On a blustery day in March, when the temperature dipped to a shivering 16 degrees, more than a dozen Memorial Hospital volunteers donned woolen socks, hats and hardhats to volunteer building houses for Habitat for Humanity.

Organized by UCHealth’s Young Professionals group, the volunteers set out March 19 for the Country Living neighborhood in Fountain to pound nails, build framing and attach siding to homes under construction in the Habitat for Humanity enclave.

“We want to do community service and be involved in our community, and volunteering for Habitat is a great way to start,’’ said Lauren Haley, accessibility coordinator for Memorial Hospital.

“There’s a whole lot of interest in wanting to help out. It’s helpful to our community and it shows people that we care deeply about health care in our community, but all aspects of health – not just the medical side of things,’’ Haley said.

Haley said that 13 UCHealth employees and their spouses and friends pounded nails alongside the would-be occupants of the home, who were grateful for the help.

“They were just so thankful that we were out there to help,’’ Haley said.

Lunch was provided by Jeff Johnson, vice president of Human Resources for UCHealth.

The Young Professionals group at Memorial has about 50 regular participants. It meets periodically to hear speakers talk about careers in health care, host an occasional happy hour and to plan community service. On Martin Luther King Day in January, UCHealth employees picked up trash in Boulder Park, outside Memorial Hospital Central.

Haley said there is no age requirement to participate in the Young Professionals group, which has co-chairs Courtney Hoffbauer and Kitso Branch.

“It’s just that you’re young in your profession and you want to grow,’’ Haley said.

For more information about the group and future community service projects, contact Haley at [email protected]; Hoffbauer at [email protected]; and [email protected].