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| Spring Break, Habitat Style |
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Spring Break is usually a time when students and families go to beaches and coastal areas for fun and sun. For approximately 500 people, their “fun and sun” has been found hammering nails and raising walls on houses in Hancock County.
Some of the volunteers are college students, working through Habitat for Humanity’s Collegiate Challenge program. Over the past 20 years, more than 166,000 students have participated in this program, building houses and raising nearly 15.5 million dollars. This year, Habitat will engage more than 12,000 youth in 200 locations throughout the United States.
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“My hands have probably never hurt so bad from nailing so many nails, but it’s probably one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done,” states Everett Warren, volunteer from North Carolina State University.
“It’s really impressive to see how much people are loving what they’re doing, and working for a good cause,” adds Molly Widmyer, also from NC State University.
Not every spring break volunteer is a college student. Ed Mahan is part of a group of volunteers from Habitat’s Cape Cod affiliate. “Getting out of the snow and the ice is a neat deal!” he exclaims.
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“But what’s better is that you’re coming down here and getting to help for a week, and you’re seeing the rewards for what you do right away."
Bay-Waveland Area Habitat for Humanity has seen large numbers of students and others volunteering during spring break ever since they began rebuilding in 2006. Three years later, those numbers are still high. In fact, “this year, we’ve had one of the highest numbers of spring break volunteers yet,” states Erica Painter, Habitat’s Volunteer Coordinator.
To date, Bay-Waveland Habitat for Humanity has hosted approximately 3,000 volunteers in Hancock County.
In addition to building houses, volunteers have a significant economic impact on the local economy. “Their patronage of restaurants, night clubs, gift shops and other stores has been a lifeline for many of our local businesses,” comments Tish Williams, Executive Director of the Hancock County Chamber of Commerce.
Volunteers and partner families have completed primary construction on two houses in Creekside Estates in Kiln, Mississippi; this week, they plan to do the same on two more. |
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