Habitat Hosts Collegiate Challenge Week

JONESBORO, GA (March 6, 2015) – Emory and Henry College students will travel to Austin Meadows during their spring break to volunteer with Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity. The students will help build homes and improve the communities the week of March 9th as part of Habitat for Humanity’s Collegiate Challenge program.

“We are excited about Emory & Henry College coming to work with us at Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity,” said Chief Development Director, Lynne Washington. Shirley Chisholm once said, “Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth”. “The service these young people are willing to give to a family in a different state speaks to the depth of their willingness to serve and help others have a new start, we couldn’t be happier and they are an example to all of us”, said Lynne.

The students will be working on Southern Crescent’s Interfaith Build which kicked off February 24, 2015 by a group of Clayton County High School students from Mt. Zion and Lovejoy. The call to end poverty is shared by the world’s religions, along with the conviction that decent housing for all is critical to achieving that goal. Interfaith groups come together in pursuit of a shared goal to put their faith in action. Other groups that will be participating in the build include the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, Destination Church, Knights of Columbus, Tau Alpha Delta, Klassy Kreation and more.

Habitat for Humanity’s Collegiate Challenge program invites students to spend one week working with Habitat affiliates to build homes and improve communities. Since 1989, nearly 240,000 college and high school students have volunteered during their spring break to help build or rehabilitate homes, donating over $25 million to Habitat affiliates.

“Collegiate Challenge engages thousands of students each year who work diligently towards improving communities and building decent, affordable housing,” said Mark Andrews, Habitat for Humanity International’s vice president of volunteer and institutional engagement. “We’re grateful to them for supporting our mission and help families realize their dream of home ownership. Communities will benefit from their hard work for years to come.”

The Collegiate Challenge program is one of the many programs Habitat has to engage the next generation of leaders in Habitat’s work. For more information, visit http://www.habitat.org/youthprograms/collegiate-challenge.