Spring Break Alternative

Alabama Chicago Some college kids spending spring break on the gulf coast have traded sun and surf for hammer and nails and it's all for a good cause.

by Debbie Williams

Published: Wed, March 18, 2009 - 5:20 pm CST

In a maze of lumber, two dozen college kids from Chicago are hoping to make a difference.
"It's just a great experience. We're still down in Alabama. It's warm, it's so much better than Chicago right now. But it's just great to give back and it's great for leadership skills for teamwork skills," says sophomore volunteer Stephanie Harmon.
In school at the Illinois Institute of Technology, the students hope to one day be engineers and architects. "It's really nice because the students get to do hands on work. We're doing problems all the time. We're doing homework assignments and now we actually get to see it how it can be really implemented in a real house," says Harmon. But, there are challenges according to senior volunteer Dave Parry. "Being engineering students we're not necessarily the most athletic or physically fit. We were doing dry-board yesterday and trying to hold it up you get pretty tired pretty quick. I think the physical aspects are a little challenging for us."
The focus this week is completing the roof. It's the next step in making a dream come true for the family that will move in here.
"I'm flabbergasted. I'm extraordinarily happy." Ron Washington, his wife and three kids will move into the house in the coming weeks. "They are doing an outstanding job. I am so happy. I mean, I'm speechless at times. Sometimes I come out here and I want to cry but I'm very happy."
This house serves two purposes. A home for the Washington family and an experience for some young people they will likely never forget.
This particular house is part of the "Youth United Project". The goal: to get kids ages 5 to 25 involved in Habitat for Humanity to insure the future of the organization.

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