While attending class is vital to one’s education, it is important to note that students can make a significant difference by venturing outside the classroom. That is exactly what Habitat for Humanity prepares to do for their upcoming service trip to Aurora, MN during fall break. Sixteen students were selected through an application process that ended on October 10th. They will be volunteering their time and energy for an impactful cause. There is much to look forward to with their future trips.
Habitat for Humanity is an organization on campus that is devoted to providing affordable housing for struggling families, according to Community-Based Service Learning. They work in a cooperative manner with additional local and outside chapters to implement their message. Aside from their exciting trip this fall, they will be sending about 75 students to Habitat for Humanity areas during Spring Break. Working toward the organization’s goal: to meet the needs of individuals in a community through building, fund raising, advocacy, educating and organization consistent with our values of community, compassion, service, faith and teamwork.
As far as their trip this coming fall, the Habitat for Humanity team is preparing to assist a family as they get started on their new home.
Habitat wants their organization to give people a hand up, not a hand out. Every Habitat homeowner has to put in a set amount of hours on their new home, typically several hundred. The number of hours varies by affiliate, but many affiliates have them go through financial classes as well. The goal is to put people into affordable, sustainable housing that can meet the needs of their family but that they will also continue to keep for a while. Habitat homes are paid for with an interest-free mortgage. This is paid off over a number of years by the family, and the affiliate makes sure these payments will be able to work by requiring a certain level of financial responsibility, such as a job and the classes I mentioned before,” Senior and Trip Co-Coordinator Benjamin Michalicek said.
These are the ideals the group will carry with them to Aurora, MN, as they make their mark to create positive change within the community. Instead of sitting in a class learning about what to do to help, they will be applying their ideas in the real world. They will get a first hand look of the troublesome problems many citizens of this country face every single day.
“Our purpose is to take part in the even larger issue regarding affordable housing. Many people are unable to get a house because they can’t afford it or other issues that keep it from happening. Habitat looks beyond that and makes it possible for people to afford a home. Here at the Gustavus Habitat chapter, we want to make sure we do our part in moving forward and enabling everyone to have a place to call home,” Junior Communications and Music double major Kaitlyn Peroutka said.
As Peroutka suggests, it only takes a motivated, heartwarming group of individuals to make a profound impact on a community in need. On this trip, Habitat for Humanity will be focusing on building a house on site, along with getting to know the community and fellow Gusties better. It will allow students to get out of their comfort zone and interact with people they have never met before. They will spend only four days doing this, but those four days will be jam packed with so much to learn in such a short time frame. The fact that these students are taking time out of their lives to help a struggling person, whom they probably do not know, is representative of the kind of giving and selfless student body Gustavus has.
“I think GAC will make an impact through Habitat showing that anyone and everyone can give their time and give back. There are many things to do here at college, especially during the holiday and school breaks. Knowing that this group of individuals decided to take their own time and give it to someone else, is pretty amazing,” Peroutka said.