Bradford,
Pa. -- Students from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford soaked up the sun
this year in Miami during spring break, but they didn’t do it on the beach.
Swapping bathing suits for construction hats to build houses for the Habitat
for Humanity of Miami was on the agenda for these spring breakers.
Eleven
students from the Pitt-Bradford Habitat for Humanity club and about 40 students
from Pitt-Johnstown decided to spend their breaks volunteering and serving the
Miami community.
Rachel
Brune, a freshman sports medicine major from Philadelphia, said, “I wanted to
do something other than lounge around at home, and what a better way to do that
then to help out.”
This
was Brune’s first time participating in the Habitat for Humanity’s collegiate
challenge. She decided to sign up for the alternative spring break trip because
she said it was a good opportunity to get to know her fellow club members and
give back simultaneously.
“There
is always someone who needs help, so if you’re able to give it I don’t see why
you wouldn’t,” Brune said.
She
said the experience was so rewarding that she is planning to get involved this
summer for a local chapter in Philadelphia with her dad.
Pitt-Bradford’s
Habitat for Humanity chapter vice president, Nicki Kellogg, a collegiate
challenge veteran, said it’s an amazing opportunity that everyone should
experience.
Kellogg,
a sophomore criminal justice major from Cuba, N.Y, said this year she was
excited that she got to do more construction work than she did last year. Her
favorite part of the trip was learning how to shingle a roof, she said.
“Knowing
you’re putting a roof on someone’s house, who otherwise would be homeless
without the help from Habitat, is pretty sweet, Kellogg said.
Kellogg
said that the biggest misconception about Habitat for Humanity is that people
receive free houses.
“To
be eligible to live in a house built by Habitat is a three-step process” she
said. “First you must apply for a house, then show a need, and finally agree to
‘sweat equity’.”
Habitat
provides affordable housing at low-interest rates giving people the ability to
pay off the mortgage. The people receiving assistance are also required
to dedicate 500 hours to work on their home, which is referred to as “sweat
equity”.
She
said being a part of the organization is so rewarding, and she plans to work
with the McKean County chapter this summer.
During
the course of the week, the volunteers from Pitt-Bradford and other schools
worked on five different houses. The students began their work shift at 7:30
a.m. and ended the work day at 2:30 p.m. Paid Habitat staff supervisors taught
students how to carry out various construction duties such as landscaping,
roofing and building walls.
Kimberly
Rublee, a manager in Pitt-Bradford’s Office of Conference Services, advised the
alternative spring break trip to Florida. Rublee said the alternative spring
break trip benefitted not only the students, but the community as well. Her
goal of the trip was to learn more about the Habitat organization to be able to
be a resource to Pitt-Bradford club members and the McKean County chapter, she
said.
She
said based on what she heard about last year’s trip, she expected a powerful
experience, but seeing it first hand was so different.
“What
surprised me most about the students was that they didn’t shy away from showing
their passion and their emotions. I probably shed more tears than anyone,” she
said while laughing.
By
the end of the trip the students had not only provided service to the Miami
community, but they gained a deeper passion for the Habitat organization and a
new perspective on cultural diversity, which Rublee said were benefits of the
trip.
To
learn more about how you can give back to your community, attend a Habitat for
Humanity club meeting Sundays at 6:30 p.m. in Room 101, Swarts Hall.
