SMU students travel to Habitat for Humanity in Mississippi, to volunteer during their spring break

Halifax, Nova Scotia (February 1, 2010) – 50 students from Saint Mary's University will volunteer with Habitat for Humanity in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, the week of their spring break. The youth volunteers are participants of Collegiate Challenge, Habitat for Humanity’s year round alternative break program.

During the week of February 21st, the group will help a family in need of a simple, decent and affordable home. The students from Saint Mary's University will be arriving to Mississippi by a 40-hour bus drive. As the members of SMU Habitat are all students, it was very important for us to keep the cost at a minimum. As well as using a bus as transportation to keep costs down, we also spent a lot of the year fundraising. We have had bake sales, sold peeler cards, done multiple coat checks at the campus bar, the Gorsebrook, even hosted a theme night at the Gorsebrook, as well as received many generous donations from corporate sponsors.

“I am so excited about the opportunity to spend my spring break making a difference to help a family achieve homeownership,” said Collegiate Challenge participant Hayley Inkpen. “This will really be a memorable spring break for everyone involved.”

From February to April, Collegiate Challenge participants from across the country will volunteer in 200 Habitat locations. In the past 21 years of the program, more than 168,000 Collegiate Challenge participants have volunteered with Habitat during their school breaks.

“Students have a number of options to consider for their school breaks, and we are so grateful for their interest in volunteering their time with Habitat,” said Desiree Adaway, Habitat for Humanity senior director of Volunteer Mobilization. “Their efforts will help provide homes for so many families in communities across the country.”

The Collegiate Challenge program is one of the many programs Habitat has to engage youth ages 5 to 25 in Habitat’s work. Since 2007, State Farm has served as the national corporate sponsor of Habitat for Humanity’s youth programs, with a sponsorship commitment of more than $1.1 million in grants each year. Additionally, State Farm offices contribute more than $500,000 annually to Habitat affiliates across the United States.

This is SMU Habitat’s first year as a society, and we were very impressed with the interest of the student body. To have over 50 members in our first year as a society was a great accomplishment for us. As well as attending a build in Mississippi over our February break, we also attended a local build in Halifax near the end of October. 17 SMU students participated, and although they all found it physically demanding, everyone said it was a rewarding experience and had lots of fun.