Charlotte County Habitat for Humanity “Collegiate Challenge”
For decades, college students nationwide have flocked to sunny Florida for spring break, and that is definitely the case this year in Charlotte County! Students have come by the dozens from Pepperdine University in California to Purdue University in Indiana, but they haven’t come just to play in the sun. These students have dedicated their spring vacation to helping others, building homes with Charlotte County Habitat for Humanity.
Thirteen bright, energetic ‘builders’ from Pepperdine University, located on the beaches of Malibu California, took up residence at the Community Volunteer Center in Port Charlotte (on Cedarwood, Murdock area) the week of March 3rd and combined forces with the Habitat construction team, to work on three homes in Punta Gorda, on San Carlos.
The week of March 10th brought 27 students from Purdue University of West Lafayette, Indiana who spent their week working on two different houses, also in Punta Gorda, while also camping out in the evenings at the Community Volunteer Center.
During January and February, 2008, Charlotte County Habitat hosted Collegiate Challenge students from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and University of Wisconsin. Later this month and during April, 2008, student volunteers will come from Hamline University-St. Paul, Minn and Glastonbury High School in Connecticut.
Collegiate Challenge is a program sponsored through Habitat International, where students experience making a difference in someone’s life, in a very real way, often working right alongside the future homeowner. One student was heard to comment: “I’m so grateful that I have actually gotten to work in this building process.”
It is such a boost to Charlotte County Habitat for Humanity, as well as our community, when students come from across the country to help build houses here, and at the same time, there is such an opportunity, right now, for local volunteers to be a part of ‘building homes and building lives.’
Currently, there are eight homes in various stages of construction, and fifteen partner families waiting to get into homes. Habitat receives approximately two dozen applications monthly, from families or individuals in need of safe and affordable housing.
WE NEED YOU! Discover the fulfilling experience of shared purpose and a common goal. Giving of your skills and labor will have a transforming affect on someone else’s life. What a wonderful feeling it is to give!
To volunteer, or for more information, please contact Chrissy Bynum, Volunteer Coordinator Charlotte County Habitat for Humanity 941-639-3162 or by e-mail at volunteers@charlottecountyhfh.org
