St. Gregory’s University students to spend spring break building homes

Mar 7, 2009 / 22:07 pm

Five students from St. Gregory’s University will be among a group traveling to Lafayette, La., for their spring break to build houses with Habitat for Humanity.  The volunteers are participants of Collegiate Challenge, a Habitat for Humanity program that provides year-round opportunities for youth to use their vacations to help build homes. 

 

During the week of March 15-21, the St. Gregory’s group will help build simple, decent and affordable homes with families in need. This will be the fifth Collegiate Challenge trip for SGU’s campus minister, Diane Willis.

 

“Habitat is such a rewarding experience for everyone involved,” Willis stated in a press release from the university. “The builders see it as service to others, making a difference in others’ lives. The home builders see it as such a blessing.”

 

This spring break marks the 20th anniversary of the Collegiate Challenge program, and more than 12,000 students will travel to 200 locations across the United States to build houses through the program. Throughout its 20-year history, more than 166,000 students have participated in Collegiate Challenge, raising more than $15.5 million.

 

“Youth who choose to volunteer and build houses with Habitat for Humanity during their spring break are making a powerful statement about the role they want to play in helping families move into affordable housing,” said Desiree Adaway, Habitat’s senior director of Volunteer Mobilization. “We are grateful that for the past 20 years, youth have united to eliminate poverty housing across the United States through the Collegiate Challenge program.”

 

Collegiate Challenge is one of the many Habitat for Humanity youth programs designed to capture the energy and hope of young people worldwide to involve them as leaders in the work of Habitat for Humanity.