little while later my husband got up for a drink of water and yelled, "OPEN THE DOOR! OPEN THE DOOR! THE ADVENT WREATH IS UP IN FLAMES!"

And to think, I was going to make one for everyone in the family!

Dream: 
To retire and spend more time with my family.

Social Media:
Facebook: Rider Re-Creations - "Make Old New Again"

Lily Rider is founder and owner of Rider Re-Creations. Rider Re-Creations is a passion turned business that takes something old and makes it new. Furniture, metal work, garden... she does it all! Above is an example of her furniture refinishing - these pieces were actually designed to go into gardens as planters!