Hofstra’s Habitat for Humanity participates in the Collegiate Challenge

Thirteen members of Hofstra University’s Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter spent their spring break volunteering with the Collegiate Challenge program.  They went to Sussex County, Delaware, for the week to help build two new homes.  Some students were able to frame a few walls of a house that was just beginning construction.  Other students were able to put siding on a shed, paint walls, hang doors, plant grass and lay tile at a different location.

Everyone on the trip learned new skills and had a really great time!  They stayed in the basement of a Church and got to know the parishioners. The Collegiate Challenge team was blown away by their hospitality and kindness. The parishioners cooked dinner and breakfast for them, and one even gave the crew an impromptu performance and lesson on the Church’s organ. One night Hofstra’s team worked together to cook dinner and have a taco night. Another night became a karaoke and air guitar concert.  There was not a single moment of the trip when the students were not laughing.

Each student took away from the trip a sense of pride that they were able to make a difference for this family. They also came back with a renewed interest in serving others. The affiliate informed the students that the family has three small children that will soon call that house a home.  It was easy to imagine the kids running in their new backyard, or living in the bedrooms the crew painted.

The Collegiate Challenge team would like to thank everyone who donated to help make this trip possible.  They would especially like to thank their amazing advisor, Terry Greis, who gave up a week of her own life to accompany them on this adventure.

Alternative Spring Break- Day 3

Day 3:

Of all the places we could eat at while here in El Paso we had to make sure to have authentic Mexican food! Tonight we ate at Kiki’s Mexican Restaurant and it was by far the best Mexican food any of us has ever eaten. The tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, beans, rice, quesadillas, carne asada, nachos, and guacamole were all exactly what we needed after the most intense day of work thus far. No one left that restaurant hungry! The food in El Paso just keeps getting better and better.

So what did we do today? We worked from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm with only a half hour break for lunch because we are all on a mission to complete our home by the end of our week here in El Paso. Today we painted the second coat on the entire inside of the home as well as finished all of the ceiling sheet rock. Outside we scraped off all the chipping paint, replaced damaged moldings, caulked any cracks, and painted over half of the home. It proved to be the hardest day yet, but also the most inspiring because we also met the family we have been volunteering our time to build a home for. In order to be selected to have a home built by Habitat, the family must agree to volunteer upwards to 200 – 250 hours to help build their home. For a few hours we worked side by side with the mother and her three girls

to help give this family a better life. Seeing the smiles on their faces was all we needed to continue working as hard as we could. By the end of the day we were exhausted, but not one person would say they minded.

During reflection that evening we were discussing what we were going to do on our day off on Thursday, but everyone knew what we had to do. We couldn’t take a break now, we had to keep going! So tomorrow instead of further exploring El Paso, we are going back to the home and continuing to work to give this family something every single person deserves; a decent home to live in.

- Ashley Gray, Assistant Director of Student Leadership and Activities

Staycation: Alternative Spring Break 2012, Long Island

Getting ready to start our day inside the Habitat House!

Brittany, Kimberly and Lauren learning from Tom

Day one of Staycation Alternative Spring Break was a hit! It was freezing and rainy but, we helped build a house...what could be better than that! At 8:15am when we gathered to leave campus it was drizzling rain and 50 degrees but, we got moving early and kept it going straight through until 3pm. We learned a lot about each other before we even got to the site (e.g. Brittany is a cat whisperer and we had three students who were born outside of the United States and several who could speak more than one language!) The student participants were from various parts of the globe and the country and spent a lot of the day while working getting to know each other!
We got a small break to gather at 12pm and talk with other Habitat "regulars" about their experience and eat lunch (provided by the Girl Scouts), and finally the sun started to peek out. Out of the twelve students attending and two advisers only one adviser, Pat "Boom" Montagano, had experience volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. So, this was a learning experience for all. Students were able to use tools they've never used, set up scaffolding, hammer siding on to a wall and work together as a team with students they've just met for the first time to accomplish a lot on this awesome three bedroom home in New Cassel. 

While we were there a news crew came to do a story on the great work that the weekly volunteers and staff do at Habitat to build houses such as this. It was great to see the coverage of such an important contribution these men and women (and other groups like ours) make in our community!
It was a powerful experience because while we were there we learned about the family the house was being built for, ourselves, the team work that could be accomplished not only working with each other but, following directions and working with the volunteers who serve weekly at the house. This is the first day of a three day Staycation Alternative Spring Break. We loved working in the Long Island community and are looking forward to working at the INN tomorrow and the Animal Shelter on Friday. Read more this week from our student participants about their experience!

Enjoying the moment of sun and our day of building at Habitat Nassau County!