Recently, Shawn Christian, Eric Martsolf, Arianne Zucker, Jay Kenneth Johnson and Mark Hapka traveled to Philadelphia to team up with Habitat for Humanity. I was able to catch up with the actors and ask about their trip. I first sat down with Shawn Christian, who is no stranger to giving back. He was part of the Days' team that went to Detroit and volunteered his free time with helping improve their community.

Days Insider: Tell me about your time in Philadelphia.

Shawn: What happens in Philly, stays in Philly. Except the houses! Wait, the house is the one thing that does really stay in Philly. I had never worked with Habitat for Humanity before, and I do like building something from nothing. That's pretty cool, but even more so was actually meeting the people who will be living in this home. I had a wonderful time talking to them and learned they have to put in 350 hours of work before they can even move in. The particular woman who will be moving into the house we helped with works over 40 hours a week, attends night school, and is volunteering her 350 hours. That's commitment!

Days Insider: How was the experience rewarding to you, personally?

Shawn: I think the biggest thing for me was meeting the people who are moving into this home. The woman I was talking about earlier had literally not stopped smiling since we met and I took that smile back with me. To know that I helped make life better for someone less fortunate is powerful.

Days: How was it sharing this experience with your co-stars, Arianne, Mark, Jay and Eric?

Shawn: We all had an amazing time working together. We all get along on set, but when you get to go and hang out with them while doing something like this, it makes it even more fun. I don't really work with these actors on an everyday basis, so it gives us time to catch up on what we're each up to.

Days Insider: Are you going to follow up with your house in Philadelphia?

Shawn: Absolutely! I've heard a lot of wonderful things from the people at Habitat for Humanity about the key ceremony and I asked the owner and her little girls to send me a photo of the final project if they could. I would like to go back and see the final project, with the family sitting on the porch of their brand-new home. When you look around the neighborhood, you see the homes that this great organization has helped build. You see the change happening in these people's eyes. I even told one neighbor, "Next Halloween, you're going to have the kids running around in costumes, running around their own neighborhood playing and having fun!"

Days Insider: Why do you think it's important, as an actor, to give back?

Shawn: When I was volunteering in Detroit, I was in the Red Wings' locker room and above the door, there's this saying, "To Whom Much is Given, Much is Expected." Essentially that's the idea. We've been blessed with many great things and I think, personally, it's right to share it.

I hope you enjoyed Part 1 of my Days Gives Back interviews for the Days Insider. Shawn made some great observations and hopefully, once again, proved just how big his heart really is when it comes to giving back.